Trends And Best Practices For Companies
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By Novo Constare, CEO and Co-Founder, Indeed Flex.
With the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), leaders in all sectors have to acknowledge that it’s here to stay. AI has gone from something that was whispered about a few years ago to something that’s simply unavoidable today, and it’s advancing rapidly.
As an example, one of Google’s AI systems taught itself Bengali, a language it wasn’t trained to know. But, being the CEO of a temporary staffing firm, I want to specifically discuss how I’m seeing AI impact staffing and what that means for employers.
First, however, it should be noted that, whether in relation to temporary or permanent staff, AI is increasingly being integrated into various industries, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail, marketing, education and many more.
Take manufacturing, for example. Here, AI is being applied to areas such as quality control, supply chain optimization and inventory management. This means that human workers’ roles can shift toward more engaging tasks and away from mundane, repetitive tasks.
Retail is also an interesting one, as AI is being used across the sector for demand forecasting, inventory management, personalized marketing, the optimization of store layouts and more. All of this can help improve customer satisfaction, sales and costs overall. But we’re not quite ready to remove the human element from retail entirely. Anyone who’s had to use a chatbot knows how frustrating it can be when they respond with limited answers. Likewise, self-service tills have been around for years but still require humans to oversee them. Human workers provide the warmth, empathy, understanding and personal touch that AI can’t quite deliver. People can also offer a tailored approach to customer service.
As for the hospitality sector, new elements are being introduced, such as virtual concierges and managing housekeeping schedules. However, from my perspective, AI won’t replace back-of-house roles (e.g., chefs, kitchen porters and food prep assistants) any time soon. While it can do many things, it can’t yet cook a fine-dining three-course meal or run a kitchen smoothly. I believe the same is true of front-of-house roles (e.g., waiting staff, bartenders and baristas).
The long and the short of it is that while AI can automate many tasks, it still lacks the ability to provide empathy, creativity and human connection. As I see it, workers with strong soft skills, such as communication, problem-solving, leadership and adaptability, will continue to be highly valued in the AI-driven economy.
AI In Recruiting And Staffing
When it comes to the recruitment side of things, AI use cases are slightly different. Many companies are now using applicant tracking systems to scan resumes for the correct keywords; then, they choose who moves to the interview stage based on this. While this is time-saving, it can come with pitfalls.
For example, how would you know if you actually screened out 10 highly qualified candidates just because they didn’t use the right keywords in the right places? This is why at my company, we tell our workers to dispense with the resume, write up a short profile, and then we interview every single one of them on a 1-to-1 basis. For employers using an ATS, it’s important to understand that leveraging AI is a learning process, and the outputs are only as effective as the prompts provided by users. Businesses can mitigate this by incrementally increasing the criteria that AI tools are using in screening. Then, humans can ratify those criteria to check they’re effective by reviewing profiles that get screened out as well as those that pass through.
AI is also being used to match workers with suitable roles more quickly and efficiently. My company, for instance, uses a smart-matching algorithm to match clients’ needs with qualified individuals for temporary roles. LinkedIn has already been doing this for some time; it uses AI to help match job seekers with roles and now even uses AI to advise them on how to tailor their profiles to stand out. And, many big players, such as Hilton, Unilever and Amazon, use AI in the hiring process, so it’s an ongoing trend.
AI also has a strong part to play in providing predictive analytics. For example, at my company, we use real-time data to anticipate future labor needs in certain industries or locations. This can allow businesses to plan staffing requirements more effectively.
The Future Of AI
Overall, when it comes to using AI in the staffing sector, companies have to approach it with pragmatism. Staffing is fundamentally a people business, and the relationships between those people are incredibly important and can’t be replaced by AI. Bullhorn’s 2023 Talent Trends Report, which surveyed more than 1,000 contingent workers from around the globe, showed that many candidates want to be in touch with their recruiter at least once per week, which shows that the human touch is still valued.
While AI is undoubtedly on the rise and its influence is growing all the time, it’s not going to simply sweep the board and replace all jobs at once. What it lacks is human understanding; warmth; empathy; the years of experience an individual might have; and soft skills, such as communication, leadership, time management and intuition.
In conclusion, it’s important to remember that AI is a tool, but it’s still the human touch that will remain a key differentiator. AI has the potential to improve the experience for employers and staff, whether temporary or permanent, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
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