Facts instead of gut feeling: How technology contributes to more objective recruiting
The daily flood of information and numerous sensory impressions would completely overwhelm the human brain if there were no cognitive automatisms: They cause a large part of the information processes to take place unconsciously so that we create sufficient capacities for more specialized, unfamiliar thinking tasks.
Thus, the brain does not work perfectly, but efficiently so as not to overload the human being. What is basically a blessing, however, can become a curse for HR consultants: Like all other people, they are subject to systematic errors in perceiving, remembering, thinking and judging, the so-called cognitive biases. In the end, this often leads to the wrong candidate selection.
The prevailing time pressure in the industry does the rest, causing phenomena such as unconscious confirmation bias or the halo effect to appear. According to the management consultancy Psych Press, only half of all HR decisions are correct if they are made solely on the basis of resumes and interviews.
Unconscious confirmation bias: Everyone has a tendency to interpret information in such a way that it fulfills their own expectations. Thus, recruiters often decide in favor of a candidate based only on the positive qualities in the resume and ignore warning signs such as inappropriate behavior in the interview.
Halo effect: People draw conclusions from known characteristics of a person to unknown ones. This is the case, for example, when an applicant is well versed in software and is automatically classified as an IT expert by recruiters.
In this context, it would be immensely important to be aware of the threat of thinking errors as a recruiter in order to make the right decisions. But no one can absolve themselves of cognitive bias, because it cannot be avoided - but it can be minimized with the help of modern, data-driven recruiting technologies.
Serious consequences of subjective decisions
Recruiters who recommend unsuitable candidates not only risk losing their commission if the position is terminated during the probationary period. Much more serious, however, is the loss of trust he suffers on the part of frustrated HR departments and, as a consequence, dwindling professional success. No one likes to work with people who don’t do their job well.
Candidates are also disappointed when they believe they are ideally suited for a job and are not selected. Disappointment can quickly turn into feelings of discrimination, whether based on name, gender, age or background. According to a study by the market research institute EARSandEYES, one third of those surveyed said they had already felt discriminated against in the course of an application process.
The potential stumbling blocks for recruiters are many and varied. The following situations are just a few examples of cognitive misperceptions:
- Resumes are often misperceived. The more elaborate and extensive they are, the greater the candidate’s chances. But many applicants who are employed on a permanent basis and apply on the side to test their market value may be perfectly qualified, but spend little time on their resume - they are sorted out thoughtlessly. With machine support, on the other hand, resumes that score more on quality than quantity get attention.
- In specialized industries, a recruiter looks for candidates who have completed their education in the relevant field or have relevant work experience. In doing so, they may not take into account that candidates from outside the industry may be better suited based on their personal characteristics and simply need some time to get up to speed on the technical content. Intelligent technology identifies skills by evaluating the results of a personality test and suggests suitable candidates to the recruiter.
- Many recruiters intuitively focus on applicants who are as young as possible, who will be available to the job market for a long time, and who are supposedly more capable. In doing so, they forget that experienced workers mostly “know the ropes” and are just as efficient. They are also less likely to change jobs after only a short period of time. Again, a data-driven solution helps maintain an objective view: If the older candidate is better suited than the younger one, the latter will be suggested…
Misjudgments can be avoided by using smart technologies. While they do not replace humans, they lead them to much more accurate decision-making with great reductions in time.
Predictive Recruitment: finding the right candidate in seconds
Only when recruiters are aware of their fallibility can they improve their processes. Modern technologies are available for this purpose, because data does not lie and cannot be influenced by the environment. Artificial intelligence evaluates historical data and uncovers patterns.
The use of suitable recruiting technology is the solution for neutral candidate selection. The data basis for this must be extensive and well-founded. Within a very short time, it incorporates all details that recruiters may overlook or weight incorrectly. Volumes of data can be found, combined and analyzed within seconds. This creates a more comprehensive picture of candidates than a recruiter could ever create as quickly.
Taking into account all data sources from resumes, soft-skill analysis and tracking of activities within the hiring race, predictions within AI-powered predictive recruitment can be made. These assumptions allow current developments in the candidate market to be predicted and growth initiatives to be managed. It also minimizes bounce rates and identifies appropriate channels for finding talent. With predictive knowledge, recruiters have the expertise to recommend the ideal candidates to companies.