AI in hiring: the pros and cons

There’s no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the hiring landscape, offering both significant advantages and notable challenges. In fact, a previous IBM survey of over 8.5k global IT professionals found that 42% of companies were using AI screening to “improve recruiting and human resources.”

As employers navigate budget constraints and an influx of job applications, understanding the pros and cons of AI in the hiring process is crucial.

Here are some insights into how AI can impact your recruitment strategy.

Pros

1. Efficiency: AI can quickly screen resumes, saving valuable time for hiring managers. With 38% of Canadian jobseekers sending out over 20 job applications per week, AI helps manage the volume by filtering out unqualified candidates early in the process. This efficiency is particularly beneficial for companies facing high application volumes, allowing HR teams to focus on more strategic tasks.
2. Bias reduction: Properly designed AI systems can reduce unconscious bias by focusing on objective criteria. This can lead to a more diverse and inclusive workforce. For example, AI can be programmed to ignore demographic information such as age, gender, and ethnicity, which helps ensure that candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications and experience.
3. Consistency: AI ensures a uniform evaluation process for all candidates, maintaining fairness and standardization across the board. This consistency is crucial in large organizations where multiple hiring managers might be involved in the recruitment process. AI can help ensure that all candidates are assessed using the same criteria, reducing the risk of human error and subjective judgment.
4. Data insights: AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and predict candidate success. This data-driven approach can enhance decision-making and improve hiring outcomes. For instance, AI can track the performance of past hires and use this information to predict which candidates are likely to succeed in similar roles. This predictive analytics capability can be a game-changer for companies looking to improve their hiring accuracy.
5. Candidate experience: AI improves scheduling and communication, providing a smoother and more efficient experience for candidates. Automated systems can handle interview scheduling, follow-ups, and status updates, reducing the administrative burden on HR teams. This streamlined communication can enhance the candidate experience, making your company more attractive to top talent.

Cons

1. Bias in algorithms: Despite its potential to reduce bias, AI can also enable biases if the algorithms are not carefully designed and monitored. This can lead to unfair hiring practices. For example, if an AI system is trained on historical hiring data that reflects biased decisions, it may continue to make biased recommendations. Regular audits and updates to the AI system are necessary to mitigate this risk.
2. Impersonal: AI lacks the human touch, which can make the hiring process feel impersonal to candidates. Building a connection and understanding a candidate's unique qualities can be challenging with AI-driven processes. While AI can handle initial screenings and administrative tasks, human interaction is still essential for assessing cultural fit and soft skills. Working with a recruiter or third-party service can bridge this gap, ensuring that the hiring process remains personable and human-centric while still saving time and resources.
3. Over-reliance: Relying too heavily on AI can lead to overlooking important human factors and soft skills that are crucial for certain roles. A balanced approach that combines AI with human judgment is necessary. For example, while AI can efficiently screen resumes, human interviewers are better equipped to assess a candidate's interpersonal skills and cultural fit. Additionally, AI tools that analyze body language or vocal tone can sometimes misinterpret these cues, potentially filtering out highly qualified candidates. This highlights the importance of human oversight to ensure that the best candidates are not overlooked due to algorithmic errors.
4. Costly: Implementing AI solutions requires significant investment in technology and training to ensure it’s executed properly. For many employers, especially those with budget constraints, this can be a major hurdle. According to our survey, 48% of employers state that budget constraints are the leading challenge when hiring talent. While AI can ultimately save costs by improving efficiency, the initial investment can be substantial.
5. Transparency: Candidates may have concerns about data privacy and how their information is being used by AI systems. Ensuring transparency and building trust is essential. Employers need to communicate clearly about how AI is used in the hiring process and ensure that candidate data is handled securely and ethically.

Overall value

AI can streamline the hiring process, cutting costs from manual resume screening and initial assessments. This frees up HR teams to focus on strategic planning and employee engagement. With budget constraints forcing 71% of employers to hire underqualified candidates, AI's data-driven analysis helps identify the best candidates, which is crucial when facing budget cuts and smaller headcounts.

Additionally, with 45% of employees using AI tools in their job search and 54% of hiring managers experiencing delays due to application influx, AI efficiently manages the volume and speeds up the hiring process by quickly filtering out unqualified candidates, reducing time-to-hire. However, to ensure accurate and unbiased results, employers must use AI properly, continuously monitoring and refining algorithms to mitigate any potential biases.