Artificial intelligence has crept into every area of business, streamlining workflows and offering automated solutions for the most tedious tasks.
The use of AI is changing the way businesses recruit, too, with repetitive tasks deftly handled by AI tools. And active job seekers are also reaping the benefits, sending off polished resumes, in less time with less effort. But the widespread use of AI in recruiting has brought some unique challenges, too.
So, is the relationship between AI and recruiting a blessing or a curse? Read on to discover the advantages and disadvantages of AI and recruiting, the top recruiting alternatives, and more.
The Upsides of AI Systems in Recruitment
Let’s begin by looking at the two main advantages of AI and recruiting.
Helps Businesses Optimize Recruiting Processes
One of the most significant upsides to AI and recruiting is that it optimizes a recruiting team’s processes. The simplicity of AI applications puts jobseekers at ease during the initial stages of recruiting, too. That’s a win for both recruiting teams and applicants.
Helps Job Seekers Create Professional Resumes
Artificial Intelligence is hailed as a way to save time while producing high-quality results. This is a big plus for job applicants. It allows them to create more polished, professional-looking resumes in a fraction of the time it used to take.
The Downsides of AI-Driven Recruitment
Now, let’s turn our attention to the two main disadvantages of AI and recruiting.
AI Resumes Lack the ‘Human Touch’
One of the biggest downsides to AI and recruiting is that resumes and cover letters produced with AI seem flat and lifeless. Machine learning models cannot accurately portray motivation and character. These insights simply aren’t there anymore.
Unfortunately, that means recruiters cannot be assured of quality, and risk selecting an inappropriate candidate. This damages the reputation of the recruiting team, and won’t do much for the rest of the company, either.
AI-Generated Job Applications Overload Recruiting Teams
Because AI makes it so easy to produce well-written resumes, more and more applicants are choosing this route. Recruiters are drowning in masses of AI-generated submissions.
Sure, some tools spot non-human written text. However, teams rarely have time to check each application for AI use. With more AI-generated submissions flooding their inboxes by the day, recruiting teams now have to make time for this task. That means an even higher workload.
Boomerang Hiring: A Reliable Alternative
There is an alternative to AI-driven recruiting. Boomerang hiring is the practice of rehiring former employees (corporate alumni). And it’s becoming a common practice in the business world.
It allows businesses to experience the same positives, and avoid the negatives, of AI and recruiting. Boomerang hiring optimizes the recruiting process, and reduces the burden on recruiters, by tapping into an existing talent pool — your alumni database.
Benefits of Boomerang Hiring
Here are some of the top boomerang employee benefits:
- Boomerang hires are already familiar with the company and its systems, and most of the staff. Therefore, they easily reconnect with existing staff and fit back into the company culture.
- The inherent risks associated with new hires learning the ropes, mostly fall away. Boomerang employees are typically effective from day one, as they often already know what is expected in their role.
- Because boomerangs need less training than new hires typically do, they reduce onboarding time. This means they are more productive, sooner, saving businesses both time and money.
- Boomerang hires already have the skills, expertise, and work ethics the business requires. This is in stark contrast to new hires whose AI-generated applications make suitability harder to assess.
Making the Most of Boomerang Hiring with Aluminate for Enterprise
Aluminate for Enterprise is a highly customizable and scalable online community platform, designed to manage and engage corporate alumni networks. It is also a highly effective talent management system for potential boomerang hiring.
Leading companies use this platform to manage essential alumni data, streamline basic HR services, and even share job posts with potential candidates. Alumni are categorized into groups of similar qualifications and expertise, using the Groups module. And the dynamic digital dashboard ensures each member sees only what is most relevant to them.
Still unsure why alumni are often the best candidates? Read through our blog post articles dedicated to boomerang hiring. We recommend you start with our guide to corporate alumni networks for talent acquisition.
Changing Employment Regulations: A New Pressure Point
Changing employment regulations can increase the pressure on recruiting teams. An example of this is the UK government’s potential introduction of “unfair dismissal from day one”.
Until now, employees needed two years of continuous employment at a company to bring a claim of unfair dismissal. The UK government has proposed that employees enjoy these rights from their first day of employment. This is good news for employees, but not for employers.
Why It Matters
In an increasingly digital world, traditional job-seeking and recruiting methods are falling away. AI innovations simplify the recruiting process but also set the stage for poor recruitment choices. With changing regulations thrown in the mix, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Recruiters would be under more pressure to get their hires right the first time. The risks of hiring the wrong person would have far-reaching consequences. Businesses would be faced with a terrible choice — be stuck with ineffective new hires or face more unfair dismissal claims.
That’s why businesses are shying away from AI-driven recruiting and favoring boomerang hiring instead. Rehiring corporate alumni offers a cost-effective, low-risk solution. Indeed, boomerang hiring saves HR departments not only time but also recruiting expenses.
Balancing Artificial Intelligence with Human-Centric Hiring Practices
When it comes to exploring the highs and escaping the lows of AI and recruiting, the secret is finding balance. How does one strike the right balance between artificial and human intelligence? Is it even possible to leverage AI tools in your recruiting process, yet still engage in human-centric hiring?
Yes, it is possible, and finding the balance is not as difficult as it may seem. If you decide to use AI to screen candidates in the first round of recruiting, be sure to incorporate more traditional assessment methods like one-on-one interviews in the next stage.
This will provide a healthy balance of artificial intelligence with a human-centric approach. It will allow your team to look for the subtle cues that only the interview process brings to light.
Why Is This Balance So Crucial?
One of AI’s biggest advantages is that it doesn’t have human biases. It won’t disregard candidates during the application process because of gender, race, or other potential avenues of discrimination. Businesses that use AI to select candidates are assured of a fair evaluation process and potentially, greater diversity.
But while a lack of human biases is a good thing, a lack of human judgment is not.
This lack of judgment is one of the biggest disadvantages of an AI system. AI algorithms detect specific skills, qualifications, or candidate experience. Yet they cannot determine whether or not candidates are a good cultural fit.
Revolutionize Your Recruitment Strategy with Aluminate for Enterprise
Is the use of AI in recruiting a blessing or a curse? It can be both. AI-driven recruiting can optimize recruiting processes for businesses, and simplify applications for candidates. It can just as easily overload recruiters, and allow unsuitable applicants to slip through the net.
Even when AI algorithms detect suitable hiring criteria they often fail to find the best candidates. Fortunately, there is an alternative that mitigates the risks of new employees, while delivering countless benefits—corporate alumni rehiring.
Aluminate for Enterprise offers a customizable solution for managing alumni networks. And it can make all the difference to your boomerang recruiting strategy, too.
Book a demo today!
