The Future of Hiring Will Be Faster, Simpler and More Human — Thanks to Data

Here at Indeed, we have 250 million global unique visitors per month¹ who read employer reviews, upload resumes, apply to jobs, respond to employers’ screening questions, take assessments and interview directly with employers on our platform. To date, job seekers on Indeed have completed more than 315 million assessments.² And more than 2.5 million interviews with job seekers have been hosted on Indeed.³ 

“This perpetual activity provides a deep understanding of both job seeker and employer preferences across our global job site and hiring platform,” says Maggie Hulce, Executive VP and GM of Enterprise at Indeed. “By intelligently harnessing this data, we’re able to continuously improve the recommendations we make to job seekers for jobs that align with their skills and preferences and automate more than 70% of recruiting steps to help employers interview screened candidates faster.”⁴

Intelligently harnessing data also means being good stewards of data. At Indeed, a dedicated AI Ethics team collaborates across the company to advance data science applications that promote fair and inclusive hiring so we can help all people get jobs. 

Collecting data responsibly and auditing processes to help remove bias from the very beginning is a crucial part of ethical and accurate technology development, especially as AI continues to permeate the business and hiring landscape.

To hire Gen Z, look to AI

Industries from automotive to accounting are already applying AI and automation across business operations. And as these systems become more advanced and intelligent, the scale and scope of adoption will grow rapidly. Nancy Giordano, strategic futurist and author of “Leadering: The Ways Visionary Leaders Play Bigger,” expects that “AI will be as ubiquitous and integrated into the 21st century as electricity was in the 20th century.”

Driven by data insights and robust AI ethics guidelines, hiring-automation technology has the potential to help recruiting practices become more efficient, accurate and personalized in the future — and meet the expectations of Gen Zers, 41% of whom are willing to forgo security and privacy concerns and provide information about their preferences to have more personalized experiences.

That’s today. But Hulce envisions a future in which advanced hiring tools combine with technologies like blockchain, biometrics, virtual reality and the internet of everything. 

“As you’re getting ready in the morning, your mirror might scroll through a list of jobs or projects based on your selected preferences and biometric sensors,” she says. “If you don’t like your job, there’s no hiding the Monday morning blues from your own mirror! While the hiring world isn’t there yet, it’s exciting to think about how today’s nascent technologies might transform how we find meaningful work and hire in the future.”

The evolution of work

As hiring evolves to further empower employees and employers alike, work itself will also evolve.

“There’s a real possibility that we’ll move away from the ‘one person, one job’ hiring model,” says Hulce. “Task-based work, job sharing and multiple income streams could become the norm — which means the role of talent leaders may become even more complex and fast-paced.”

Giordano points to a study by Bloomberg and New America for an extensive review on this topic. The authors outlined four possible scenarios based on whether technological changes result in more or less work to go around and whether work continues to be structured as “jobs” or fragmented into “tasks” (including what we recognize today as the “gig economy”). Among the study’s findings: Employers’ central role in society needs to be re-examined, and the future of work will shape cities and regions.

Giordano envisions a future in which employers build fluid talent ecosystems and communities rather than distinguishing rigidly between internal and external sources. Which scenario is the most likely? Impossible to say yet. “We’ll have to make peace with paradox,” she says. 

Now what?

In “Leadering,” Giordano outlines ways employers can play the long game by embracing the systems and culture that support innovation. Flatter organizational structures and shared metrics, along with cultures that foster empathy, respect and psychological safety, can help break down silos and facilitate fast-paced collaboration, communication and decision-making. 

Giordano also points to the importance of reskilling to stay relevant. Workers at every level will need to prioritize making space and time to learn new technologies, adapt to shifting roles and responsibilities, and develop the hard and soft skills needed to navigate what’s next.

Reskilling is good for retention, as Unilever discovered through its Future of Work initiative, a plan to prepare its global workforce for automation in a purposeful, inclusive and empathetic way. 

A Harvard Business School case study reports that Unilever included employees in planning and development, ultimately putting forth a reskilling effort that included lifelong learning programs and flexible work practices. In some countries, the company facilitated job swaps or even invited workers’ family members to participate in training programs. The people-centered pledge to “leave no one behind” resulted in strong retention rates and a boost to Unilever’s employer brand.

And for employers that must hire quickly to meet the demands of rapid change, investing in hiring-automation technology can help get to the hire faster. This saves time and provides a better candidate experience by allowing recruiters to focus on what they do best: making human connections with candidates.

Planning for the future can feel equally exciting and unnerving. While it’s difficult to navigate constant change and ambiguity, talent leaders can influence the trajectory of their organizations by staying informed about technologies shaping their industries, investing in tools that improve the hiring process and building the systems and culture that support innovation — and the people behind it.

---

Article Sources:

¹ Google Analytics, Unique Visitors, February 2020
² Indeed data (worldwide)
³ Indeed data (worldwide)
⁴ Indeed data (US)