AI for recruitment and talent management: finding and managing talent more efficiently

AI continues to be one of the most hotly discussed subjects on the planet – and not just for its technical capabilities. When it comes to specific uses within businesses, such as recruitment and people management, the leaders we’re hearing from want real, practical advice about how to use AI day to day to boost productivity and efficiency, how to help people learn new skills, and how to manage the risks.

In our latest article, People Director Jenny Wells provides valuable guidance on using AI in recruitment, in managing talent within your business and how to balance the human side with scalable technology.

Recruitment and onboarding

We are all aware that recruitment is one of the most resource-intensive processes for any business and an area of risk if we don’t get it right. Add to this the significant challenges SMEs are facing with rising employment costs, and the need to get recruitment right first time becomes even more acute. When you consider that hiring an employee at the average UK salary of £27,600 may realistically cost around £62,000 for their first year of employment (Firestarter) you can see how cost-effective AI solutions will become even more critical.

People Director Jenny Wells explains that utilising AI as support in the recruitment space can significantly streamline hiring processes and remove some of the more time-consuming, administrative elements for hiring managers, which is a significant benefit for smaller businesses from both a time and cost perspective.

How AI transforms recruitment

• Candidate shortlisting: AI tools scan and analyse CVs in seconds, highlighting the best matches for a role, reducing weeks of manual screening, Increasing efficiency and effectiveness and saving significant time and cost.
• Candidate preparation: AI tools like ChatGPT help candidates refine CVs, making them stronger contenders – a win for both businesses and applicants (though be wary of overuse).
• Bias reduction: While AI has the potential to remove human bias, it must be carefully monitored to ensure fair and inclusive hiring practices. AI is only as unbiased as the data it’s trained on, so be wary of the tools you’re using and regularly sense-check what you’re NOT seeing in your applications to make sure AI isn’t screening out candidates wrongly.

Jenny emphasises that these tools are extremely beneficial  to ensure recruitment is done effectively and efficiently but should be neither the sole basis for decision-making nor the only interaction with a company up to final interview stage.

“AI is a great tool to support the recruitment process, particularly in the early stages of a process, but it’s so important that it does not replace the human touch or judgment of the hiring manager” Jenny says.  “Critical touchpoints, like first stage telephone calls (after an initial AI sift) and main interviews and final hiring decisions, need human involvement to ensure a great candidate journey, maximising the success of choosing the right hire and ensuring fairness and authenticity to ensure the hiring process is welcoming, can convey the company culture in the right way and the outcomes of the process are successful for both the business and the individual”

Jenny also points out that organisations should be clear to applicants how AI may be used in a recruitment capacity, to ensure openness, transparency and trust and to ensure adherence to data processing requirements  – this can be communicated  via the recruitment process and in any recruitment related policies and candidate privacy policies.

“Bear in mind too,” reminds Jenny, “That AI can work both ways – you can be pretty confident most candidates are using it for their applications too, so it’s really important that businesses don’t rely on just the technology when hiring, as aptitude and values are often the most crucial ingredients for a great hire to ensure cultural alignment. Part of an effective recruitment process is getting to know the real individual behind the CV to assess fully their ability and experience and to ensure the role  will be a great fit for both you and them”.

Used in the right way and with a balance of human interaction, AI can be hugely beneficial in the recruitment space, achieving effectiveness and efficiencies in time and cost and ensuring final hiring decisions are right for both the organisation and the individual.

Effectively managing our people –  AI-powered HR systems

HRIS (Human Resource Information Systems) are designed to alleviate the administrative burdens of effectively managing our people and talent, and newer systems are taking the functionality further by integrating AI to manage the entire employee lifecycle.

Systems like HiBob, Employment Hero or Workable champion an end-to-end approach, from recruitment to exit, and use AI to get the most out of the data to enhance your people planning. The business, HR teams and managers can then focus on higher-value, strategic activities, ultimately leading to more efficient and effective workforce management, by using the HRIS to:

• Automate onboarding processes
• Personalise training recommendations and provide easy access to online training for employees
• Provide data for managers to hold effective performance and development reviews and provide quality feedback.
• Predict analytics for retention and workforce planning
• Improve the effectiveness of leading and managing our people
• Flag patterns or raise concerns which might otherwise be missed

Jenny reminds that again it is important to note that AI doesn’t replace human interaction—it enhances efficiency so businesses, managers and HR teams can focus on effective people outcomes, with information at their fingertips and not being hindered by the paperwork. The idea should be to use AI to save time on repetitive, labour-intensive tasks or to process large amounts of data quickly, providing key insights effectively and efficiently to free up the time of business leaders, managers and HR teams to be able to focus on the areas of the business where they are most able to make a difference and add value.

AI to support employees

AI can revolutionise how businesses support and manage their people. From employee well-being to career development, AI-driven HR tools can create a more engaging and productive workplace. But it’s important to recognise that for many, AI may be seen as  an unknown entity or threat that they don’t know how to engage with. Jenny notes that it is important and beneficial for businesses to be clear with their people on how and why they use AI, their future aspirations in this space and the benefits and advantages,  to bring employees with them on their AI journey.

Enhancing employee experience

• Onboarding & training: AI delivers interactive onboarding and suggests personalised training based on performance data. It also supports in ensuring compliance and risk management where needed.
• Employee wellbeing: AI-powered reminders to take breaks or drink water help to create a healthier work environment.  To better manage sickness and absence to flag when a concern may be present to be able to facilitate supportive and appropriate conversations to enhance health and wellbeing within the workplace. There are also wellbeing apps and even coaching platforms which can help boost personal performance and mental wellbeing.
• Performance insights: AI analyses areas such as time and cost to hire, training compliance, performance in role, attendance, turnover and retention and employee satisfaction trends.  Supporting leaders and managers to make informed decisions and identify potential risks to be managed. In addition, AI can support in the bringing together and preparation of information to facilitate effective performance development conversations, allowing leaders and managers to focus on effectively managing and developing their teams.

Jenny is keen to convey that “AI does not replace the manager or one-one time but rather creates the basis for managers to have information at their fingertips to ensure time for effective conversations with team members, a really important element to creating a fantastic workplace and a high performing culture”.

Security, Compliance and Organisational Guardrails

As you bring AI into the recruitment and engagement and management space, Jenny is keen to highlight the importance of some of the basic rules to keep everyone safe and to stay legally compliant including:

• Decide what AI tools are to be utilised and who will be authorised to access and use them
• Ensure training and understanding
• Make sure you’re following GDPR rules particularly thinking about possible implications of automated decision making (article 22) and the using, collecting and storing of personal data for both candidates and employees.
• Ensure the appropriate policies and procedures are in place and be transparent with candidates and employees on how and when AI is utilised.
• Make sure someone always checks AI decisions before acting on them, set up regular checks to see if your AI tools are working as expected and not showing any unfair bias. Keep basic records of what your AI is recommending and why.
• The key is having someone human in the loop to oversee, manage and evaluate at every important decision point.

The Bottom Line

If you’re still on the fence about whether AI in recruitment and talent management is worth the investment, here’s something to consider: the AI recruitment market is expected to hit £1.35 billion this year and nearly double to £2.67 billion by 2029. That’s not the kind of growth you see with passing fads.

What this really means for your business is that AI recruitment and talent management tools are becoming the norm, not the exception. Your competitors – both big and small – are already using these tools to hire faster and more effectively, save time and cost and to see real ROI.

“The question isn’t whether you should adopt AI in your recruitment and employee management processes, it’s how quickly you can get started without being left behind, so thinking now about your business AI roadmap is essential”  says Jenny.

The good news? You don’t need to transform everything overnight. Pick one area – maybe CV screening or interview scheduling – try it out and build from there. Also, lots of recruitment platforms, like Hireful and Workable, are already using AI and can give you guidance around best practice. The businesses that start now will have a real competitive advantage over those reluctant or slow in adapting to the future landscape.