I have a warning for all recruiters.

And I have a non-negotiable recommendation.

Everyone in recruitment needs to be aware of this—especially decision-making recruitment leaders.

The world of AI is still full of hype and dominated by charlatans selling digital snake oil.

Much of it isn’t even real!

There is a self-appointed army of AI experts, evangelists and so-called ‘thought leaders’.

 They have never implemented AI in a recruitment environment. 

All they are doing is amplifying the claims of the snake-oil AI vendors.

 Beware!

 Many products on sale now actually automate dysfunction.

For example, candidate care and communication. What was already really shit, automation is making shitter!

Furthermore, many legacy traditional HR tools, CRM, and ATS products have increasingly flawed platforms.
 
They sprinkle AI terminology and the occasional AI enhancement on top of what is, in reality, a dinosaur system. 

 It’s the ultimate ‘Band-Aid strategy’.

They are selling cocktails at the bar of the Titanic after the iceberg hit.

And plenty of recruitment leaders are falling for it. Desperate not to ‘miss out’, they are grabbing what they are sold. No plan. No due diligence.

A recent MIT report reveals that U.S. businesses have collectively invested between $35 billion and $40 billion in AI initiatives.

Almost all of them (95%) are seeing a zero return on their investments or no measurable impact on their profits.

However, please understand me on this. AI will have a significant impact on recruitment. There is brilliant tech, and it will get even better. This is not a suggestion to ignore AI.

However, it will also lead to lost time, money, staff, and even your business if you get it wrong.

That MIT study that showed 95% of companies got zero benefit, which I mentioned above?

 It also showed that the 5% who did get benefits focused on one pain point with AI deployment

. And they saw huge gains!

The amount of clichéd, meaningless, hyperbolic dross that AI vendors use to sell is staggering. Recognise these?

“AI-powered”, “AI-driven”, “AI-first”, “Next-gen”, “Cutting-edge”, “Future-proof”, “Smart automation”, “One-stop platform”, “Revolutionising recruitment”, “10x productivity”, “Hire faster, smarter, better”, “Seamless candidate experience”, “Frictionless workflow”, “Unmatched scalability”, “Deep learning” / “Neural matching”, “Contextual insights”, “Semantic search”, “Predictive hiring”, “Bias-free AI”, “End-to-end solution”, “Talent intelligence”, “Data-driven decisions”, “360-degree view of the candidate”, “Empowering recruiters”, “Redefining the future of work”, “Unlocking human potential”, “Bridging the gap”, “Game-changing technology”, “Personalised at scale”.

All borrowed jargon, avoiding specifics and overuse of adjectives with no substance

So, you must understand the first question to ask about any new recruitment tech. It’s critical. Start here

So simple. So obvious. Yet I have seen countless “Techbros” stutter and flounder when asked this about their own technology. “It’s AI’ one guy replied to me!

Get crystal clarity on this and work out if that massive problem is worth solving for you. Worth the effort and the cost. Is it actually even a compelling issue in your business?

Hold them accountable. Cut through the techno-babble.

“What recruitment problem of mine does it solve? How? How much money will it save or make me? How will it impact the experience of my stakeholders, including candidates, clients, and recruiters?

And if the AI tech salesperson cannot answer these questions convincingly, with a clear ROI, run a mile.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

THE SAVAGE TRUTH BOOK

‘10,000+ COPIES SOLD!’

LESSONS ON LEADERSHIP, BUSINESS AND LIFE FROM 40 YEARS IN RECRUITMENT

The Savage Truth is the story of the lessons learned on leadership, business and life over a career spanning four decades.
The Savage Truth is a must-read for next-generation leaders, lovers of business biography and all in recruitment. The book distils a lifetime of learning into guidance and advice for leaders in the recruitment industry and, more broadly, to anyone working in the business.

Topics covered include recipes for business success, scaling a start-up, taking a company to IPO, making successful acquisitions, growing a cross-border global business, preparing for, surviving, and managing a recession, building a personal brand, recruitment marketing, negotiating fees and margins, hiring great people, the attitudes that shape success, people leverage, performance management, ‘Savage’ leadership skills, and preparing your business for exit. And of course, great recruitment skills. All this is liberally sprinkled with amusing anecdotes, historical facts, as well as painful admissions of mistakes made and lessons learned.

Get The Savage Truth here

Get The Savage Truth Book here

******************************************************************************************************************************************************