Could Chatbots Unlock More Diversity In The Recruitment Process?

Amy Lomax, designer of chatbots for LINK Mobility (www.linkmobility.com/), looks at the potential.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been catapulted into the limelight by ChatGPT The press headlines have piqued the interest of people who have had very little exposure to or awareness of AI before Other than the occasional conversation with a chatbot to get help on a website few people will have really considered the potential of AI technology nor been inquisitive about how it could help them day to day

ChatGPT has changed this People are experimenting with the machine and putting it through its paces Everything from writing user manuals for equipment to producing dissertations has been done in just the short spell we’ve seen In a work context it s prompted business leaders to ask how chatbots in general could change the way they do business and how they interact with partners and patients

The most obvious way is to remove unnecessary interruptions to the working day so practitioners can get on with their job For instance healthcare providers can use conversational chatbots to give patients or healthcare partners straightforward help quickly This might be along the lines of answering frequent questions like ‘how do I renew a prescription?’

In this scenario bots can be trained to ‘look up’ the answer from a repository of answers In the same way a chatbot can be used to help someone rearrange an appointment by integrating it with an appointment system

These are just two examples of how the debate stimulated by ChatGPT has helped to broaden the view of what conversational AI can do It’s created an appetite to consider how AI and chatbots can positively help, rather than the negatives such as job losses

In fact, in healthcare, AI is helping people to get jobs There is an emerging trend to use chatbots to support the recruitment process The reasons are twofold Firstly it s a costly operation Advertising for suitable candidates requires investment and it s also time consuming so anything that can be done to reduce the overhead is welcome

Secondly screening applications is a labour-intensive job Every CV is different so there s no quick way to find the best qualified people or make fair comparisons especially if there is more than one person involved in the process of reviewing the applicants

However using a chatbot changes things There are now examples of healthcare recruitment agents using chatbots to interact with applicants As a first stage, people interested in applying for a role are asked to give the chatbot specific qualifications and experience Provided the criteria is met, candidates are put through to the next round of screening or interview

In instances where the candidate doesn t meet any or all the criteria they are either advised of this immediately or they are asked if they want to be kept on file for other future roles They also have the option to speak to someone for more detail This approach to managing candidates not only helps speed up the process of finding the right people but it can also help create a talent pool for future requirements

The return on investment is proving positive for early adopters They are placing better quality candidates more quickly, improving revenue, margin and satisfaction rates In turn, healthcare providers are happier because their vacancies are being filled by great applicants sooner than usual and saving money in the long run

However the model is also starting to drive outcomes that are positive for improving diversity because a chatbot only wants to know about qualifications and experience It s not interested in age race gender disability or sexuality It overcomes the bias that could creep in because of someone’s perceptions associated to a name for instance, or even because of a typo in a CV

Of course, these outcomes are only possible if the machine is programmed to behave in this way It’s a risk that employers and recruiters need to be cognisant of - the AI is only as good as the methodology it supports and the code it uses to perform a task

There is therefore a critical need and responsibility to ensure bias isn t used in the production of the chatbot (It s comparable to the hallucinations ChatGPT can have whereby it can provide a very convincing but totally untrue answer to a question because of the accuracy of the information sources it calls upon )

It s an important reminder that chatbots exist because of humans We set the direction It s why a collective intelligence must be applied when designing successful chatbots Life experience, legal obligations, right through to empathy should be blended with technical experience

When it is done well it can help overcome challenges employers face in terms of finding good quality candidates but also with regards to helping people find fulfilling work Something I believes is a must for a thriving society and for the individual