Leading Recruiter Warns on the Emergence of AI in the Workplace

With the rise of AI across all industries, Gi Group, one of the UK’s leading HR and recruitment specialists, explains how it can shape the future of the recruitment industry and why this societal shift shouldn’t be ignored.

AI’s implementation is becoming increasingly part of big business conversations,  most recently former Google chief, Eric Schmidt, telling Labour Business Summit that attracting ‘incredibly smart people’, would help prepare the UK for AI. New AI systems are now readily available for both HR professionals and candidates alike, but what does this all really mean?

The industry has seen such a spike in the use of AI that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) recently published guidance in its Responsible AI in Recruitment: Guidance. From fake job ads and AI resumes, to recruitment bias and digital discrimination, the industry has been hit by a wave of new challenges.

Rebecca Napier, IT Business Partner at Gi Group, comments: “It was only a matter of time before AI methods were being implemented on both sides of the recruitment process, but as with every tech shift, it is important that both candidates and HR professionals understand the pros and cons of integrating AI.

“From a candidate point of view, there has been a recent rise in individuals using AI technology to create CVs, write cover letters and in some cases complete recruitment tests. While this may at first seem like a time saving tactic for candidates, recruiters are left with a high volume of inadequate resumes making it harder for genuine applicants to be identified.”

It is reported that about half of all applicants are using tools such a ChatGPT to help with the recruitment process, without editing, which is potentially adding thousands of low-quality applications to an already saturated labour market.

Rebecca continued: “Further to this, candidates are being met with a rising number of fake job ads since AI became more prevalent in the industry. This doesn’t only cause an issue for genuine candidates; it also creates a real challenge for recruiters to ensure their integrity and authenticity continues to be trusted.”

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 4.1 per cent of people in the UK are currently unemployed, which accounts for roughly  1.44 million people (aged 16 – 64). Furthermore, the ONS highlight that unemployed members of the UK are  competing for 857,000 job vacancies (from June – August 2024). These statistics go to show the importance for recruiters to find the right candidate for every job, but with the emergence of AI this is more challenging than ever.

These new technologies also pose a number of risks, including digital exclusion, discriminatory job advertising and targeting, plus perpetuating existing bias. Some experts report AI tools are inaccurately screening some of the most qualified job applicants as concerns grow the software is removing the best candidates. From a recruiter’s perspective, this can be a really damaging set of challenges and highlights the need for a human touch.

Rebecca added: “Aside from the discrimination risks when personal data is inputted into an AI platform, there is also a real risk to data privacy. Transparency is a key element to data protection and such collection and analysis is often invisible. Individuals can unknowingly share personal information, unaware it’ll be analysed and stored through AI technology.

“It is the role of HR professionals to provide an honest, fair and transparent recruitment process to each candidate and through the introduction of AI tech, this can’t always be guaranteed.

“I feel many people still underestimate the power and challenges of AI technology which will inevitably lead to great risks and recruitment challenges down the road. Despite the strides in the development of AI technology, there is still a long way to go.

“Though it is evident AI will play a lead role in many industries, supporting efficiency and potentially paving the way for workforce advancements, it is important people recognise its short fallings. The empathetic and personal approach of a human cannot be underestimated, on both the side of the candidate and the HR professional.”