Recruitment has fundamentally changed. The number of applicants per role is rising at a pace that hiring managers simply cannot match. Many internal teams, overwhelmed, have adopted AI processes to help manage the influx of applications.
But the decline in both applicant and response quality are only furthering the problem, encouraging demoralised candidates to adopt a ‘spray and pray’ approach – sending out hundreds of applications in a short timeframe – or otherwise dropping out of the process all together due to a lack of communication.
The problem lies with the increasing lack of human involvement. Humanity must remain front and centre if organisations are to create a candidate experience that fosters greater engagement. What were once expected, and simple, offerings – such as regular human touchpoints and feedback – can become competitive differentiators in today’s market.
Taking control
Searching for a new job can be a daunting task, one where you place control of your future career in the hands of recruiters. Having trust in the assessment process, and confidence that your skills will be valued and reviewed fairly. This is where human contact comes in, putting candidates at ease and encourage them to invest, in the process so they can put their best foot forward. Though more than a third (36%) of recruitment teams are integrating AI into the hiring process to streamline applicant screening and assessment, humans must still assess the soft skills.
If prospects don’t think their soft skills will be valued, candidates who are looking to reskill and transitions careers may be discouraged from applying, rendering a risk talent pool inaccessible.
Safeguarding your employer brand
The hiring process is often the first touchpoint a candidate has with a business. It is an opportunity for incoming talent to get a feel for the business’ culture and how they value their staff, all of which can create a loyalty with the brand. Already 66% of candidates believe companies exaggerate their commitment to purpose to attract talent. Making sure the hiring process lives and breathes your values will build trust and authentic engagement with the process.
Employer brands are a key factor in the hiring process. Candidates are seeking employers who support their career goals and can provide a positive culture. While the use of AI tools in recruitment processes can mean efficiently delivering email responses to candidates, it cannot replicate authenticity.
The right balance
Without a feel for your company culture, the biggest takeaway from the application process becomes a disconnect between your brand values and your actions. The lack of human communication can result in candidates not investing in you or the hiring process, turning top talent away from your organisation. Meaning that what’s really at stake isn’t just missed talent, but the reputation of the business in a competitive talent market.
It’s vital to balance the need for efficiency with the human touch that makes businesses popular places to work in the first place. That’s why outsourcing can help internal recruitment teams to manage high volumes of candidates without losing the special touch that makes them sought-after employers in the first place.
In cases where candidates feel that their time and effort is not valued, the relationship with a prospective employer is often damaged beyond repair, even in cases where the process will lead to a hire. Human touchpoints, which provide a window into the workplace, are key to establishing brand identity. They cannot be sacrificed in favour of pure efficiency.
Humanity as a differentiator
At its core, recruitment is a human process. To find the right candidate, employers must blend technology with empathy. AI tools can shoulder some of the administrative weight, but it cannot understand human skills and emotions in the way that experienced human recruiters can. It also cannot live and breathe brand values to give an accurate demonstration of the culture of a workplace, to draw talent in and enhance employer brand.
Keeping the human touch in your recruitment communication both builds confidence in the experience, and creates a strong first impression for incoming employees, benefitting the brand overall. The brands who most successfully adopt AI throughout their business will not automate humans out of recruitment, but use the human touch strategically, and therefore create workplace cultures that both attract and retain the top talent.
Undoubtedly, AI tools and processes are here to stay. But keeping the human-in-the-loop promises to safeguard employer brand and keep candidates experience at the centre of the recruitment process.
Jonathan Firth, LHH's VP & UKI Recruitment Solutions Head, has more than thirty years of professional recruitment experience. In his role, Jonathan is responsible for the in-country strategy and growth of the company’s recruitment offering across the UK and Ireland.
With expertise spanning business activation, practice start-ups, and mergers and acquisitions, he has led organisations and established strong networks in a range of specialties including Legal, Finance, Sales, Marketing and HR.
- Jonathan Firth
