Operationalising AI for Talent Acquisition in the Public Sector

Earlier this summer AMS continued their “Exploding Digital Myths” series with a final article on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology, highlighting that successfully operationalising it within your recruitment function will need some careful thought to avoid some common pitfalls. The article is linked below and includes some expert insights, from a number of thought leaders, on what to consider as we enter “the foothills” of the AI revolution in talent tech.

On the Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) Framework, managed by AMS we are leveraging AI and automation tools across our recruitment processes as well as cautiously piloting how we can increase its use in new recruitment functions.

A few examples include:

Chatbots for candidate and hiring manager interactions. Predictive analysis for forecasting future talent needs, identify potential bottlenecks in the recruitment process, and proactively addressing challenges. Programmatic job advertising to ensure available candidates with the right skills are targeted and applying. AI-powered tools that can quickly sift through large candidate pools to identify the best-fit candidates, streamlining the initial stages of the recruitment process.

Utilising AI as part of PSR’s continuous improvement strategy has allowed us to enhance our efficiency allowing us to focus on building relationships with potential candidates and clients. However, as the article below points out a well-thought-out strategy that addresses potential risks is essential. Here are a few of the risks that we have considered at PSR:

Bias and Fairness:

It’s important to be aware that AI algorithms can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in historical data and so can create discriminatory recruitment practices. As such it is essential to incorporate human oversight and decision-making in the recruitment process and whilst AI can assist, final decisions should always involve human judgment to avoid relying on potentially biased algorithms.

Loss of Human Touch:

Overreliance on AI is likely to lead to a loss of human touch which is essential in building relationships. At PSR, we try to maintain balance by using AI for efficiency whilst reserving meaningful interactions for our talented human recruiters.

Data Privacy and Security:

  Safeguarding sensitive candidate and client information is essential in how we govern the use of AI tools, which is why we have robust data protection policies and governance is in place.

Technology Dependence:

On PSR we always want to maintain the capability to revert to manual processes if AI systems encounter technical issues and so we always avoid over reliance on AI tools.

Lack of Adoption:

We have regular training in place to help our staff utilise the AI tools to make sure that it’s being utilised to its maximum potential and to maximum ROI.

By the end of 2024, 75% of organizations will shift from piloting artificial intelligence projects to operationalizing them, according to a report by Gartner. As the AMS article below suggests, finding the right balance between “Tech and Touch” will be key to making talent acquisition strategies successful in the long term as well as effectively harnessing new technology as it develops.

Myth 5: Operationalizing AI technology in my business will be straightforward - AMS (weareams.com)