Currently, applying for a job includes editing your CV, write a good application letter and hope that you will be invited for an interview. Some businesses are developing another way of how they choose candidates: they use artificial intelligence-driven ‘Hiring Intelligence’ technologies.
A problem which may occur during the hiring process is that most managers and recruiters have unconscious biases. Unconscious biases include making opinions about a candidate’s capability based on gender, ethnicity, voice, education and appearance (NOS 2017). Next to that, according to sociologist Bram Lancee (2019) from the University of Amsterdam, there is still a lot of discrimination during the hiring process: “the possibility that an applicant with Dutch background is approached is 30 per cent higher than that for candidates with a migration background.” (Van der Schrier 2019). Hiring Intelligence could therefore be a solution, which is an AI-powered platform that helps to wipe out the human bias during the hiring process.
There are several AI-based interview platforms that work with AI, like sentiment analysis, facial recognition, video analytics, neural language processing, machine learning and speech recognition. One example is of the startup VCV, which is an AI-powered platform which helps to wipe out the human bias during the hiring process in four steps (VCV n.d.). First, VCV Search Bot match resumes with job requirements. In this way, recruiters save a lot of time and biased choices of the preselection (VCV n.d.). Second, VCV involves a Chatbot which communications with job candidates, for example, to make an appointment for an interview. In the third step, the VCV conducts Voicebot for a phone interview (VCV n.d.). This Voicebot is capable of asking customized and screening questions (VCV n.d.). The last part is a video interview with voice recognition and video recording. VCV is capable of indicating the candidate’s non-verbal signals which guarantees fairness (VCV n.d.). There are already some clients of VCV, like PWC, L’Oreal, Danone and Mars (VCV n.d.).
Another example of the ‘hiring intelligence’-development is an unbiased interview by a robot named “Tengai” developed by Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH RIOT). The first robot executes the job interview without unconscious biases, it prepares all questions in an identical way and typically in the same order, without chit chat (TengaiUnbiased n.d.). According to KTH RIOT, this creates an interview which is fairer and more objective (TengaiUnbiased n.d.). After the interview, the recruiters or managers receive a transcript which supports them in choosing candidates based on the job interview results (TengaiUnbiased n.d.).
In my opinion, Hiring Intelligence could be supportive in making a pre-selection based on the AI-based interview platform and be supportive during the hiring process, but Hiring Intelligence should not dictate the hiring process. Recruiters will have less work due to the functionality of the Hiring Intelligence. The Search Bot will contribute to make an unbiased pre-selection. I think the functionality of Chatbot of VCV could be useful for companies because it saves a lot of time for the recruiters and managers in coordinating interviews and communicate with the candidates. But in my perception, the phonecalls and interviews should be conducted by humans. I think that the VCV Voice Bot should suggest questions to the recruiter, but the recruiter should be able to ask other questions as well. I would feel uncomfortable and even more nervous if I would have an interview with a VCV Voicebot or a “Tengai”. The VCV should signals if there is a high result of negative non-verbal signals, but still, in this part of the hiring process, is it important for recruiters to follow their sense.
Bibliography:
VCV (n.d.) [Online] How much time do you spend recruiting one person? [Online] VCV Digital Recruiter. Available at: https://vcv.ai/ [Accessed Oct. 14 2019].
Van der Schrier, M. (2019) Nog volop discriminatie bij sollicitaties: inhoud cv maakt nauwelijks [Online] AD. Available at: https://www.ad.nl/ad-werkt/nog-volop-discriminatie-bij-sollicitaties-inhoud-cv-maakt-nauwelijks-uit~a7567cc9/ [Accessed Oct. 14 2019].
TengaiUnbiased (n.d.) Thanks for helping develop tngs interview robot Tengai. [online] Available at: https://www.tengai-unbiased.com/thanks-for-helping-develop-tngs-interview-robot-tengai/ [Accessed Oct. 14 2019].
NOS (2017) Hoe een computer straks over je baan beslist. [online] Available at: https://towardsdatascience.com/your-next-job-interview-may-be-with-an-ai-robot-34dbf4da6340
[Accessed Oct. 14 2019].
