Technology Is Turning Human Resources Into An Oxymoron

Source: Reworked, Michael Shmarak
Photo: Unsplash+ In collaboration with Cash Macanaya

As more companies integrate AI into their recruiting processes, the risk of losing sight of the humans on the receiving end is growing stronger.

The onslaught of new tools and platforms designed to support HR functions in recent years can make it seem as if companies are using the HR department as a test kitchen of sorts. Recruiting is one area where a lot is happening — with limited progress … at least according to the many Reddit threads lamenting the state of recruiting platforms.

“I’m still confused why companies still use Workday when it makes job applications so difficult,” wrote one user.

As we watch adoption of AI and LLMs skyrocket, in their rush to embrace new technology some companies are neglecting human intelligence and emotional thought — for both applicants and HR staff.

Reddit gives us an inside view of the applicant’s side of this, but increasingly human resources teams are joining candidates in expressing their discontent with AI and LLMs. As technology gets integrated into HR processes (LinkedIn shared an entire post about its AI integrations), there’s a growing disregard for what humans actually bring to the table.

Across all functions of a business — but perhaps particularly in a department named Human Resources — companies need to find the right balance between technology and human.

The Modern Candidate Journey

At what stage does a job candidate first encounter a human? The answer used to be clearly defined, but now it depends on the organization and its recruitment process. In early recruitment stages, many companies use ATS — not humans — to screen resumes and applications. Some organizations also rely on technology to assess the results of candidates’ cognitive/personality/skills tests before any human interaction occurs.

The integration of technology in recruiting is on the rise. Upwork has published several stats and figures on where the trend is heading. Of note:

81% of HR leaders have explored or implemented AI to improve their organization’s process efficiencies (Gartner)

85% of HR professionals who use AI to support recruitment and hiring say it saves time or increases efficiency (SHRM)

79% of talent acquisition teams plan on buying technology that removes bias from application and screening processes (Talent Board)

72% are buying tech that measures and predicts employee job-changing behavior, and more than half are buying platforms to aid with job performance predictions (Talent Board)

All this without the input of humans. All of this “human resources” without people interaction.

According to The Talent Board, 60% of candidates report that their first human interaction only occurs at the phone interview stage, making it feel like a person’s ability to cut through the mass of competing applicants depends on one’s ability to convince a machine.

Machine vs. Human

Technology can improve and enhance the human resources function in many ways — but only when the technology can demonstrably help teams and not create more problems.

“We take brain-processing for granted as humans, but we are exceptional at it. LLMs are incredibly bad at this because they only learn from the training set they were provided,” explained Michael Wright, managing partner at Taligence, an executive search firm.

Wright acknowledged some of the earliest platforms did make lives easier. “Jobvite was a great platform at the time I deployed it,” he said. “It had amazing utility using the power of social proof and social sharing as a lever to drive more quality applications.”

The problem comes when you start expecting the machine to handle human tasks.

Finding Balance

When rethinking the roadmap that candidates and employers both need to traverse, it’s best to consider each touchpoint along the way to determine if technology can complement the human experience. Candidate feedback could be a great help here for organizations willing to listen.

Ultimately, it is human beings who control the level and degree of AI and technology integration. Most employers and operations teams look at measurements such as process efficiency and per-person productivity to determine where and how to integrate technology, but many have fallen short at measuring human interaction and person-to-person connections.

“Advancing technology may be more efficient for employers, but it can make a huge negative impact on candidates and leaves job seekers with new emotional weight to carry,” said Marcy Brajkovic, president of Chatfield Global, an HR and organizational development firm. “An ATS in itself is a positive, as it improves consistency of how candidates get information and ideally speeds the hiring process. When it is not managed well by a human who thinks through the important aspects of the process, the combination of technology absent from human emotion is the problem.”

Leveraging technology to create more meaningful dialogue is how Brajkovic believes employers need to adjust philosophies on technology utilization and integration.

“Employers need to adjust their ATS usage to reflect the changing dialogue it has with candidates. Companies winning at the talent game are adjusting their pre-hire questions to better target their desired applicants and are communicating swiftly to move forward or to release a candidate with an appropriate and respectful message,” she said. “They are leveraging their technology to feed them the right candidates to talk with and using their time to talk with the humans they want to hire, which is really what it’s all about when finding the right talent.”

In the end, she noted, LLMs need to serve us. And she believes that with patience and a little work, they can.

“An LLM is not intelligent nor does it feel things, and it’s highly susceptible to bias. Giving them too much credit for ‘intelligence’ and believing the results they spit out without questioning is where the dark path leads.”

About the Author

With more than 25 years of experience in public relations, corporate communications and executive/thought leadership positioning, Michael has represented some of the nation’s most recognized brands in professional services, real estate, hospitality, retail, technology and investment banking. An expert in public apologies, he currently serves as adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University, where he teaches Introduction to Public Relations at Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies.

https://www.reworked.co/employee-experience/technology-is-turning-human-resources-into-an-oxymoron