Not a day passes by without the media mentioning that machines are going to take away human jobs. While the focus of the media has been mostly on other roles, the spotlight is gradually turning towards the HR now. While there are certain statistics coming out that claim that a hiring software does a better job in recruitment than a human being, there are people who doubt the veracity of such statistics. Without taking a side in this debate, it can probably be said that both the human beings and the systems had a role to play in hiring the right candidate.
Not a day passes by without the media mentioning that machines are going to take away human jobs. While the focus of the media has been mostly on other roles, the spotlight is gradually turning towards the HR now. While there are certain statistics coming out that claim that a hiring software does a better job in recruitment than a human being, there are people who doubt the veracity of such statistics. Without taking a side in this debate, it can probably be said that both the human beings and the systems had a role to play in hiring the right candidate.
The case for recruitment software
This section is not meant to establish that a recruitment software can replace human HR but to find out its huge potential and ways it can complement the human beings.
Using the social media
Talent is the topmost priority of most companies these days. Top companies like Deluxe IT Solutions do everything they can to find, woo, recruit and retain the right talent. The HR department has been leveraging the social media platforms such as LinkedIn and even Facebook to identify and recruit candidates. Given the huge data social media platforms have on candidates, it may not be feasible for HR managers to manually identify and assess candidates. A hiring software that offers integration with social media can do the job efficiently and much faster than a human being.
Power of a recruitment platform
A recruitment platform can act as the interface between the company and the potential candidate in a lot of ways. It can start from advertising the job role to playing a role in hiring the right candidate with activities like screening resume, collecting data, organizing candidate profiles and interview details organized in between. It can also act as an applicant tracking software.
The case for the HR
For those who claim that the HR department is doomed as the machine onslaught increases, they have probably overlooked other aspects of hiring. Hiring is not only about data but also about the fitment of the candidate’s values, attitudes, body language, aspirations and other stuff with the goals and values of the company. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that algorithms and computer systems will be ever able to complete a job that is as complex as deciding whether the employee is a good fit for the company, whether the employee is happy in the job, assessing the body language and the emotions of the candidates. No matter how far or advanced an algorithm is, it cannot really replace the human brain in terms of emotions or values assessment.
Note the for HR department
While the case for the HR department is still strong, given that the machines are on the rise, the HR would do well to buck up in terms of understanding the values and mission of the organization and find the alignment of the candidate’s values and principles. And the HR department needs to understand the location where the symbiotic relation between the algorithm and human beings lies.
