Recruiters who are ‘safe’ from AI?

That’s a big claim!

But let’s dig in.

To even begin to grasp what AI can (and should!) do, and what great recruiters will do better, you must ask this question.

What parts of the recruitment process are intrinsically ‘difficult’, where things are most likely to go wrong, assumptions made, and wrong conclusions drawn?

Don’t ask, ‘Will AI and tech replace recruiters?’

Ask, ‘‘What parts of the recruiter’s job will be better done by tech, and what parts done better by humans?’

Then make the simple leap that most AI-infatuated TechBros can’t:

The big difference between understanding which parts of the recruitment process can be replaced by AI and automation…and understanding which parts should be replaced.

Recruitment is the only job where what you are selling can say ‘no’

And so, let’s examine the true value of a great recruiter. It’s not screening, matching, interviewing, or logistics – important as those are.

It is this.

And I suggest you read that blog because it leads nicely into answering the question asked in my article headline (Yes, I know you were waiting for that!)

Here are the four main parts of the process where a great recruiter provides real value. It’s what our fee is for. If you’re not superb at these, you are at risk!

Let’s also score ‘AI and Automation’ on the ability to replace recruiters on these tasks.

1.   Skilled recruiters help the client define the brief. Your client often does not know what they need in their next hire. Frequently, the client sets out to hire someone with the same skill set and profile as the person who just left. Meanwhile, the business and the role have changed, and the skills required have changed. A great recruiter will ask questions that expose that, calibrate, advise, and build a job definition that solves the client’s staffing issues and ensures the job is ‘fillable’. Advice on skills-set, salary, and best process is included. Executive and Search recruiters usually charge a third of their fee upfront. That’s what it is for. The skilled diagnostic! Can AI replace this? Never seen a tool that comes close. Mostly because the people who design the Tech don’t understand recruitment; they think when a client designs a spec, that’s it. The spec is the spec. God help us. So, I give AI a generous 2/10 on ability to do this

2.   Finding people. This is something so many recruiters gloss over. We don’t just screen job board candidates that the client could have attracted themselves. Those candidates are included in the mix, but our primary offering is finding candidates the client cannot find on their own: our database, our networking, our search, and our headhunting. Great recruiters have ‘unique candidates’, and given that the client’s commercial success is predicated on finding the best talent, and we can find them – that is extraordinarily valuable. This is where AI comes in hard on the overlap and scores in the corner (Don’t get the rugby reference? Sorry. Rugby is on my mind so…). I know some great AI tools like Synaptico that clean and scour your own database (which is a candidate graveyard, right) and bring dead candidates back to life. If you contact Synaptico, ask for Carl, and tell him Greg sent you).  AI can search public databases and send out outreach. Personally, I feel the volume of spammy outreach is already backfiring, but overall, I am going to give AI a worthy 5/10 for being able to do this as well as recruiters in some respects, and certainly at greater scale

3.   Bringing candidates to the hiring table. ‘Finding’ people is not the same as ‘recruiting’ them. The client has LinkedIn. Everyone is there. Why not use that, Mr/s Client? The AI has access to the database and more. Knowing who a candidate is isn’t the same as bringing them to the hiring table. That is a nuanced skill that involves the recruiter advocating for the client through experience, insight, and storytelling. The recruiter can get a candidate who never would apply directly. Indeed, the candidate was not even looking at Job Ads. This is where AI drops the ball over the line (Sick of bizarre rugby references? Sorry, but they cheer me up). This is a uniquely human skill. A recruiter who knows the job, the company, the culture, the potential career path, and the candidate’s MTA (MTA is NOT a rugby reference; read the link) will win over a thousand emails and text messages. AI ‘knocks on’ (Yes, rugby) with 3/10. Can assist a little, but cannot replace.

4.   Managing the process. The craft of managing the process still determines whether a candidate is offered and, crucially, accepts a job. Successful recruitment is not all about ‘sourcing’. It is about matching, too, sure. Then, crucially, you will manage each step of the process, usually by finessing the attitude of both the client and candidate. For the greater good, I might add. (Read the last two sentences. Rank AI on those abilities. LOL) . The candidate who was put off by the client’s interview style. Resurrected by the recruiter. The client who feels a candidate is aiming too high on the salary. Negotiated by the recruiter. The candidate is about to accept a counteroffer. Handled by the recruiter. You know you do those things throughout the process. The client does not understand this. The TechBros? No idea. It’s of immense value, and you need to see that and articulate it when required. You know AI gets a 2/10 here, don’t you?

Please note, especially Techbros who are organising a lynch mob as we speak.

I’m scoring AI on its ability to replace a superb recruiter, not its ability to assist one.

So, as you plan to automate, think about what AI does better than skilled people.

You can gain huge efficiencies from Tech, AI and automation. I am no ‘AI denier’.  But disaster can also lurk if you automate the wrong steps.

And one final thought.

If anyone, including yourself, suggests automating any part of your process, ask this one simple question.

Does this tech we are planning improve the stakeholder experience?

The stakeholders?

Clients
Candidates
Your recruiters

Yes, ponder that question, and then choose wisely

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