A recent roundtable shows no matter what the sector is, the challenges of recruiting the best people remain the same
When senior HR leaders gather from across Australia to share experiences and insights one thing is clear - their industries may be different but the challenges are the same.
At a recent roundtable in Melbourne hosted by reference check platform Referoo, leaders from sectors including grocery, science and communications discussed how AI can help drive efficiences and reduce costs.
Issues included AI in recruitment and how it can deal with multiple layers of compliance, better screen applicants and give candidates a better experience to help protect employer value proposition (EVP).
Ashlea Roach, managing director at people and culture consultancy, PeopleCo, moderated the discussion and described the issues as key "because we’re all not lucky enough to have an abundance of talent rushing in 15 minutes after a job ad goes live”.
It was noted that EVP and brand can take a hit when recruitment experience is poor and some concern about the transactional nature of the hiring process, with some dicussion about the need to create better relationships with their prospective hires, rather than treating is as "getting someone in the job as soon as possible".
While there was no one-size-fits all solution to the issue of candidate experience, there was agreement that the ratio of suitable applicants for jobs was extremely low. This, some claimed, was down to the type of specialist job advertised or even down to how AI-generated resumes are too easy to spot.
Background checks were also raised as a key issue with recruitment, specially with the advent of the AI resume reacting to the AI-written job description.
The heavily debated topic highlighted a potential gap in what was being promised by the candidate and their ability and it was noted that a greater focus on experience-led job descriptions (sometimes called success profiles) are needed to better judge an applicant’s ability to perform key roles. References were also seen as important if this were to be implemented.
Fractional CMO of Referoo, Luke Maddison, noted the importance of AI systems being in one place to help boost EVP and streamline recruitment.
“Having all of your employment checks in one place, makes it both easier for you and the candidate. Instead of being bombarded with emails about reference checks, background checks, ID checks, wouldn’t it just be better if you got one?” he said.
