Artificial intelligence (AI) for talent acquisition in IT

organizations
Sanjay Bhattacharya, SCMHRD, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India

Suryapratap Singh Dodve, SCMHRD, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India

ABSTRACT:
Artificial intelligence (AI) appears to be everywhere these days and has infiltrated our daily
lives. The acquisition of talent is a vital component of human resource management. Because
a recruiting process maintains huge volumes of data such as resumes, interview notes,
assessment findings, and remuneration details for jobs and candidates, it is a rapidly
increasing field for AI. AI is redefining recruiting by supporting recruiters in various talent
acquisition activities, such as recognising the right talent and screening and analysing
particular applicant behaviour. AI can help to streamline and automate procedures in the
talent acquisition process. It undoubtedly helps organization in engaging with qualified job
prospects more quickly.

KEYWORDS:
Artificial intelligence, IT, Talent acquisition, Adoption

PURPOSE:
Finding the right person within good talent pool has been noted as one of the major obstacles
to acquiring top talent for many years and AI has evolved to help tackle this problem.
Artificial intelligence in talent acquisition is about more than just obtaining applicant data; it's
about utilizing it at scale to help businesses find the best candidate for the position.
Human resource managers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to perform a variety of
activities in human resource management, from manpower planning to employee leave. In
organisations, AI technology is widely used for talent acquisition. The implementation of AI
technology for talent acquisition is the subject of this study.

RESEARCH IDEA:
This study examines the factors that influence the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for
talent acquisition, which is becoming increasingly popular in the human resources field. It
gives human resource managers important information about how to benchmark AI
technology for talent acquisition. Marketers can create their marketing strategy based on
adoption criteria. It would assist designers in comprehending adoption variables and
designing AI technology algorithms and applications for talent acquisition. It advances the
literature on technology adoption by combining it with the literature on talent acquisition in
the human resource area.

TARGET AUDIENCE:
The target audience for the questionnaires and interviews will be the employees and
managers working in different IT organisation. The attempt would be to include everyone
from different age groups and from different types of work and talk to them about their
experiences before AI was used in Talent Acquisition.

METHODOLOGY USED:
The data for this research derives from a quantitative analysis of the user data of almost 50
people. The structured questionnaire is used to collect the primary data from the respondents
HR and TA managers from IT firms in Mumbai and Pune from various IT hubs and software
technology companies were the target participants.
The researcher double-checked that these people were using AIT for TA.
The research will double check that the respondents are using artificial intelligence
technology for talent acquisition.
These individuals were surveyed while visiting IT companies. The participants were assured
of the confidentiality and privacy of their information.

LIST OF TARGETED JOURNALS:

1. Emerald Journals
2. Elsevier
3. SAGE
4. Scopus

INTRODUCTION:
Let's start with a definition of AI in the context of talent acquisition. So, what exactly is AI?
Artificial intelligence is an area of computer science that deals with the simulation of human
intelligence by automated systems. AI can handle enormous quantities of data that a human
wouldn't be able to process and turn it into useful information. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a
game-changing technology that, because to significant improvements over the previous
decade, is set to usher in the next wave of digital transformation for businesses.

Human resource management is being transformed by AI technology, which is delivering

new features and changing the way human resources are managed in a business. Global
investment in cognitive and AI solutions is growing at a 50.1 percent compound annual
growth rate (CAGR), with a target of USD 57.6 billion by 2021 (Aayog NITI, 2018). In
India, AI adoption is limited and gradual, with only 22% of firms using AI for any business
operation. Machine learning, virtual reality, bots, robotics, chatbots, robotic process
automation, deep learning, cognitive conversation, the Internet of Things, natural language
processing (NLP), and augmented reality are all examples of AI technology (AIT) that are
altering the way HR managers work. At the three layers above, AI is transforming the way
HR departments work. It assists HR managers in making judgments and predicting employee
behaviour at work, hence decreasing the repetitious administrative responsibilities of HR
managers. AIT is primarily used in recruitment, training, employee engagement, and
employee retention, and it aids in cost reduction, time savings, and more accurate completion
of HR duties.

AIT is used by many international firms to manage TA functions; nevertheless, other

organisations are still in the process of implementing it. The adoption of AIT for TA by HR
managers is an essential study issue since it will give HR managers additional information
about how to use AI for TA. Many studies examine the deployment of information systems at
the organisational level as well as the use of artificial intelligence in recruitment from the
employee and candidate perspectives. Surprisingly, there is a paucity of academic research
and scholarly work on the deployment of AIT for TA from the standpoint of the company and
HR managers.

Chatbots and assistants powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can collect data from
candidates in a seamless and effective manner. Important application information and
screening questions can be acquired by chatbot and communicated with recruiters and saved
to the job application in real time. Simple screening questions can be automated, saving talent
acquisition teams the time and effort of sending emails, calling, or messaging. All of these
factors can improve the candidate experience.

AI recruiting solutions help to increase diversity in hiring by minimising basic biases that a
human would nearly always have. When evaluating profiles, AI can be set to ignore gender,
age, and race, ensuring that candidates are fairly screened. Building a diverse workforce has
long been recognised as having numerous advantages, ranging from improved creativity and
innovation to increased employee productivity and retention.
IMPLEMENTATION OF AI IN HIRING THE TALENTS

Artificial intelligence is revolutionising the employment process at an alarming rate. AI has

the capacity to analyse large amounts of data quickly. The work is algorithm-based and
forecasts who to recruit by identifying a causal link between the workers' traits and the job
description in order to bring forth the application and identify the candidates for the given
position. The screening of candidates is the first step in the procedure. At this point,
employment applications are filtered or examined. It comprises shortlisting individuals from
a pool of resumes. Social media plays a vital part in candidate selection, serving as a primary
source of data. The AI programme selects a candidate from the database who meets the given
criteria. It compares the candidate's profile to the job description and ranks them accordingly.
HR administrative tasks are minimised to some extent, and time is saved in processing the
massive data. This allows the recruiter to utilise AI's capability through numerous tools,
which aids in the impartial screening of applicants and their placement on-board.

TOP AI RECRUITING SOFTWARE PLATFORMS

Various top AI recruitment applications are used to do unbiased applicant seeking and
screening. Some tools for finding the ideal candidate are Hiretual Review, XOR, Paradox
Review, Humanly, Textio, Pymetrics, LOXO, Eightfold, Allyo, seekout, Talkpush, and
Myintervew. TurboHire is a platform that transitions employees from HI to Hired. With the
support of human-machine interaction, HR can arrange and conduct high-quality live and one-
way interviews to understand applicants before making recruiting decisions. This AI-based
candidate rating system automatically recognises skill sets from resumes and detects
duplicates. The full employment process and assessments may be completed fast with this
platform (Turbohire, 2018). This technology is designed to collect and combine data from
resumes across all websites in order to target top talent and forecast each individual's needs.
Artificial intelligence software can assess candidates, set up interviews, and answer to all posed
questions through email or text message They are thereby raising the tempo of dialogue and
engaging the audience. Applicants and encouraging them to apply for the position It aids in the
recruitment and retention of talent. AI platforms serve as a reliable mechanism for the
employment process.

ON-BOARDING

AI makes the onboarding process more pleasant and structured for HR personnel. For example,
the implementation of AI technologies enhances the productivity of processes such as
completing background checks, compiling benefit paperwork, and producing offer letter
templates. It also supports HR staff in focusing on workers after they begin work, receives
papers outlining the company's policies and procedures, monitors which documents have been
read, and triggers an electronic signature.
LITERATURE REVIEW:
Adoption of AI technology is a major focus of research conducted in a variety of settings
around the world. There have been studies on AI and Robots in tourism, AI-based robotic
gadgets, Robo-advisors, the intelligent personal assistant, and self-driving vehicles, to name a
few. smart home healthcare systems, smart home services, and the implications of AI in
recruitment.

Talent acquisition and AI technology

HR managers play a critical role in talent acquisition, and businesses are struggling to find
the right people. TA is the most important determinant of organisational effectiveness in
today's highly competitive and global market. The TA position necessitates a significant
investment in the process of attracting, selecting, and training new hires. As a result, HR
managers must be extremely picky when it comes to choosing the proper people, as human
resources are critical to the organization's seamless operation. The development of the
Internet has boosted competition for acquiring talent, and technologies are providing fast
access to possible job candidates to the HR managers.
Many top IT companies have started adopting AIT for TA. Organizations are battling to
identify highly competent personnel who will match the job's technical and functional
requirements while also aligning with the company's values. Every organisation believes that
a talented staff contributes to organisational performance, thus they are vying to find the
proper personnel. The TA functions in organisations are being transformed by AIT. AIT for
TA contributes to a stronger employer brand, greater diversity, a higher applicant selection
rate, and a better candidate experience during the hiring process. It also makes use of the
process of discovering and promoting talent inside an organisation. AIT aids HR managers in
improving TA functions, although it is not without flaws. Because algorithmic programming
prefers men for software development jobs, Amazon's recruiting tool was skewed against
female candidates. This study will assist HR managers in overcoming the disadvantages by
examining antecedents such as technical qualities and tasks that are appropriate for TA.

Why are we doing this?

AI is transforming the way the HR department operates. It contributes to decreasing HR
managers' repetitious administrative activities by assisting HR managers in making decisions
and predicting employee behaviour at work. Many companies are using AI for managing
talent acquisition functions. This research will help AI marketers, designers, developers, and
HR managers understand the adoption of AI and its real application for TA. We are here to
study the impact of Al in TA. To do so we have collected some data through Google form.
we floated some relevant questions regarding the subject in a group of working professionals
between the age of 20-55. Following are the questions considered for the survey:
Questionnaire:
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Job Tenure
4. Position within Organization
5. How often you use Artificial Intelligence for TA in a month
6. To what extent you trust AI
7. For what purposes you use AI in TA
8. Technical competency of Al
9. Accuracy Of Al

DATA INTERPRETATION:
ANALYSIS:
As a sample size we surveyed a category of working professionals in IT organizations mostly between
an age group of 21-53 The research was open for all genders in which 51.9% males and 46.3%
females participated. The sample size is up to 54 working professionals who are working in an IT
company or have previously worked in an IT industry. As our focus lies on the Artificial Intelligence
and how often HR working professionals use it and what how much they can relay on it. A maximum
number of employees belonging to the age group of 25-29 have responded which goes about 59.3%
of the total sample size. We can also figure out that these respondents are either Middle level
managers or Middle level professionals.

To understand more about how much the employee trust the Artificial Intelligence Technology and
its usage in their day-to-day activities, we also considered their opinion.
About 30% respondents barely trust the AI and 15% do not trust the AI at all whereas 35% of the
respondents i.e., the highest number of respondents moderately trust the Al technology and 20.5%
highly trust the technology.

The purpose is very clear. AI is being used in recruitment process from posting jobs online to
candidate screening. Employers may now run more targeted ads that get greater outcomes thanks
to AI. Today, programmatic advertising is utilised to display tailored advertisements to the correct
candidate audience. Using the prospect's professional interests (LinkedIn), cookies, and
demographics, highly targeted adverts are made possible. Cookies, for example, disclose the types of
positions that prospective candidates were most interested in when they visited career and job
posting pages.

In the survey it has been found that using AI technology is not very difficult as 55.6% respondents
find is moderately difficult to use it. There are some upper respondents above 35 years of age who
find it difficult to use this technology. They comprises about 18.5%.

About 44.4% respondents mostly use artificial intelligence for talent acquisition in a month. On the
other hand there are still 7.4% respondents who does not use AI for TA at all.

DISCUSSION:
Top management supports AI adoption because they recognise that attracting talent in today's
environment is difficult for a firm and it needs to be leveraged by AI. Attracting and hiring
talent is a difficult process in most IT organisations, and there is fierce competition to obtain
talent in the IT/ITeS industry. As Artificial Intelligence Technology improves the TA
function across the industry, organisations are under pressure to adopt it for TA. As a result
of competitive pressure, companies must use Artificial Intelligence Technology for TA.
AI is having a huge impact on talent acquisition and recruiting, from sourcing perspective
employees to employee onboarding and engagement. AI solutions are used by recruiters and
talent acquisition experts to source candidates more efficiently, assess them more precisely,
and onboard them more rapidly. AI for TA reduces the cost of labour and the time required
for HR/TA executives to do repetitive duties such as sending bulk emails, job advertisements,
main interviews, and sourcing. AI for TA would be used by HR managers due of its cost-
effectiveness. Because of the benefits of AIT for TA, HR leaders are also prepared to invest
in it.
Despite the fact that AI for TA performs many repetitive TA duties, HR managers are still
used to traditional TA methods for selecting applicants such as personal interviews, sourcing
from job boards and consulting firms, and paper-pencil assessment. HR/TA managers
continue to be unconcerned about using AT for TA because "stickiness to existing TA
techniques" has an indirect effect on the relationship between adoption and actual usage.
AI technology aids in the improvement of TA performance because it is cost-effective and
produces accurate TA findings. AI technology for TA must be adopted by HR management.
Managers have traditionally prioritised security and privacy. It was discovered that it has an
impact on the adoption of AI in TA. TA managers are concerned about the personal data of
candidates supplied through AI for TA and are concerned about their security because this
data is highly secret. As a result, the privacy of this candidate's data is critical; HR managers
are concerned about the security and privacy of data travelling via AI. Concerns about
privacy and security, as well as a preference for traditional techniques of recruitment, are
barriers to TA adoption.
The study's findings provide some insights for AI technology developers, designers,
marketers, HR/TA management, and practitioners. When purchasing AI for TA, HR
managers must assess AI technology applicability and compatibility to conduct TA duties as
per the organization's requirements. Marketers must ensure that AI for TA is acceptable and
compatible with all aspects of the TA function, including attracting candidates, recruiting and
sourcing, selection and assessment, onboarding, and employer branding. Designers,
marketers, and developers of AI for TA should also grasp the nuances of TA tasks in order to
produce AI that meets the needs of the task to be performed in TA.

CONCLUSION:
We all understand that time is money. Being more efficient means minimising both the time
it takes to hire and the quantity of manual labour necessary during the hiring process. AI and
machine learning are already relieving recruiters from mundane chores, allowing them to
spend more time engaging with candidates. It will do a lot more in the future. Prioritization is
essential. With clear priorities specified for each role, AI can examine our candidates against
the role's unique requirements faster and more precisely than a person can.
Finding the correct applicant in high demand talent pools has been identified as one of the
most significant barriers to hiring top talent in recent years and AI has evolved to help
overcome this problem. Implementing artificial intelligence in talent acquisition goes beyond
simply collecting applicant data and instead exploiting it at scale to assist firms in finding the
best candidate for the job.
The emergence of AI in talent acquisition is visible, particularly among firms that prioritise
hiring quality, workforce diversity, and recruiter efficiency. AI and powerful machine
learning technologies have helped decrease recruiting costs and the time-consuming chore of
vetting candidates in only a few years. As a result, we are optimistic about its future
contributions to the realm of talent acquisition.

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