Everyone wants to understand where the line between automation and humanity in recruitment actually is.

That is made even more compelling by the simple fact (which most ‘Techbros’ do not get) that there is a big difference between understanding which parts of the recruitment process can be replaced by AI and automation, and understanding which parts should be replaced by AI and Automation. And therefore, which parts should not! (Worth reading that again BTW)

So this story about David the Barista, which I have told before, has new relevance and resonance.

For about five years, I worked out of brilliant offices in Pitt Street, Sydney, when I was running Aquent and then Firebrand Talent Search.

I am a coffee drinker. It’s my biggest vice (and I have a substantial portfolio of those!). So, at least two, maybe three times a day, I would need a hit from Pronto, the coffee shop below the office, which meant nipping downstairs and putting in my order with the friendly crew.

Eventually, I moved away from the Pitt Street end of town. So, for five years, I had not been into Pronto – until one day, I was striding past and fancied a caffeine hit, and so in I strolled, with no expectation of recognising anyone who worked there.

How wrong I was.

‘Hello Greg’, came the cheerful cry. There was David, the owner. (I had forgotten his name, but his face and persona were instantly recognisable.) ‘Flat white, no sugar, isn’t it?’

I was astonished! I hadn’t been there in five years, and it’s clear this place serves around 1,000 people daily. And he remembers my name and my order?

We chatted. I had to ask for his name. He was unfazed.

But it gets better.

‘How is your son’s cricket going?’ he asked. Had we even discussed that? All those years and coffees ago?

‘Fast bowler, isn’t he?’

Correct! (Well, not fast enough, but let that slide.) ‘Is he enjoying X School?’ David continued with a smile, correctly mentioning the school my son attends.

After our chat, I left with a handshake and great coffee. But I also left reflecting on what an outstanding talent David has. I remembered now that he had always greeted his customers by name. But I was a five-year lapsed customer!

It is an incredible human talent to make people feel special.

 I admit I left that coffee shop on a high.

Great recruiters do what David does. They take enough interest to remember.

I wrote about Graham Whelan, the most outstanding recruiter I have ever met, as having an incredible memory for people and their lives. He makes people feel special.

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The ugly side of technology is that it has dumbed recruitment down. It has weakened the human skills that made great recruiters so special.

So many recruiters today hide behind technology and avoid real interaction.

And flawed use of AI will make it worse!

There is plenty of dysfunction in our industry, candidate service and lack of care and attention being high on that list. Dumb use of AI will only go to automate and amplify that dysfunction.

You cannot automate empathy, and in the age of over-automation, genuine human connection is needed more than ever before.

David, I salute you.

Recruiters, including me, take heed: There is nothing sweeter to the human ear than the sound of your own name – delivered authentically.

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