Between inflation, the UK’s cost of living crisis and urgent talent gaps, hiring managers continue to face challenges in the job market. But there are ways to stay ahead of the curve. In this article, we look at effective trends in hiring that you can leverage in 2024 and beyond.
Transcription
AI-assisted transcription is a no-brainer tool. Effortless audio capture of interviews means that interviewers can stay in the moment and focus on their candidates instead of taking notes. The human error that arises from scribing is reduced, and interviewers are free to fully assess candidate responses and body language. There are plenty of tools that offer transcription, either standalone or as part of interview technology – Equitas being an example of the latter.
Interviewer training
Interview training is hardly a trend, yet remains more effective than ever. Proper training builds confidence, communication and leadership skills, so that interviewers can thrive in their roles and find the best talent for their companies.
Inclusive interview training also helps to protect companies from unintentional bias or discrimination. Remember that every interview touchpoint is an opportunity to build your brand – or equally, to hurt it. Dissatisfied candidates are quick to talk following bad interviews, but good interviews can help the recruitment process: candidates are 38% more likely to accept a job offer, according to an IBM study.
Values-based interviews
We’ve seen a rise in the number of organisations using some form of values-based interviewing. While today’s hybrid and remote work culture means that colleagues don’t always share offices (or even work from the same country), they can still be united by core company values.
Values and behaviours are increasingly important to candidates, too. Aligned values may be why they target organisations or are swayed by a role: in a 2023 Tiger Recruitment survey, nine in ten people said they couldn’t work for an organisation that didn’t share their values. Communicating these early on is essential for finding good culture fits, and can even open up the talent pool.
Want to learn more about values-based hiring? Read why Equitas co-founder Michael believes values-based hiring is key to success.
International hiring
An extensive Korn Ferry report revealed that by 2030, more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled because there aren’t enough skilled people to take them. One way to fix that? Widen the talent pool across borders.
Equitas client HSE (Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland) is one many companies leveraging international hiring with positive results. Equitas software helps them tap into the global talent pool more easily, with full support of our remote hiring capabilities.
Risks in AI and automation
In 2023, we witnessed rapid growth in the world of AI and automation. In 2024, we’ve seen the endless possibilities and advantages that AI brings. But we’re also more familiar with the risks and challenges AI can bring. Failing to recognise and mitigate these could mean that hiring managers are making poor decisions or introducing bias to the hiring process.
1. AI notes
Robotic process automation (RPA), also known as software robotics, utilises intelligent automation technologies to carry out repetitive tasks. Caution must be used when using this technology, which has made AI note-taking possible.
While a transcription is a written record of what a candidate said, leaving AI to summarise what’s important can introduce a high risk of bias. If context is left out or oversimplified, there is a drop in ability to score answers objectively. If not used correctly, a tool that was meant to help instead creates unreliable data.
2. AI scoring
The complexity of AI models means that sometimes, we can’t fully understand the consequences of algorithms. When we ask AI to help us score candidates within hiring without considering the shortcomings of the algorithms, we may unintentionally introduce bias.
Bias within scoring can mean inaccurate predictions and potentially unfair decisions. The documentary Coded Bias shows in-depth examples of this happening across facial recognition technologies – and the harmful prejudices AI can introduce if not cautious.
3. AI for candidate assistance
How do we know candidates are who they say they are, have completed tasks, application questions or one-way video interviews without relying heavily on AI? And to what extent should it matter?
From ChatGPT to Google Bard and Microsoft Bing, there are more opportunities than ever to get fast help from AI in the recruitment process. Candidates can apply to thousands of jobs with the click of a button, and ask AI tools to tailor their applications to what the role requests. Before a candidate comes in for a face-to-face meeting, there’s even potential for fraud or misrepresentation. As tools become more sophisticated, it will be up to hiring managers to stay savvy to these new technologies, and create policies that help them hire with confidence.
10 tips to help managers stay ahead
So in the backdrop of a changing landscape, how do hiring managers stay ahead? Review our top tips to help you save time while adding objectivity to your interview process.
- Familiarise yourself with components that can – and should – be automated within your ATS
- Write engaging and well-researched job descriptions
- Implement social media outreach and paid campaigns on the right platform for your target group
- Follow DEI best practices
- Use audio recording and transcription
- Research and implement the correct interview framework for your goals
- Follow a consistent approach to scoring to reduce bias
- Utilise auto-generated feedback to keep candidates informed throughout your interview process
- Prioritise and consistently review candidate experience and communication touch points – especially when AI is assisting
- Use data to analyse candidate feedback and improve your process
Looking for help implementing best -practice advice and getting ahead of 2024’s hiring trends? Equitas Interview Intelligence software can help you deliver fair and inclusive interviews that help you hire top talent, build diverse teams, and save time in the process. Book a demo today to learn how.
