Technology is transforming the way business is now conducted and Artificial Intelligence, in particular, seems to be the focus in many business sectors. “AI is allowing a machine to replicate cognitive abilities found in human beings to make tasks easier, effective, and efficient,” (Taplow) It has transformed the manufacturing, medical, retail and multiple other sectors, but what about those areas that require extensive human intervention like consulting, law or recruitment?”
Here are some examples of how AI is being used in the Executive Search field today:
Draw insights from trends and patterns.
AI helps to gather and collage excellent insights from past data trends and patterns. For example, the average tenure of a chief technology officer in a retail sector organisation is three years. This means that you could start reaching out to potential candidates once they have completed 2.5 years of service. Similarly, a lot of insights can be drawn from past data. What are the top qualities for CFOs? What are the top challenges that a CEO faces? Data analysis can provide the answer to all these questions.
Predict the most suitable fit.
Executive search services work together with machine learning algorithms to improve the accuracy of predicting the best-suited candidates. Technology will also aid in defining the role and job description and AI helps to narrow down the search more accurately than by consultancy alone and identifies those candidates who are most suitable for the position in a shorter space of time.
Using AI software also widens the search by allowing the use of a narrow or specific search term that is a “must have” further defined by location, level and title. The possibilities are quite infinite.
Suggest the best compensation.
AI can build extensive data about compensations and benefits being offered for a similar role in the industry. This helps to measure and compare compensation packages and enable a more accurate and detailed view of what is happening in the current market. No need for time-consuming salary surveys and the result is more accuracy relating to current compensation trends.
Why artificial intelligence cannot replace executive search management consulting.
However, whilst AI can aid executive search services, it can never replace executive recruitment consultants. Executive search ultimately requires human interaction to allow in depth discussion, analysis, reporting and decision making with regards to who is best suited to a role. Moreover, the consultant knows the client business and can make an informed decision with regards to the candidate’s organisational and cultural fit.
“Human interaction is essential for executive search, and it is the human mind that would probe beyond the roles, titles and skills. Executive search consultants have thorough knowledge about the industry trends, the current challenges and opportunities, and this knowledge combined with the experience is invaluable in finding the best talent for the top managerial positions in the organisation.”
DSA use state of the art specialist AI recruitment software to enhance our extensive knowledge and experience in the industry. This allows us an even greater reach to potential passive candidates who may not otherwise be identified with consultancy alone. In particular, those “hard to fill” vacancies where there may be a very small pool of candidates available.
Contact us for further information about how we can help you find exactly the right person for your role.
With reference to Hunt Scanlon Media 2021