Embracing Disruptive Technology to Attract Top Talent
Hey, you — yeah, you with the 11 spreadsheets open on your laptop. What if you didn’t have to trudge through all that mindless clerical work every day? What if some sort of technology existed to do those point-and-click tasks for you so you could focus on more important aspects of your job?
Well, we’ve got news for you: That technology does exist. Your boss just doesn’t want to pony up for it.
In terms of technology, we all by now agree that disruption is a good thing. For example, when technology enters eliminates the need for you to use nine different programs with nine different passwords to do the most basic functions of your job, that’s a good disruption.
And if your company doesn’t get on board with this kind of process-streamlining disruption, not only will those frustrating tasks remain on your to-do list, but also your best employees will start jumping ship for companies that are willing to invest in innovation.
High Turnover: the Bad Kind of Disruption
Sixty-nine percent of American employees would abandon their current employer to sign on with a company they viewed as an innovation leader, according to new research from EY. If you’re an executive at a company that clings to Windows 7 like it’s the hand of a dying loved one, that means more than two-thirds of your workforce wouldn’t hesitate if an innovator came knocking.
“Our talent function has recognized the importance of embracing and navigating digital disruption by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics process automation (RPA) into our recruiting, talent management/development, and onboarding processes,” says Larry Nash, US recruiting leader for EY. “Implementing these technologies improves our candidate and employee experience and makes us more efficient and effective.”
EY estimates that it will save close to 2.1 million hours of its employees’ time in 2018 thanks to the bots it has deployed to handle time-intensive, repetitive tasks.
The Importance of Recruitment Innovation
For the talent recruitment function, innovation has layers. Recruiters are freed up from mundane tasks and able to put in more face time with candidates, while candidates see the level of technology and innovation happening at the company as they move through the interview process.
“To most effectively reap the benefits of innovation, HR and the recruiting sector need to first adopt the mindset of embracing change and embracing technology’s ability to improve jobs, not replace them,” says Nash.
Fears that technology will replace human workers may have some merit down the road, but that isn’t the focus of developers. AI, machine learning, and other disruptive technologies are intended to complement the human worker rather than replace them. That said, the technology is invented by humans, and it’s up to human users to monitor it for human errors.
“As human resources executives continue to find ways to incorporate these technologies into their functions, it is imperative that they keep a pulse on the potential for unconscious bias that inherently lies in the makings of this technology, since it is humans who create the algorithms,” Nash says. “In fact, a recent EY study shows that 41 percent of AI professionals believe that the gender diversity of AI talent can influence the biases a machine will learn. Therefore, investing the time to create the right tone and personality for an organization’s technology — especially with chatbots — will be a major focus area for organizations as they implement new technologies. As companies continue to realize the potential that new technologies have to future-proof businesses, streamline tasks, and become more efficient in the process, it is integral they remain flexible while keeping in mind the risks associated to remain ahead of the curve.”
If you’re wondering where to start innovating, your recruitment department might be a good choice. Free up your recruiters to spend time with candidates and they’ll be able to give more attention to recruiting quality talent. But don’t stop there. Innovating in only one area isn’t really innovation at all.