Dowd Talent Acquisition

By Michael Dowd

Every day, I am contacted by AI vendors promising the Talent Acquisition Utopia. A world where job titles are uploaded into an ATS which automatically develops job descriptions. 

AI bots then search for internal employees and past applicants. If no suitable matches are found, these AI bots crawl the internet to identify appropriate candidates. 

Outreach is automated, AI Interviews are conducted and 3-5 finalists are presented.  

From there, assessments are administered and compensation is negotiated. 

All an organization has to do is present offers and onboard new employees. 

Thousands of hours and millions of dollars are saved. Corporate Talent Acquisition departments are obsolete. 

All that is required is a single administrator to ensure everything stays on course.

As we have learned in other disciplines, utopias are fantasies and these fantasies work better in theory not practice.

AI will not replace the Talent Acquisition Function. Instead, it will empower recruiters to do more with less.  Used properly, AI will make good recruiters great and weed out less skilled workers.

The core of any successful Talent Acquisition Department is the ATS. Many vendors develop bells and whistles that look good but simply cannot provide the ROI leader’s demand.  

The ATS needs to centralize recruiting activities, enable requisition approval, and provide a user-friendly workflow for both business users and applicants. 

In addition, it should have robust reporting functionality centered around the three core Talent Acquisition Metrics. How many positions are we filling? How quickly are we filling them? And How much is it costing us?

Outside these characteristics,  additional features increase complexity without efficiency gains that would justify the investment.

The next pilar of a successful Talent Acquisition Function is attractive, accurate and compelling job descriptions.  

This is one area where AI can far outperform human creativity.  Don’t believe me? Try running your job descriptions through ChatGPT. The output will surprise you.

Once requisitions are approved and job descriptions are posted, candidate pools are created.

At first glance, this seems to be a perfect opportunity for AI. Surely an AI bot can search LinkedIn, Indeed and other internet resources faster than a human.  

In addition, it can screen resumes for keywords, competitors, and experience far faster than any recruiter. 

So why not rely on this technology? Why shouldn’t it produce better results in a fraction of the time?

The answer comes from an unexpected person, Charles Darwin.  “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

Humans are masters at adaptability.   We learn the system and adapt our behaviors to achieve the greatest results.   

Companies are generating job descriptions with AI Bots and using these descriptions to review, select and hire candidates.

To adapt, Candidates are using these same AI Bots to construct resumes and increase the likelihood of being selected. 

Unfortunately for recruiters, this creates a circular pattern of ineffectiveness.  

AI is not presenting the best candidates; it is presenting what best matches the AI.  The more this becomes common practice the worse the outcomes become and the more quality recruiters are needed.

AI is not making talent pooling easier, it is making it more difficult!

The only way to improve talent pools is by enhancing sourcing capabilities.  Through the sourcing function, companies differentiate themself, achieve business goals and win the war for talent.  More than any other Talent Acquisition task, sourcing separates World Class Organizations from their peers.

Now that we have sourced a talent pool the next step is Talent Outreach.

Unless you are Google, Amazon or a handful of other household names, you are going to want a recruiter who can deliver a strong concise message about your organization. 

First impressions are lasting and even the most advanced AI lags behind a great Talent Acquisition Professional’s ability to create stories, have conversations and develop a bond between candidates and corporate vision.

The next area AI has encroached upon is the interview itself.  If you have not had the painful experience of taking part in an AI interview I highly recommend it.  Nothing says we do not care about our employees like a robot asking screening questions.  Don’t believe me? Give it a try.

There is no doubt, AI provides a great opportunity to reexamine processes, enhance productivity and differentiate yourself from the competition. But make no mistake, it will not replace Talent Acquisition Departments.

In fact, now is the time to invest in Talent Acquisition and make sure your Team is the strongest it has ever been, or at least better than your competitors.

Michael Dowd is a recognized thought leader in the Talent Acquisition field.  He has published multiple articles and delivered industry speeches on the future of Talent Acquisition. With over 25 years of experience leading global organizations, he has developed and implemented Talent Acquisition programs that have saved millions while increasing productivity and efficiency