There is a lot of noise about how AI – specifically generative AI and AI agents – is already halfway towards revolutionising how we work, how we create and how we collaborate.

From coding to customer service, from marketing to sales, NLP programmes are making immediate, critical inroads into previously human-centric operations. 

The possibilities beyond this explosion in generative AI (and the presumption that a working AGI is only around the corner) extend the horizon of what AI can do for more complex tasks, such as iterative problem solving and high-level reasoning.

So within this hysteria of disruption, where are the details around how AI will make workplaces better for everyone? 

After all, the main benefit of integrating AI into workplace processes is to reduce the mundane, automate the repetitive, and allow humans to do what humans do best – create, reason, collaborate, ideate, laterally generate ideas, build relationships and create genuine emotional connections between people, products, services and theories.

Amidst the contradictory thought pieces and think tank panics about AI, what seems to be somewhat lost in the mania is how AI can help build more equitable, fair workplaces for many millions of people who are forgotten or incapable of integrating into analogue workplaces. 

So can we create a future where AI is used for good, or are the tech naysayers right in assuming AI will only be used for illicit gains in easily manipulated industries, deep fakes, crypto-scams and hyper-capitalism?

Let’s dive into it.

Diversity, equity, and how AI can help.

According to author and Forbes contributor Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, AI will help diversity in two ways.

• “The first is to diagnose things better, telling us what truly goes on in a culture, revealing some of the hidden dynamics underlying many of the critical interactions between people at work”.
• “The second is being able to actually measure inclusion, in particular, whether someone’s demographic status or identity can predict their actual status at work”.

The analytical power of modern AI programmes “allows us to go beyond perceptions”, giving change makers and leaders insight into “biases in behaviour”. AI fills a gap between what we think is happening, and what really is happening, or what could happen, based on evidence. AI can supplement emotionally driven HR decision making with evidently based logic, which in the case of diversity hiring, network management and fair representation can only be a good thing.

Bridging this evidence/emotion gap is the only way to build HR functionality based on real, performance-driven equity, based on real-time data. That data, and the ability to parse it, is the real power behind how AI can assist in creating a representative workforce.

Of course, this doesn’t mean AI should be used on a whim – there is ample evidence that poor AI implementation can break laws and entrench biases, so oversight is key. 

It’s worth reading pieces, such as this article by Fast Company, on the pros and cons of using AI for diversity hiring practices.

Inclusivity, disability and how AI can help.

As this detailed report by Accenture titled AI for disability inclusion puts it, there are several things business leaders and AI developers both can do to help foster more inclusivity in workplaces, especially around disability access and using tech to help people work more productively.

At the very basic level it starts at the design phase. AI creators need to put “inclusive design principles in place to support “human + machine” collaboration (which is) essential to the development of fair and unbiased AI solutions”. Inclusive AI by design is the foundation of inclusive AI use. 

So what does this inclusive design look like in real life? Well, it can be a poisoned chalice but again with the right leadership and strategy AI can be a blessing. 

• “Biases often occur at the intersections of disability, race, gender, and other identities”, which means whatever and however AI is developed it has to be built around reducing bias between underrepresented and vulnerable groups, rather than exacerbating them.
• AI can help build more inclusive workplaces. For example AI platforms can provide better testing and pre-interview assessments, AI-based accessibility tools such as speech-to-text transcription and sign language into text systems, AI-driven employee feedback, AI-augmented accessible interview processes and AI-augmented language accessibility tools. 

The tools of the future can be implemented today to help those most in need of that extra layer of support.

Minority recruitment and AI. 

This piece by the Data Scientist neatly summarises how AI can help elevate minority hires in the recruitment funnel. 

But much of the theory behind diversity-focused hiring strategies – such as blind screenings and automated assessments – has been known for years. It’s how they’re evolving via AI that HR pros need to be aware of.

• The real power lies in how AI improves data-driven recruitment. AI can operate between a wide array of recruiting tools such as jobs boards, social media, applicant tracking systems and recruitment CRMs seamlessly, to better communicate in real-time with specific candidates on the nature of targeted jobs, or clients on the state of play with candidate funnels and minority talent availability. 

• AI can create more accurate predictions on candidate suitability and hiring success utilising data, and can better identify patterns in background, experience and assessment viability. 
• Coupled with in-house NLP (like ChatGPT plugins), AI becomes more than an automated extra – they become an assistant recruiter in all but name, able to seamlessly and immediately dive into entire recruiting networks to matchmake in real-time.

With the right sort of oversight (and a fixation on making sure bias-free searches are run), AI can be the diversity hiring partner every recruiter needs. 

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best recruitment and talent acquisition technologies to suit your needs. 

From Applicant Tracking System and Recruitment CRM comparison, to vendor snapshots, and technology showcases in our unique technology marketplace, we provide fee-free tools to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business!

The post How can AI be used to promote inclusive hiring practices? appeared first on Rectec.

Today, factors like the Covid-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, and economic downturns pose unique talent acquisition challenges. With the need to find skilled candidates at an all-time high, investing in recruitment is quickly becoming a top priority for businesses across the globe.

And that’s where Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) come in. Using the right ATS can change your recruitment game like no other. But how can you calculate the ROI on implementing an ATS and build a rock-solid business case? Here are three simple calculations to help you out!

The cost of a bad hire.

A ‘bad hire’ is typically an employee who negatively impacts the company’s performance, morale, and culture. It can also mean someone who leaves the organization within 12 months of being hired.

In the USA, the average cost of a bad hire is around 30% of the employee’s first-year salary. A good ATS can help you avoid this by:

• Finding more qualified candidates through specialized sourcing tools,
• Make better hiring decisions through standard evaluations, cognitive assessments, and video interviews,
• Involving not just your HR/TA teams but also the hiring managers and existing employees.

Now, let’s get specific with numbers.

• Let’s assume your organization plans on hiring 25 people this year, with the average salary at $50,000/£37000 (approx). Also, consider that 12% of your new hires churn within the first year. With the average cost of a bad hire at 30%, as mentioned earlier, the total annual cost of bad hires would be:

(Avg. employee salary)(cost of a bad hire)((estimated number of hires this year)*(churn rate))

= 5000030%(25*12%)

= $45,000/£33,200

Now, conservatively, if using an ATS can help you decrease bad hires by 20%, then the total savings you can generate will be:

(Total cost of bad hires)*(decrease in bad hires)

= 45000/33,200*20%

= $9000/£6940

That is definitely a worthy ROI!

Time cost savings.

Using an ATS instead of complicated excel spreadsheets and email chains can save you a lot of time, energy, and most importantly, money.

A good ATS has intelligent automations in place to streamline candidate communication, interview scheduling, and other administrative tasks while reducing human error. It also ensures that all important information is easily accessible and stored in one place.

Now let’s calculate what this means in dollars.

• Assuming you have a team of 5 HR professionals involved in the end-to-end recruitment process. Without an ATS, a member of your HR team might spend 25 hours per week on various hiring activities such as communicating with the candidate, setting up interviews, evaluating tests, etc. Assuming that their hourly rate is $20/£14.75, the time cost per week is:

(number of hours/week)*(hourly cost)

= 25/14.75*20

= $500/£370

Using a smart ATS can reduce their HR workload at least by 30%, depending on which one you choose.

This means that the hours per week will now be reduced to 17.5. With the hourly rate remaining unchanged, the new time cost per week is:

=17.5*20

= $350/£260

That’s a weekly savings of $150/£110 for just one member of your recruitment team who is using an ATS. Multiply that by the entire team and the number of weeks in a year, and the total ROI is:

= 150/110552

= $39,000/£28,800

That’s the kind of ROI the right ATS can give!

Time to fill.

Simply put, time to fill is the time taken for the recruitment team to hire for an open position. Whilst different organizations measure this period using different data points, the premise remains the same.

Using an ATS reduces the time to fill by:

• Providing access to more candidates through referral programs and past applicants within the database,
• Creating a better candidate experience through faster interview cycles,
• Streamlining workflows, in turn boosting recruiter productivity.

Here’s how it translates to numbers.

Let’s assume that the revenue a salesperson brings every year is $800,000/£590000. If they work 230 days a year, that’s roughly $3500/£2580 a day. That means every day you don’t have that one salesperson, you lose $3.5k/£2.5k as a company.

If your average time to hire a salesperson is 40 days, then the total cost of time to fill is:

(revenue per day)*(number of days to hire)

= 3500*40

= $140,000/£103,300

If you use an ATS, you can realistically bring the number of days to hire down to 35, meaning you can save five days worth of revenue, i.e. $17,500/£12,900. Assuming you’re looking to hire 5 more salespersons in the next 12 months, you can generate at least $87,500/£64,500 in savings.

Now that we’ve made all the individual calculations, it’s time to put it all together to determine the added value and ROI that an ATS provides annually.

Total savings = cost of bad hire savings + time cost savings + time to fill savings

= $135,500/just short of £100,000

In conclusion, using an ATS can help your business save at least $135,500 or nearly £100,000 every year.

If you’re looking to buy an applicant tracking system, you can check out SelectSoftware Review’s website which contains some incredibly useful guidance on ATS implementation.

If you need to find the Best Applicant Tracking System for your business, be sure the check out our guide to finding Top Applicant Tracking Systems in 2024.

Phil Strazzulla is the founder of SelectSoftware Reviews, a website dedicated to helping HR teams to find and buy the right software for their organizations.

SSR offers in-depth, free content and a vibrant community of HR experts to companies all around the world who need help selecting everything from their next ATS to People Analytics.

Phil started his career in venture capital at Bessemer Venture Partners before getting his MBA at Harvard Business School. He’s a self taught programmer, struggling golfer, and overall business nerd.

You can reach Phil on LinkedIn here, on Twitter here, and his company SelectSoftware Reviews here and here.

All US dollar/GBP comparisons are reflective of exchange rate as of date of posting.

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