Robot vs Human | @JimStroud @JasRober on The #SocialRecruiting Show

Celebrating our 100th show debating robot vs human!

If you’ve been reading this blog for any time now, you know my beliefs on candidate experience. I believe if we could just be human, talent leaders would improve candidate experience tremendously. Seems simple right?

In some ways, yes. It happens easily in the 1-to-1 moments when we know what to do. When we can do the right thing for a good person. When we test and iterate as we learn what best-in-class really looks like. I’m inspired all the time by the clients I train who take these steps regularly to be more human. However, those leaders are telling me the same story. They’re overwhelmed with more work than ever and that creates even less time for the human element.

We’re faced with a new fact: being human involves technology. There were no better guests to celebrate our 100th episode with or to discuss this topic than Randstad Sourceright’s Jim Stroud and Jason Roberts.

Robot vs Human

There’s a reality – especially in a world of high volume, high application companies like the ones most commonly served by an RPO – where having humans manage every communication at every step becomes impossible. But that’s just unacceptable to Jason.

“When I order from Pizza Hut, they have a tracker to show you exactly where your pizza is in the process and I love it. I know my pizza is being made, when it’s in the oven, and when it’s out for delivery… How in the world is it that a candidate can’t know that about this life changing experience of changing a job? Why don’t we have that?”

That’s where automation comes in. We have to address human needs with machines. For example, every candidate wants to know what’s happening at any moment with certainty and clarity. That’s why the number one candidate experience complaint is black hole recruitment. To solve it, use a machine to automation data.

“If you have stats, give them the stats and set expectations at each point. Just make it transparent.” 

Ultimately, you have to decide where the machine or the human will take the lead but the best success comes from a balance. Recruiters should be the middle person, translating information from one input (like a hiring manager) to the machine because the machines we have today just aren’t conversational (yet). They don’t know to ask the hiring manager what they really mean or to see the potential in a candidate based on a resume that traditionally might not be a fit.

Jim Stroud said it best.

“No matter how good machines are, you still need a human behind it.”

If that wasn’t enough, below you’ll hear Jim & Jason Share more: