- ChatGPT and AI have the potential to revitalize the entire recruitment and retention experience for both candidates and employees.
- This will allow hiring managers to focus on people rather than processes.
- Screening applicants will take much less time, allowing companies to make hiring decisions with greater accuracy and speed.
This photo illustration shows the ChatGPT logo at an office in Washington, DC on March 15, 2023.
Stephanie Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
For many companies, jumping into the world of fast-moving technologies like chatbots and generative artificial intelligence can be intimidating.
However, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing AI, and Google’s Bard are in the spotlight as companies invest in these large language models and the technology behind their human conversations.
In the world of HR and talent acquisition, ChatGPT and AI have the potential to revitalize the entire process of recruiting and retaining both candidates and employees, said Sultan Saidov, co-founder and president of Beamery, a global SaaS human capital management firm , which has its own AI model language platform called TalentGPT.
“Historically, HR has been built around processes, not around people,” he said. “The first question we need to ask ourselves when it comes to adopting AI and GPT technology is, ‘What does it take for companies to treat people the way they treat their customers?’
“Whether it’s a candidate, an employee or a manager, our experience as consumers over the past decade, with or without AI, has become increasingly seamless and personalized,” he added.
As a result, companies must move away from process-centric systems and experiences and instead use AI to create more personal experiences for candidates, employees and all company stakeholders.
Even with layoffs sweeping the labor market, companies continue to struggle with HR issues such as back-to-office mandates, lower productivity, disengagement and retention.
Saidov suggests using AI and chatbots to mitigate these issues by getting involved early in the employee journey: job application and recruiting.
From reviewing resumes, scheduling candidate interviews and onboarding support, AI can help at every stage of the candidate experience, says Sameer Penakalapati, CEO of Ceipal, an AI-driven talent recruitment platform.
“From the get-go, AI can screen and rank candidates by categorizing them into a ranking system for recruiters, and then chatbots can communicate with candidates through messages about standard topics like compensation expectations,” Penakalapati said.
“It creates an experience for candidates that is seamless,” he added. “At the same time, recruiters and HR teams gather the information they need before connecting a candidate with a member of their team.”
Speed and efficiency are integral to creating a more personal candidate experience, Penakalapati said, and AI and ChatGPT technology can help recruiters achieve that.
“Applicant screening is the largest component of talent acquisition, and recruiters, hiring managers and HR leaders only have a limited amount of time to fill positions for their organizations,” said Penakalapati. Chatbots can significantly reduce the time it takes to review resumes and identify candidates who are ready to move on to the next stage of the job interview.
By incorporating these tools, a candidate can apply for a job and be immediately screened for a position, and the first conversation between a candidate and a recruiter can be person-focused and fit the company’s culture, Penakalapati said.
Whether it results in a drop in productivity or a quiet exit, employees point to their company’s internal and sometimes outdated processes as a contributor to leaving or not continuing to engage. Some experts already see VR and AI as game changers for these problems.
Saidov said that companies should invest in the experience of their employees in the same way that they invest in their customers.
He compared the situation to how users use Google Maps, explaining that “It tells you exactly how to get from here to there to a certain destination. For an employee trying to navigate their company’s election, there’s nothing like it.”
AI and chatbots could enable workers to see not only how their role fits into the company’s bigger picture, but also explore the exact paths they can take to move up in their careers or to move laterally to a new role, making them less likely to give up, Saidov said.
An employee working in marketing, for example, could ask a chatbot how they can become a product manager, along with details about how others in the company have made that career transition. AI would also allow that employee to learn what skills or education are needed for a different role.
“AI helps create that experience by helping workers access information about what’s going on in the company in a very natural way,” Saidov said. “It helps them see their future in a company and analyze the trajectories of people who started in similar roles as them.”
Implementing AI and ChatGPT can potentially help HR leaders address diversity and inclusion challenges. Research shows increasing unhappiness among workers, with black workers among the unhappiest employees. Issues with pay transparency, misalignment of personal values with company values, and a desire for more diverse leadership are the main reasons why black employees are dissatisfied.
“The transparency that artificial intelligence can provide in aiding choice in the employee experience creates more than just a more pleasant experience,” Saidov said. “It provides an opportunity to create more inclusion.”
AI and chatbots can help increase inclusion by generating career paths and finding suitable candidates for jobs that are skill-oriented versus education-oriented. This can be a guide for disadvantaged workers in a company to upskill by giving them the opportunity to retrain or upskill.
These platforms create more inclusion by creating better transparency and by giving employees more choices for real career advancement, he adds.