AI a ‘fantastic tool’ to help the human touch in recruitment

Artificial intelligence is proving incredibly useful in improving the onboarding stage and in ensuring workplace collegiality and productivity, but having a human-in-the-loop will always be inextricably linked to hiring processes, one expert has noted.

Speaking ahead of his appearance at the inaugural HR Innovation Summit, Echo Global head of sales and operations Richard Treminio spoke with HR Leader about how AI is changing the ways that businesses identify, assess, and hire candidates across global markets and also reflected on Echo Global’s own experience in utilising new technologies for such operational matters.

At the summit, Treminio will appear on a panel titled “Ethics and efficiency: Navigating AI in hiring and talent acquisition”, during which he and fellow panellists will reflect on the bias, transparency, and fairness challenges arising from increasing use of new technologies in recruitment and hiring processes and how HR leaders can deploy AI in recruitment without undermining trust or excluding strong candidates.

Treminio said there is a twofold consideration when using AI for hiring: on one hand, it allows businesses to sift through a great number of applicants, but simultaneously, setting parameters with AI platforms may mean missing out on great candidates because of limitations in those parameters.

“Obviously, we’re trying to get through as many candidates as possible to make sure we get the right one for our clients, but we’ve got to remember that [AI] is a tool – it’s not there to replace the staff as well, it’s there to build efficiency. Nothing beats that,” he said. The experience that teams have in examining candidates and extrapolating relevant experience can be bolstered or upskilled through AI, he said, but it’s “always important” to have that human oversight as well.

This is especially so when it comes to equitable access to global talent, which Echo Global – an offshore outsourcing and consulting business that helps Australian companies build, scale, and manage remote, offshore teams – is focused on. AI, Treminio noted, is a true enabler in allowing businesses to look at the majority of talent that they want to access, but when doing risk assessments and getting a deeper understanding of a candidate’s actual talents, “that conversation on the phone or face-to-face definitely outbids AI any day”.

Treminio also reflected on Echo Global’s journey in leveraging AI for hiring processes, noting that the company recently worked with a client whereby AI was used for onboarding on risk assessments and phishing security, which allowed new starters to be “up and running” much sooner. Effective use of AI, he said, meant the client cut down the “downtime” for new starters, got them to a stage of being productive much sooner, and helped reduce the “human-error component”. To this end, AI is proving to be a “fantastic tool” to help workers retain the human touch, if they’re then in a position to perform sooner.

Looking ahead to FY2026–27 and beyond, Treminio continued, HR teams should view AI as a tool within their processes rather than the ultimate decision-maker.

“AI is excellent for rapidly building capacity and helping offshore starters become productive sooner, but trust mechanisms must be integrated,” he said.

“This includes transparent use of AI, ensuring it doesn’t covertly eliminate strong candidates, and supporting it with secure, compliant data practices that cover data handling, privacy safeguards, and governance, which are often unseen but always felt.”

“Leverage AI for routine tasks, while ensuring human judgement is applied where critical. The human element isn’t compromised by adopting AI; it diminishes when organisations stop questioning if the technology truly serves their goals, people,” Treminio said.

Richard Treminio will be speaking further on these matters at HR Leader’s inaugural HR Innovation Summit, being hosted this Friday, 26 June, at the Telstra Centre in Sydney. To learn more, click here. To purchase tickets, click here.

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Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Momentum Media’s professional services suite, encompassing Lawyers Weekly, HR Leader, Accountants Daily, and Accounting Times. He has worked as a journalist and podcast host at Momentum Media since February 2018. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.