Could Amazon Be Replacing Recruiters With Artificial Intelligence Software? – Forbes
According to a confidential internal document viewed by Recode, Amazon has been working on an … [+] Automated Applicant Evaluation system that will determine which job applicants possess the most potential for success.
getty
Instead of humans reading your résumé, artificial intelligence technology is equipped to do the job. But can it do it well?
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According to a confidential internal document viewed by Recode, Amazon has been working on an … [+]
getty
Instead of humans reading your résumé, artificial intelligence technology is equipped to do the job. But can it do it well?
Last week, Amazon offered buyouts to its recruiters and could look to replace them with artificial technology software. This is in addition to the projected thousands of people who will be let go from the giant online retailer.
According to a confidential internal document viewed by Recode, Amazon has been working on an Automated Applicant Evaluation system that will determine which job applicants possess the most potential for success. These candidates will then be fast-tracked for interviews within the white-collar headquarters and warehouses. The software searches for matches between the applicant’s résumé compared to current Amazon workers currently in the same type of role.
This isn’t the first time the retail juggernaut has attempted an AI recruiting tool. Amazon pulled an AI system in 2017 due to allegations of bias against women. However, it’s reported that Amazon’s new hiring AI is built to ensure that there won’t be prejudices in the hiring process.
Why AI?
AI doesn’t have to replace recruiters. There will always be a need for human interactions between search professionals and job seekers. AI recruiting automates time-consuming, boring and repetitive tasks efficiently. The technology provides personalization and data insights during the interview process that can help make better decisions without emotions or biases. AI-driven human resources technology incorporates machine learning to perform human responsibilities more efficiently, freeing headhunters to focus on higher-end tasks, such as communicating with HR, internal corporate recruiters, hiring managers and candidates and seeking out new corporate clients.
The Growth Of AI Recruitment
Amazon is not unique in turning to AI for recruitment. There is a fast-growing trend of startups and tech companies focusing on AI in the job-search space.
Phenom
Phenom, an Ambler, Pennsylvania-based company, effectively uses artificial intelligence to automate tasks and personalize job searches. Based in a small town outside of Philadelphia, the startup has quietly become a billion-dollar unicorn.
Phenom CEO Mahe Bayireddi said that his company relies upon AI to match people with the right jobs. This is achieved by helping companies find on-target talent at their organizations and promoting them internally. Bayireddi says that his AI enables recruiters to find the right fits faster, and job seekers searching for a new opportunity to find appropriate roles without wasting a lot of time.
Instead of having one platform, its software is embedded into an array of job sites with some of the largest companies in the world. The career-tech company has 300 million users and one million jobs posted in 130 countries. Phenom can predict and guide job seekers to the roles that fit their backgrounds. With its comprehensive data, the company can gain and offer essential insights into current trends in the workforce.
Beamery
AI-powered, talent-management platform Beamery’s goal is to place talent transformation at the heart of every business. The fast-growing startup leverages an AI-powered talent graph. Beamery’s talent-operating system aggregates billions of relevant data points from across the internet, along with an enterprise’s existing technology, to assist organizations in quickly identifying and prioritizing potential candidates that are likely to thrive at their organization. It also helps with diversity, offers career pathways for existing internal employees and understands the skills and capabilities they need to build their future workforce.
HireVue
Kevin Parker, the CEO and chairman of HireVue, offers video interviewing and recruiting automation technology. Parker’s company has conducted millions of interviews and has the data to predict the best person for the job.
HireVue’s proprietary software enables companies to record videos of job seekers answering a standard set of interview questions. It offers the ability to interview anytime or anywhere. The technology levels the playing field by highlighting the person, in addition to their résumé.
Historically, hiring decisions have been left to a hiring manager’s “gut feeling.” To avoid biases and “just winging it,” HireVue created structured interview questions and rating guidelines to smooth out the process and make it easy for both candidates and companies who are hiring.
Cost Cutting And Layoffs Are The New Normal
Human resources and recruiters are usually one of the first divisions to get cut when the economy contracts. Nearly 140,000 people in the tech sector were downsized in 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi. Downsizing, hiring freezes and rescinding job offers have become commonplace. Since there won’t be aggressive hiring compared to 2021, there will not be a significant demand for their recruitment services. For example, Apple recently let go of 100 contract recruiters. Deploying AI is a cost saver for Amazon and other companies that need to reign in expenses due, in part, to record-high inflation and interest-rate hikes.
Amazon Plans To Layoff Thousands Of Workers
Amazon announced in a blog post its plans to lay off 10,000 employees, representing 3% of its white-collar professionals in corporate and technology roles. The cuts will primarily focus on money-draining units, such as Amazon voice-assistant Alexa and ebook-reader Kindle. Human resources will also be impacted, indicating that hiring will slow down compared to the aggressive staffing over the last several years. Although the number seems high, it represents 1% of Amazon’s more than 1.5 million workers, including hourly warehouse employees.
This won’t be a one-and-done. In addition to the layoffs announced Wednesday by Dave Limp, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, there are numerous ways that the online retailer and other tech companies lighten their headcount. While most firms will deny that they use these strategies, tech workers cite that people are let go or pushed out the door through stack rankings, regretted and unregretted attrition, performance improvement plans and continuous rounds of downsizings.
The Downside Of Recruiting AI
Despite assurances that AI won’t have inherent biases, there is no guarantee that it will not occur. The algorithms are designed and built by humans who may possess their own conscious or unconscious biases.
Moreover, humans are not software code. AI may not be able to detect a job hunter’s personality, passion and lived experiences. Candidates are not products, and everyone has their own unique story. There will be issues that will require human intervention.
If a person was downsized and out of work for an extended period, took maternity or paternity leave or switched jobs several times because of impending layoffs, it would be beneficial for a recruiter to get involved and have a one-on-one conversation. If Amazon strictly hires people based on their similarities to current employees, the eCommerce giant runs the risk of creating a bubble of homogeneity, which will bar applicants who don’t fit exactly into the mold, but have a lot to offer.
