Dive Brief:

• The candidate's experience is a major priority of talent acquisition leaders at major corporations, says Montage, a firm specializing in engaging, interviewing and hiring. In the company's newly released survey, respondents said that, along with improving the candidate experience, speeding up the hiring process and leveraging data for more sound decision-making are crucial to hiring success. Respondents also cited diversity and inclusion as top priorities.
• Technology in hiring will be key, according to the survey. Nearly half of the respondents (46%) said they're thinking of using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate recruiting processes, while 51% said they're confident about using machine learning in their hiring decisions. Most recruiters surveyed (60%) have already considered using technology to predict candidate's fit and performance in their organizations, while 65% agreed that predictive technologies will impact their recruiting strategies.
• Although the respondents generally recognized the importance of technology in hiring, Montage says many remain cautious about adopting it over concern about candidates' reactions and possible regulatory risks. Most of the respondents (77%) said they use assessments in hiring, however, along with other evaluation methods, to qualify candidates for certain positions.

Dive Insight:

Like the Montage survey, research from Bersin, Deloitte Consuting, LLC, also shows that employers remain hesitant about adopting technology for candidate selection, even while most agree that it could streamline and accelerate the hiring process.

AI is still in development, but it has already revolutionized the way employers can assign tasks, manage hiring decisions, reduce bias in hiring and job-postings, and guide hiring strategies — tasks that when done manually are time-consuming, burdensome and not conducive to improving the candidate experience. Ironically, a strong tech backbone can help employers add more personalization and a human touch to their recruiting processes, thus improving both recruitment and retention overall.

But AI on its own can do little to help a company's strategy. Littler's chief data analytics officer, Aaron Crews, recently told HR Dive that AI and analytics are most effective when they're used to solve a specific problem.

Employers might also remember that technology is only as good as the data they input. Inaccurate or invalid data inputted will be reflected in the results. To avoid hiring bias, for example, Crews advises employers to lay out the criteria desired in a candidate, such as competencies, education and experience, and base their input on that criteria. The technology will weed out any data that could skew the results in favor of one group of candidates over another.