AI Technology Addresses Recruitment Bias
Annie Erling Gofus - Nov 23 2021Artificial intelligence increases a team's productivity by reducing the time and money needed to get recruiting right.
Diversity, inclusion, and equity — DE&I — initiatives are now common in the corporate world, as more organizations realize that different values, viewpoints, and personalities help workplaces thrive and enhance performance. Despite the benefits of diversity being apparent, 75% of workers think workplaces need to be MORE diverse, especially regarding race, ethnicity, gender, and age.
If companies understand the value of diversity and actively implement DE&I initiatives, what's standing in the way of progress? The answer is recruitment bias, which sees recruiters unconsciously biased towards some candidates.
AI technology is essential in helping HR professionals foster unbiased recruitment in their organizations. With the help of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) technology, organizations can quickly solve the issue of recruitment bias.
AI algorithms strengthen DE&I initiatives
AI and a data-driven approach to DE&I can help organizations create reports that track retention, demographic objectives, and diversity hiring rates with more ease. With the help of intelligent algorithms, organizations can quickly identify which demographics or communities are underrepresented in their recruiting efforts.
For example, suppose an organization would like to increase the proportion of women in management roles. In that case, AI-powered technology can help hiring managers track qualified women candidates through an organization's existing talent pool. This example is simple, but adding technology to DE&I plans will multiply efforts in many ways.
Automated programs that power unbiased recruitment will save HR professionals time and money while also improving productivity. AI technology helps organizations improve their candidate screening solutions to find highly qualified candidates from a large talent pool. The more candidates (i.e., data) that AI processes, the better it becomes at establishing data-driven initiatives that avoid flawed human biases.
Automation can reduce recruitment bias and improve impartiality, which will ultimately help organizations write unbiased job descriptions. Job postings frequently include gendered wording and other exclusive language, often without the recruiter even realizing they're using subtle biased elements that might promote racial, gender, or age inequality.
While this masculine- or feminine-coded language may be subtle, it can discourage qualified candidates from applying because they may lack compatibility. AI technology can create job postings that use gender-less language and other inclusive language, attracting more qualified candidates from a talent pool that was unreachable before. AI can also identify and screen candidates that could hinder your DE&I effort by recognizing insensitive language or flagging questionable behavior.
Diversity is key to the success of global workforces
DE&I is essential to high-performing teams, but reaching diversity goals is not always simple for every organization. To increase DE&I success, HR professionals can leverage AI-powered technology to help reduce bias in the recruiting and hiring process. Humans may be inherently biased, but artificial intelligence can strengthen and support DE&I efforts.
Artificial intelligence increases a team's productivity by reducing the time and money needed to get recruiting right. Still, AI also gives recruiters the power to look beyond their biases to find the ideal candidate. Making diversity an essential part of the recruiting process will broaden your talent pool of prospective employees. A business that demonstrates its investment in supporting a multicultural and inclusive environment will stand out to the right candidates.
Diversity will also help organizations retain top talent. Inclusion plays a significant role in turnover, and those who felt disconnected from their company's culture were 24% more likely to leave their job. Ensuring that global employees feel connected to the whole organization is one of the most important things you can do to ensure success.
Diverse viewpoints, in addition to wide-ranging personal and professional experience, can offer new perspectives at work. Global employees who bring a unique perspective to the workplace are invaluable due to their knowledge of different cultures, religions, and traditions and how they approach a company's in-house processes. A multicultural workforce can also give an organization a significant edge when expanding into new markets.
To survive in today's global economy, DE&I is a critical business need. Attracting and retaining diverse talent is a tall order for HR professionals. The right technology — including artificial intelligence and machine learning — can help meet the challenge of creating a diverse workforce.