6 Ways To Use Artificial Intelligence to Attract, Hire, and Retain Talent

In today's increasingly unpredictable and competitive job market, attracting and retaining top talent is crucial for businesses of all sizes and industries. While traditional recruitment methods can be effective, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into your talent acquisition strategy can give you a competitive edge and help you streamline your hiring process. In this blog, we will explore six ways that AI can be used to attract, hire, and retain talent, from resume screening and job posting optimization to predictive analytics and candidate matching. Whether you are a small business owner looking to grow your team or an HR professional looking for new ways to streamline your recruitment process, these AI-powered strategies can help you find and hire the best candidates for your organization.

Before we dive in, I will caveat to say that AI is not going to replace recruiters or recruitment marketing professionals any time soon. Instead, I believe AI over the next few years will enhance the work of talent acquisition professionals in a way that allows them to focus more on strategy, relationship management, networking, and the human-centric work that most TA professionals are best at and less time on the administrative or repetitive tasks that AI is just so much better equipped to handle. By the way, we have a FREE whitepaper titled "THE ROBOTS ARE HERE! HOW AI HAS RESHAPED RECRUITING." and you can download here.

1. Chatbots

AI chatbots, or conversational AI as some vendors are calling it, can provide a convenient and efficient way for potential candidates to learn more about a company and its job opportunities. These chatbots can be integrated into a company's website, social media platforms, and messaging apps, allowing candidates to get answers to frequently asked questions and learn more about the company's culture and values. Chatbots can also help companies capture leads and gather information about candidates' interests and qualifications. Companies like H&M and Pizza Hut have already implemented chatbots to answer candidates' questions and provide information about job openings.

Right now, most, if not all, AI chatbots used for talent acquisition use pre-determined Q&A responses with keyword matching to automate their responses. This type of chatbot uses a database of pre-written responses, often referred to as a knowledge base or a script, to provide answers to common questions or queries. These first-generation chatbots use machine learning algorithms to identify keywords in the user's input and match them to the appropriate response in the knowledge base. This allows the chatbot to provide automated responses to a wide range of queries without requiring human intervention. While these chatbots can be useful for providing basic information or answering frequently asked questions, they are limited in their ability to engage in more complex or nuanced conversations. ChatGPT, on the other hand, uses a type of AI called a language model to generate responses in a more natural and conversational way, allowing it to engage in more complex and dynamic conversations. This will be coming to a career site near you soon. You can pretty much bet on it.

2. Job Recommendation Engines

AI algorithms can match job seekers with relevant job opportunities based on their skills, experience, and preferences. This helps companies reach a larger pool of qualified candidates and improve the candidate experience. While job recommendation engines like those used by LinkedIn and Glassdoor can be helpful for job seekers, there are still instances where the suggestions made are not relevant or well-matched to the individual's skills and goals. Have you ever experienced this firsthand, receiving a recommendation for a job that was not a good fit? Me too. I believe true AI similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT will eventually solve this problem. 

AI platforms such as Eightfold make it easy for companies to bring job recommendation engines right to their career site by allowing candidates to drag and drop their resume into the job search page to see only the roles that are relevant to their experience, filtering job postings based on a candidate's qualifications. This helps candidates quickly find the jobs that are most suitable for them.

3. Personalized Employer Branding

AI can create personalized career pages for job seekers based on their profile data and job preferences. These pages can highlight relevant job opportunities and provide information about the company and its culture to help candidates make informed decisions about whether to apply. Companies like Amazon and Google have personalized career pages that showcase their culture, values, and employee benefits, making them more appealing to potential candidates.

Did you know that LinkedIn allows companies to create customized "Life Pages" on their profiles that are tailored to the individual viewer based on their LinkedIn profile information? This means that, for example, an engineer in the US would see a "Life Page" focused on working as an engineer at the company in the US, while a finance professional from the UK might see a page highlighting the finance department at the company's London office, as well as specific employees who work in that department and location.

What about reputation management? AI can analyze data on employer brand perception and provide insights and recommendations on how to improve it. Companies like IBM and Google use AI to understand how they are perceived by potential candidates and make informed decisions about how to position themselves in the job market and attract top talent.

4. Recruiting Process Automation

Recruiting process automation refers to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies to automate tasks in the talent acquisition process. This can include tasks such as pre-screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and providing feedback to candidates. The goal of recruiting process automation is to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the hiring process, saving time and resources for both the employer and the candidate. 

There are many ways that recruiting process automation is being applied today. Some common examples include:

Sourcing: AI can be used to identify potential candidates on the open web and through social media platforms by analyzing their profiles and determining which ones are most likely to be a good fit for a particular role. Sourcing tools like HireEZ and Entelo have had this for a number of years already.

Resume screening: AI algorithms can be used to analyze resumes and identify candidates who are the best fit for a particular job based on their skills, experience, and other qualifications. Many modern CRMs do this now, stack ranking the applicants that a recruiter should reach out to first or that are most likely to be passively looking.

Interview scheduling: AI can be used to schedule interviews with candidates based on their availability and the availability of hiring managers. There is no back and forth correspondence or recruiting coordination needed, shaving days, if not weeks, off your time to fill. One of my favorite tools for this is GoodTime, and it integrates really well with modern ATSes like Greenhouse, Lever, iCims, SmartRecruiters, and more.

Predictive analytics: AI tools can be used to analyze data from previous hiring processes to identify trends and patterns that can help predict the likelihood of a candidate being successful in a particular role. This can help recruiters make more informed hiring decisions. Add this with assessment data, and you have a pretty powerful predictor of candidate performance.

5. Employee Onboarding

AI can also be used to create personalized onboarding experiences for new hires, providing them with customized training materials, job-specific resources, and introductions to team members and company policies. This helps new hires feel welcomed and supported as they start their new job and can lead to improved retention rates.

Here are some examples of companies using AI-powered employee onboarding:

6. AI-powered employee engagement

AI algorithms can analyze employee engagement data and provide insights and recommendations to HR teams on how to improve employee satisfaction and retention. Companies like Workday and SAP use AI to analyze data on factors such as job satisfaction, work-life balance, and career development opportunities, and develop strategies to support and retain their best employees. I must have seen over half a dozen new AI tools being used for employee engagement and learning and development using big data and AI to assess when employees become disengaged or have a skill gap that automatically alerts managers to reach out or a new learning module to be added to their L&D queue.

In summary, gone are the days of sending out generic job postings and crossing your fingers that the right candidate will apply. In today's competitive job market, companies need to get creative and strategic in order to stand out and attract top talent. And what better way to do that than by leveraging the latest in artificial intelligence (AI)?

Are you struggling to keep up with the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and how they can be used to enhance your recruitment and employer branding efforts? Proactive Talent can help.

We specialize in building custom tech stacks and strategies for companies looking to leverage AI and other modern technologies to improve their talent acquisition process. From chatbots and job recommendation engines to personalized career pages and AI-powered employee onboarding, we can help you implement the right tools and strategies to attract and retain top talent.

With Proactive Talent on your side, you can confidently navigate the rapidly evolving world of AI and use it to your advantage. We'll work with you to understand your specific needs and goals, and help you build a customized tech stack that meets your unique requirements.

Don't let outdated recruitment practices hold you back. Contact Proactive Talent today and let us help you build the modern tech stack you need to succeed in the competitive job market.