In the coming year, recruitment specialist at Sourcinc Charles Parent predicts that recruitment robots will take on an increasingly significant role in the recruitment value chain. Such as the Alex AI application. Let’s explore this trend that is still in its infancy.
A few months ago, Charles Parent tested the Alex AI application for the first time and was pleasantly surprised. The interview can be conducted by phone or video conference, but with the camera off.
After a minute or two, you get the impression of talking to a human because the conversation is so smooth. To ensure it has captured the information correctly, the robot will propose a summary or restatement of the answer,” he illustrates.
He sees advantages for both employers and candidates.
The robot is available 24 hours a day to conduct an interview. The candidate can therefore choose their preferred time. I see that this type of solution can be very useful for conducting pre-screening interviews or large-volume recruitment for jobs like daily work or retail,” he notes.
The format is also more engaging than the “asynchronous” interviews that have begun to emerge over the past few years. However, Sourcinc’s customer experience director acknowledges that cost may be a barrier to adoption of this technology.
A sign of an accommodating employer… or simply a lack of consideration for the candidate?
I have a friend who lives in Ontario who experienced this several times during her job search last year – for a writing position – and she was discouraged,” says Ann Doucet.
Véronique Patry is indignant:
So impersonal! And how does this robot handle nuance? I would be curious to know about the organizational culture of a company using this type of interview.”
Julien-Pier Boisvert offers an ambivalent response:
I think there are use cases for it – where recruitment isn’t a value-add, or in a context where turnover is extremely high – but ultimately, a recruitment robot is a company telling you: ‘Hey kid, my time is really much more important than yours.'”
Having been tasked with configuring this type of robot, HR consultant Michel Rouleau offers a much more lenient perspective:
In reality, few recruiters offer interviews in the evening or on weekends… whereas AI can be available at 9 p.m. on a Thursday, when the candidate finally is. Or at 1 a.m. when they’ve finished their shift. Not to mention processes with multiple steps where, ultimately, it’s mainly the candidate who waits.”
For now, he sees the exercise as beneficial.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution… An AI poorly used and misconfigured dehumanizes, that’s true. But we judge AI very harshly, while some ‘human’ recruiters also offer a very poor candidate experience.”
training.isarta.com 
