Article: Meet Russian robot Vera- the new AI tool in Talent Acquisition

Recruitment

Meet Russian robot Vera- the new AI tool in Talent Acquisition

Vera's emergence underlines the growing reliance on AI for recruiting by employers. Know more about how technology is shaping recruitment at People Matters Talent Acquisition Leadership League Conference 2018.
Meet Russian robot Vera- the new AI tool in Talent Acquisition

AI is a buzzword which continues to dominate headlines this year. Be it manufacturing or education or startups or for that matter, the HR function, artificial intelligence, technology, bots, and robots are making headway into almost every industry. With this rise of AI, the noise around automation leading to job losses has also increased. However, it's not the job seekers alone, who are threatened by the rise of machines. Going a level further, a Russian startup has now created a robot that is also taking over a recruiter’s job and is being used to interview prospective employees.

Named Vera, the robot has been created by Stafory, a startup based out of St. Petersburg, Russia.

The co-founders Vladimir Sveshnikov and Alexander Uraksin were inspired by the idea to create Vera after they realized that they often ended up wasting valuable time calling candidates who were no longer interested in the job or that they couldn't get in touch with.

“We felt like robots ourselves, so we figured it was better to automate the task,” co-founder Alexander Uraksin told a media outlet. 

What Vera does is employ artificial intelligence technology to narrow down applicants to the top candidates based on job requirements. Vera can find resumes from the top five job sites, call the potential employees and hold video and phone interviews. For those candidates who are interested in a firm’s job offer, Vera will propose an online interview. Also, Vera can also delete duplicate cover letters and resumes, as well as fill in different jobs at once, like cashiers and engineers. 

As per the startup, Vera can cut down the cost and time of recruiting by a third, as she’s able to interview hundreds of applicants at the same time. It can narrow the field to the most suitable 10 percent of candidates, claims the startup. However, the final call for hiring a particular candidate remains with the humans. So for now, human recruiters still vet the candidates shortlisted by Vera.

The next big thing: marrying Talent Acquisition and Technology

Vera’s emergence on the scene mirrors the move by growing number of employers relying on AI for many HR functions such as recruiting, engagement, and offering a superior employee experience by leveraging chatbots for payroll, attendance, and leave application. 

In February this year, LinkedIn launched a new InMail feature, Scheduler to automate the process of the initial round of interview scheduling. Similarly last month, Param.ai, an AI-based inbound hiring solution which helps companies make data-backed hiring decisions introduced an intelligent stand-alone hiring platform. The AI sourcing feature of the platform continuously mines the database and recommends candidates to potential job matches, helping optimize the utilization of applicant data.

Similarly last year, Woo, an Israeli-US company had launched an AI-powered headhunter-Helena to search and source potential candidates. 

The growing reliance on AI in HR is also validated by looking at the HR tech space in India. India’s leading HR technology company People Strong went on to acquire two companies to beef up its AI and Machine Learning capabilities-namely Grownout and Capabiliti. Early in the year, it also launched its matchmaking product tool powered by machine learning called ‘Alt Recruit’. 

These are times when recruiters need to start by experimenting with interviewing tools and leverage the power of automation and artificial intelligence for cutting the time and cost involved in recruitment.

This will allow them to remove the unconscious bias in recruitment, optimize candidate experience and focus on what comes next-engagement.

It is this opportunity which the People Matters Talent Acquisition League Annual Conference 2018 will focus on through its three tracks – strategy track, technology track, and impact track. The conference will address the most poignant talent acquisition challenges, what’s next in TA, and how AI and machines are becoming matchmakers for recruiters today.

TAL_2018

Click here to register.

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Image Source: Medium.com

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Topics: Recruitment, Talent Acquisition, Technology, #TAL2018

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