Best Practices For AI Interviews Business Leaders Must Implement For Successful Hiring
Integrating Artificial Intelligence into the various stages of your recruitment process, and specifically interviewing, promises quick and targeted growth for your organization. This is due to the speed and efficiency you can gain through automating time-consuming tasks, as well as eliminating mistakes and oversights that stem from increased workloads. However, you can only enjoy these benefits if you are very careful about how you implement AI interviews. If you fail to follow the right steps, you will miss out on strong candidates and even expose your company to bias and reputational damage. In this article, we will discuss the 7 best practices for AI interviews that will ensure that you not only identify and hire the best talent possible, but also create a positive experience for applicants.
7 Best Practices For Successful AI Interviews
1. Set Clear Objectives
When incorporating AI into your hiring strategy, you are essentially delegating a number of tasks—usually the repetitive and time-consuming ones—to an AI system. However, for this process to give you the desired results, you need to provide clear guidance. Establishing clear objectives means knowing exactly which skills, experience, and personality traits you’re seeking in a candidate. This will help you identify the right keywords for the AI to scan resumes and generate a shortlist of suitable candidates. Additionally, it will enable you to craft the right questions and design effective assessments for the interview stage to ultimately find the best fit for your job posting.
2. Be Transparent With Candidates
When working with AI, transparency is of the essence. You don’t want candidates to be blindsided by an AI bot when they were expecting to speak with a member of HR. This can make them feel undervalued to the point where they might abandon the interview. Instead, make sure to be transparent with applicants from the beginning, explaining to them exactly when and how AI will be utilized. This will prepare them for the interview stage and address any doubts or questions they may have about how their data is being used and the role of AI in the process. Being honest fosters trust and increases the odds of candidates being receptive to the use of AI.
3. Train For AI Literacy
Applicants are not the only ones who need to know how AI works. A crucial best practice for AI interviews you need to keep in mind is that employees must receive training to enhance the effectiveness of the AI system. Regardless of whether they are involved in its design or maintenance, HR representatives, recruiters, and managers need to understand how the system works, the factors it considers when assessing talent, its limitations, and when they need to intervene to provide irreplaceable human judgment. Employees who develop their AI literacy are less likely to misuse the technology or trust it blindly. Therefore, they are better equipped to detect issues and ensure the AI system functions properly.
4. Conduct Regular Bias Audits
While most companies take the necessary steps to ensure their AI interviews are unbiased to begin with, things can change over time. Data may contain hidden biases that may not show for a while, or new issues may develop. To make sure nothing compromises the integrity, equality, and fairness of your recruitment process, it is essential to audit your AI system for discrimination against specific groups based on factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, race, etc. You can conduct these audits internally with the help of your DEI team or, if there isn’t one, you can outsource them to an external partner. Whatever you choose, make sure to repeat these checks regularly to identify and address any issues that could hurt your company’s reputation.
5. Consider Accessibility And Inclusivity
Another best practice about AI interviews that you can’t forget is making accommodations for candidates who may be differently abled or neurodivergent. These individuals may struggle to represent themselves effectively during automated interviews or may not be assessed fairly by the AI system. For example, facial and voice analysis tools may unfairly disqualify these candidates because they don’t meet typical standards. Instead of excluding these applicants, allow them the option to request an interview with a human recruiter. Additionally, factors such as technical issues or nerves could lead the AI system to reject an applicant. When there is no clear reason behind a rejection, allow candidates to reschedule their interview so that they can try again.
6. Monitor Candidate Experience
Monitoring how candidates are experiencing this new automated method of interviewing is essential. Besides, you can’t forget that your hiring process is part of your company culture and should reflect it accordingly. Keeping track of candidate satisfaction is rather easy. After they complete their interview, you can send them a survey to gather feedback on their impressions of your AI interview system. Pay close attention to negative comments or feedback indicating that there was confusion during the interaction. This information is what will help you identify what you need to improve to make the process more pleasant, intuitive, and, ultimately, effective.
7. Keep Track Of Regulations
This is a fluid topic, as laws and regulations about the correct and ethical use of AI in hiring are still evolving. However, that means that the legal landscape concerning AI interviews is unstable and requires extra attention. For example, if new guidelines about proper data handling are established and your company fails to acknowledge them, you could face fines or legal issues. To prevent any financial or reputational harm, it is essential to assign someone from your HR or compliance team to keep track of these changes and ensure your policies are updated accordingly.
Conclusion
AI interviews can be a valuable tool for your company, helping you find new talent faster and more efficiently. Still, there are several factors you need to consider in order to achieve the desired results from this process. These can include setting clear objectives, being honest with candidates, helping your employees develop AI literacy, and ensuring accessibility for applicants. Something extra you can’t forget is to regularly monitor the process to assess its efficiency and the quality of the candidate experience. Follow the best practices for AI interviews that we shared in this article to make your organization’s hiring process as successful as possible.
