Robotics is one of the branches of cutting-edge technology that has evolved the most over the last 20 years. The very concept of robot has changed within the corporate culture over this time. Initially, robots were thought of as machines programmed to help perform certain tasks. Today, however, robots are capable of performing activities previously reserved exclusively for people.
The human resources (HR) sector has not been spared from the unstoppable advance of the digital transformation of companies. Artificial Intelligence has led to the emergence of specialized recruitment software capable of replacing the first selection filter in any selection process.. Automation in HR is already a reality, and although for the moment professionals in the sector should not worry about losing their jobs, it is advisable to be very attentive to this new way of selecting potential employees of a company. In the future, they may be the ones in charge of the entire department.
Automation of personnel selection
There are currently robots on the market with disruptive technology adapted to human resources. There are, for example, software capable of performing a first selection filter among the different candidates applying for a job offer. This makes selection much easier for HR professionals. But what aboutare these robots really reliable?
According to a study by the Adecco, In the case of the so-called "best candidates", three out of four well-qualified candidates do not pass the filter of the so-called "best candidates". ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems). The reason is that many of these potential employees do not know how to code the data so that these types of automated recruiters assess them as suitable profiles for the vacant position. That is perhaps one of the problems of automation in HR: the loss of job opportunities due to a lack of knowledge of how ATSs work. So, in order to understand what this type of specialized HR software is all about, we will try to summarize its main functions:
- An ATS is a ssoftware capable of performing an initial screening of different CV's by parameterizing a series of keywords related to the company or the vacant position. That is perhaps one of the main differences with an HR professional: he chooses the candidate based on the kws he uses, and not based on the spelling mistakes he has or the lack of necessary knowledge acquired, as a person would do.
- Such a software is useful for the HR department of a company because it helps to relieve a large part of the administrative and bureaucratic burden that is involved in recruiting personnel in the traditional way.
- This type of HR specialist bots search for potential candidates on social networks, based on the selection of keywords.
Given the features of recruitment automation provided by software such as the one described above, candidates must take into account certain rules for coding their resume information:
- Tailor your CV to each vacancy you wish to apply for. is no longer an option, it is an obligation.
- Have basic SEO knowledge to use keywords in social networks and personal websites or blogs..
- To know the keywords most relevant to the vacant position and thus include them in the information provided in the CV.
Automation in human resources therefore generates a series of new knowledge needs among candidates that did not exist before..
Today, ATSs are the most widely used robots by recruiters. But what does the future hold?
Machine learning and chatbots
The automation of recruitment processes has just begun. The reason is that there are already several prototypes of technologies capable of replacing HR professionals completely. These are the so-called chatbots, The company's IT applications are capable of resolving any employee's doubts. For example, when payrolls will be paid, which long weekends are pending during the year, or the hours of medical visits that correspond to each worker. Despite all these developments, there are still critical voices regarding this type of machines that aspire to replace the tasks of human resources experts in the near future. Some of these doubts are related to the assimilation and learning capacity of the robots in order to answer correctly all the requests of the professionals.
- Will the chatbots to understand what they are being asked?
- Will they distinguish between orders, requests or suggestions?
- Who will endow such robots with a corporate language that fits with the identity of the companies?
- Will they be able to give emotionally appropriate responses to each context and situation?
In this regard, it is worth mentioning what has been referred to as the “...".“machine learning”. This concept is perhaps the cause of the technological revolution that HR departments around the world will face in the coming years. The automation of their functions can be explained in a concise manner thanks to the machine learning, which could be defined as follows: “is a cICT concept related to the technological disruption that allows machines, robots and robots to be used to chatbots interacting in a natural and accurate way with people”. In other words, the machine learning will gradually lead to machines being able to better interpret people's requests and provide more precise responses to their demands.
One of the startups pioneers in the design of this type of chatbots, which are intended to be the perfect assistant for any type of work environment, is the company's Size. According to the CEO of this pioneering startup, Rob May, the goal of this robot is that through Artificial Intelligence and the understanding of verbal language, it will be able to even conduct job interviews in the not too distant future.
Automation in the enterprise: destruction or opportunity for change?
So far, we have focused on talking about how automation is influencing and will influence the HR sector in the future. But this process called digital transformation encompasses all possible business, cultural and social fields. This topic is therefore the subject of study for different consulting firms specializing in human resources. One of them is Adecco, which in its report entitled “The future of work in Spain”The "The revolution is causing a lot of controversy," sheds some light on the prospects that this revolution is provoking among employees.
Some of the highlights of the report conducted for HR professionals by Adecco are as follows:
- According to the report, 65% of HR professionals believe that automation will kill jobs as much as it will create them..
- Remote employment will be strengthened, favoring the offshoring of the work environment.
- Of every 10 experts consulted, 9 say that Spain's economic evolution will depend on the country's capacity for creating scientific knowledge and adapting to new technologies.
- Over the past few years, corporations have been focusing on recruiting talent. This means that many positions do not exist prior to hiring, and it is precisely those people who will have to find their place within the corporate organization chart.
- Automation will lead to the knowledge of the workers are transversal, capable of resolving any type of incident regardless of the position or occupations.
- The way of recruiting personnel will also change due to automation, as the new selection criteria will vary drastically. Thus, criteria related to personal skills (92.5%), attitudes (82.5%) or technical skills (60.4%) will be some of the most requested.
Returning to the main theme of this article, related to the arrival of automation in HR departments, it must be said that the future may not be as bleak as it seems from an employment point of view. Creativity, reasoning and assimilation skills are still uniquely human attributes and very difficult to replicate. So, as the report shows, HR departments may undergo major changes in the way they work, but it is unlikely that machines will completely replace all their tasks.
It is undeniable, however, that the unstoppable advance of artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important in the service sector (not counting, of course, the industrial sector). We are in a process of cultural, social and industrial change, and this must be interpreted as an opportunity for improvement. Adapting to the environment in a natural way is another of the qualities that robots will never - or at least for the time being - be able to take away from us. So let's take advantage of it to improve and overcome all the challenges of digital transformation in HR optimistically.