In an interaction with Higher Education Review Magazine, Sumit Kathuria, Chief Human Resources Officer, NR Consulting, shared his insights on various aspects of talent acquisition, potential risks and ethical considerations associated with using AI-powered tools in talent acquisition and more. Sumit Holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialization in Marketing and finance from Gujarat University and a master’s degree in business administration with a specialization in HR from Amity University, Sumit is a seasoned HR professional with over 14 years of experience in the industry.

Suggest a few effective strategies businesses can implement to attract top talent.

Attracting top talent requires a combination of various efforts, wherein you have to continuously evaluate and refine the strategies that you are implementing as per changing market dynamics and expectations of the candidates. Since every candidate aspires to work for an established brand, organizations must create a strong brand image with a clear vision and mission statements. Additionally, the employee benefits and salaries that are being offered must be at par with the industry standards, and there must be enough opportunities internally for growth. HR leaders must keep an open eye on the latest market trends and accordingly tweak the benefits that are being offered to their employees. Most importantly, the organization must try to incorporate flexible working options to the maximum extent possible, as this is currently one of the aspects candidates look into while joining a company, especially since the pandemic.

Crafting an attractive Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that clearly explains the benefits of being employed in your organization will go a long way in both attracting top talent as well as retaining existing employees. Also, you must create a positive work culture that fosters collaboration and innovation. Employee engagement is yet another factor that is essential for every organization to identify their employee satisfaction levels and get a clear idea of what they expect from the company. Lastly, it is paramount for companies to have an attractive employee rewards & recognition program in place, as this not only boosts employee morale but also encourages them to work to their fullest potential.

Tell us about some of the major attributes that help in measuring the effectiveness of a talent acquisition strategy.

Measuring a company’s talent acquisition efforts requires several KPIs to be taken into consideration. Some of the prime ones among them are time to fill, cost per hire, sourcing channel effectiveness, quality of hire, employee satisfaction levels, retention rate, and time to productivity, to name a few. Having these KPIs in place not only helps the organization to measure its talent acquisition efforts but also enables it to have a clear understanding of what the employees expect from the company’s side and make adjustments accordingly.

What are the potential risks and ethical considerations associated with using AI-powered tools in talent acquisition?

There is no doubt that AI is a powerful tool that brings numerous benefits to every function of a business. However, it fails to take into consideration the ‘emotion’ factor which is very important in niche business functions like people management/HR. As a result, an organization and stakeholders need to do a careful analysis of the various pros & cons of implementing AI into any function, especially the ones that often require human intervention. Since AI tech works solely based on the data that is being fed, there are chances of it being biased if the input itself is biased. Given the complicated nature of how AI functions, it is difficult to explain the reason for any particular decision it takes and thus lacks transparency. Also, AI technology has limited or no representation of culture, demography and other socioeconomic factors which might result in it not being able to evaluate candidates effectively.

While these are the ethical risks involved in implementing AI into the talent acquisition process, I feel that AI implementation will adversely impact the candidates’ experience due to the lack of human touch, which according to me is a key ingredient to engage efficiently with the candidates.

Share your thoughts on the diversity and inclusion factors in the hiring process.

Diversity and inclusion are the two most important factors to build an equitable and fair workforce. Thus, every business must have diverse job descriptions (JD) that focus on essential qualifications and skills that welcome candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds. Also, these JDs must not consist of any requirements that might act as a barrier to the different kinds of talent pools that are available in the market. Lastly, anonymous resume screening, diverse interview panels, and structured interviews are other effective measures that businesses can inculcate to avoid bias and encourage inclusion in the hiring process.  

What are some of how a working professional can stay updated with the latest market dynamics?

Today, there are a variety of channels available that can help us stay updated with the latest industry developments and market trends. With the advent of the internet (social media) and other digital technology, every kind of information is readily available to the users at their fingertips. Professional networking platforms like LinkedIn also help immensely to not only stay updated with the latest market dynamics but also enhance your knowledge base. Also, attending various industry-related conferences & events, webinars, seminars and workshops enables a working professional to get familiarized with various facets of the industry.