One company was determined to work with AI to change recruitment
Finding the right candidate for one of the 3000 roles it recruits each year had become like searching for a needle in a technology-driven haystack for payroll solutions company Deel.
With almost two million applications for the roles, many of them created with the help of AI, the business knew it needed to find a way to use the technology and rethink the recruitment process.
“Instead of battling AI because candidates are using it, we’re finding ways to manipulate the technology to our advantage – turning it into a tool that works for us, not against us," Deel's Global Head of Talent Acquisition, Alan Price, told HRD.
For Deel this has meant focusing on training AI to act as a mentor and coach for recruiters, not as the decision-maker in hiring.
"The key is not letting AI make the hiring decision. Instead, it's about deploying resources on the interviewer - giving them data, insight, and enablement to reduce volatility in decision-making," Price said.
Integrating AI to streamline recruitment
Price believes this approach has cut the time spent reviewing CVs by up to 90%.
This is done by using AI to score applicants against 15 tailored criteria so recruiters can filter for the strongest candidates in seconds, replacing manual, one-by-one screening.
The impact is tangible - with estimated 27,000 recruiter hours saved, a drop in recruiter calls per hire, and an 89% offer acceptance rate.
“If you’re in the first 150 applications, historically you had a shot. After that, your chances dropped off a cliff – even though the best candidate could be anywhere in the pile,” he explained.
“Now AI is helping us find that ‘needle in the haystack’ no matter where it sits.”
By reducing time spent on admin, Price said, recruiters are able to build relationships and improve both candidate experience and employee value proposition (EVP).
Beyond the start of the recruitment process, the tech also mines existing data of three million candidates - past and present - who have applied for a role.
This allows talent and acquisition teams to ensure they’re always on the lookout for the best fit – even if the candidate has previously been unsuccessful.
“That’s a huge efficiency gain and it gives candidates a fairer shot. We've got this data to hand, so why aren't we using it? That's what techology can do and that's what we need to be using it for," he said.
Utilising AI to better recruitment practices
Using AI to ‘mentor’ interviewers is also a use case for AI that is typically undervalued - through using tools to review recordings, transcriptions and analysis of key performance metrics.
“We had a core competency of critical thinking, yet 90% of interviews weren’t asking the right depth of questions,” Price recalled. "The tech says it's being covered in interviews, but are we actually talking about it enough to make a decision? That's what tech can do."
This feedback loop drives targeted interviewer training – for example, reducing interviewer talk time from 60% down to a more effective 20%, giving candidates more space to demonstrate skills.
“When we hire, we’re solving for future problems, not past ones,” Price said, “so we can now see exactly what’s being asked – aligning better with the competencies we care about as a business.”
Since rolling out AI tools in January, monthly hires have climbed from 200 to 310 with the same-sized team – a 33% uplift.
“We’ve improved operational efficiency, reduced recruiter admin, and given hiring managers back time,” Price noted.
“It’s about using technology to free recruiters for the high-value work.”
