AI in recruitment: it's all about the right synergy between

Amsterdam, March 20, 2024 – A significant mindset shift is needed in recruitment strategies to embrace AI and utilize it as effectively and safely as possible. AI will not replace HR professionals, but it will radically change their work. The challenge lies in finding the right cross-pollination between technology and humans. It's time to explore what technology can do better and where 'human excellence' lies so that HR professionals can excel in those areas. AI primarily brings organizational challenges rather than technological ones. Although the technical knowledge and security of companies need to be greatly enhanced to protect themselves against deep fake phishing and discrimination in recruitment and selection. These are important conclusions from the annual e-recruitment congress held last week at 'Het Muziekgebouw' in Amsterdam. The congress, organized by HR specialist House of HR, was entirely dedicated to AI in recruitment.

Keynote speakers Job van den Berg (The AI Group), Bill Boorman (VONQ), Steven van Belleghem (Nexxworks), and Hilke Schellman, author of the book The Algorithm, not only updated the congress attendees on all the innovations and possibilities of AI in recruitment but also provided insights into how AI will significantly change the labor market. At the same time, these experts see AI as a practical solution to the increasing aging population and labor shortages in many sectors. Moreover, practical jobs and jobs requiring empathy and human emotions will receive a reevaluation because AI cannot take over those jobs. AI also has a significant influence on recruitment processes and how companies organize their recruitment.

Many AI tools are fundamentally not well understood

Schellmann, an Emmy-winning journalist and professor at New York University, shared her critical view on the use of AI concerning work and recruitment. In her book The Algorithm, she explains how AI determines who gets a certain job, who gets a promotion, and who gets fired, and why the importance of human control and analysis is indispensable. She advises HR companies to thoroughly check whether the scoring and analyses of apps and tools are well-grounded before deploying AI tools. Often, the developers behind a tool are unaware of this, leading to biases and discrimination quickly emerging, and it can happen that entire groups of people are unfairly excluded from applying. Schellmann advises, "Many fancy recruitment tools that claim to use advanced AI-based technology turn out to be just hot air. Take the effort to thoroughly test them yourself before deploying them."

AI must find its place in the human HR world

House of HR sees that AI is increasingly being used to increase labor productivity. The role of ChatGPT in this will further develop in 2024. Think of automatically drafting job advertisements, making translations for labor migrants, and using AI to make faster but still qualitative choices during a selection process. Rika Coppens, CEO of House of HR: "With the help of AI, you can make matches much more easily, although there are also dangers involved. Fortunately, there is a lot of focus on regulating AI, and soon there will be a European AI act that regulates the use of AI. This is necessary to combat discrimination and exclusion and to protect organizations from the security risks of AI. The developments of AI in recruitment are incredibly fascinating, and we look forward to giving this technology a solid place in our human HR world."

Lieven van Nieuwenhuyze, Chief Digital Officer at House of HR, adds: "The essence of recruitment will not change. It will still be about 'finding and being found.' But the way we do that is changing drastically. Some jobs will disappear, many jobs will change substantially, and new jobs will be created. Our entire business is changing drastically; AI has an impact on the work of our employees, but also on our customers, our suppliers, and our candidates. The wave of disruption is as big as the one caused by the rise of the internet back then. With winners who surf on the wave and losers who disappear into it and never resurface. There are many ways to deal with this, but it all starts with staying informed. And AI can certainly help with that."