Automation: is it helping or hindering recruitment?

Technology is increasingly simplifying the recruitment process, but also presents certain challenges.

Sally McKibbin, a senior national account manager at Indeed, joined The HR Leader on a recent podcast episode to discuss the role that automation is playing in the recruitment process.

“Automation in recruitment is really beneficial, as it can speed up the process of matching skills to jobs and also helps with reducing time spent on tasks like looking at CVs and reference checking,” explained Ms McKibbin.

Technology enables recruiters to work more productively by alleviating their workload and can also remove “unconscious bias in the hiring process, which can be really helpful for D&I,” she added.

Despite these benefits, the rise in automation still requires constant negotiation between human labour and technological assistance.

“There is a risk of using automation in recruitment and not having enough human interaction in the process. It's about finding that right balance, so that your candidates can feel like they're not just speaking to a machine,” commented Ms McKibbin.

“I think there is a risk sometimes of CV checking or screening automation where they might miss a great candidate that doesn't necessarily match one hundred per cent,” she said.

Using automation to enhance the recruitment process whilst maintaining human engagement allows for any errors or complications to not go unnoticed.

“I think that it can be really good, but in the current job market, we are seeing fewer job seekers applying for roles and it's harder than ever. This would be a really great time for recruiters to get back on the tools and make sure that their process is really interactive and human,” concluded Ms McKibbin.

She explained that whilst it presents both benefits and drawbacks, it depends how much an organisation is relying on automation and emphasised finding the right balance.

“With any of these automation tools, it takes an organisation a lot of investment up front to make sure that they are getting the processes and what they need really right. That can take a lot of time and a lot of testing before they actually nail it as well. So, it is a big investment from an organisation up front.”

The podcast episode was recorded on 1 September 2022, and when quoted above, was slightly edited for publishing purposes. The full conversation with Sally McKibbin is below: