While much of the world’s AI-related focus has been on generative AI, AI’s impacts go well beyond generating emails or ad copy. In IT staffing, in particular, AI has already had a notable impact on streamlining operations for employers, enabling them to fill positions effectively and quickly while ensuring that they find talent with the skills and qualifications that they need. As those who have used AI in IT staffing have already discovered, leveraging these tech resources can create significant advantages for all involved.
- Rapid Candidate Screening
Screening candidate applications to determine who is qualified for a position can be time-consuming, particularly when there are hundreds of applications to review.
Of course, in part to address the influx of resumes, it is reported that hiring managers often only spend six to seven seconds reviewing applications — but this creates its own problems. It’s all too easy to miss critical information or misread a statement about an applicant’s qualifications and experience. As a result, sorting through candidates isn’t just time-consuming — it can also be rife with errors.
AI search and match technology is solving this common headache by scanning applications and identifying those who are the best fit for a position in a manner of seconds. AI-powered search ensures that only candidates with required skills and experience for a position are presented to human screeners for outreach.
By saving time and eliminating human error, AI ensures that the best candidates for any position are quickly identified. Some even expect AI to eventually be able to identify which candidates would be most likely to accept the job, further narrowing which candidates are brought in for interviews.
- Streamline Communication With Candidates
Effectively managing communication with IT candidates is another vital aspect of placing talent. Unfortunately, staffing communications can quickly become overwhelming, particularly when there are multiple positions that need to be filled or candidates who are submitting questions about the position.
AI is once again poised to help staffing professionals save time and focus on higher-level tasks by automating or outsourcing many of the more mundane activities related to communication. For example, AI-powered email tools can automatically send an email to schedule an interview after a candidate has been determined to be a good fit for the position. AI could scan interviewers’ schedule openings to determine available time slots when it automatically generates the email, and then add the appointment to their calendar after the candidate confirms they can attend.
In addition, staffing professionals often deal with a wide range of questions from candidates at every stage of the recruiting and onboarding process. An AI chatbot programmed to address routine inquiries and commonly asked questions ensures staffers only need to concern themselves with more complicated or in-depth questions.
These AI systems not only help save time, but they ensure that no candidate slips through the cracks, maintaining high engagement throughout the process.
- Eliminate Biases
Even in our current environment that encourages looking to Latin America and other areas outside of the United States to find IT talent, unconscious biases can still disrupt IT staffing efforts. Such biases could cause firms to miss out on qualified talent, and even harm how others perceive your company.
With proper programming, AI can minimize bias in IT staffing by exclusively focusing on ranking candidate skills and abilities. AI could also be used to address common areas where unconscious bias comes into play, such as redacting names and other personally identifying information when resumes are presented to recruiters.
With this support from AI, firms can have greater confidence that they are getting the best-qualified talent available. While an equitable framework must still be developed within the workplace to ensure proper treatment of diverse talent, eliminating bias during talent acquisition is an important first step.
- Analyze Data for Proactive Recruiting
IT staffing is a highly competitive area, which can make it challenging to land top talent. With more data being generated than ever before, however, businesses have plenty of information that can help in their staffing efforts — but only if they can actually use that data.
AI staffing technology draws on big data to help businesses make data-informed decisions that guide hiring efforts. This could include internal-facing data such as employee attrition rates and speed to fill open positions, as well as external factors such as salary trends, competitor hiring data, active and passive candidate analytics and supply and demand for different skills and markets.
With a comprehensive, AI-fueled approach to data, firms can understand both their internal factors that influence hiring and retention, as well as external issues that could influence whether a candidate is likely to accept a position.
By taking these insights and adapting their hiring strategy accordingly, IT staffing professionals can make a position much more attractive to top talent, and even be better able to predict when their organization will have additional hiring needs. With predictive analytics, staffing agencies can provide timely support with minimal lead time, even when filling positions during periods of peak demand.
Making the Most of AI In IT Staffing
As these examples illustrate, AI is here to stay in IT staffing. Recruiting firms who leverage this technology will ultimately be able to operate more efficiently, deliver better results for their clients and provide better experiences for candidates. By facilitating better placements and a more streamlined solution for all involved, AI tools will help staffing firms get the right people to the right jobs.