Intelligent chatbots are proving that there’s no talent shortage when you know how to personalize employee recruitment. Just ask Bipul Vaibhav, founder and CEO of Skillate, a startup in India with an AI-based talent intelligence platform.
“We help organizations quickly find the most qualified candidates, using intelligence to speed up hiring while improving the candidate experience and addressing diversity and inclusion objectives,” said Bipul Vaibhav, founder and CEO of Skillate. “Candidates appreciate having clarity on where they stand and what to expect next, reflecting well on the organization’s culture, and improving its ability to attract top talent over time.”
Using AI-powered algorithms, the technology automates previously time-intensive screening conversations between recruiters and candidates to significantly speed up hiring. Unlike last generation tools, personal data is anonymized to prevent bias, and candidates automatically receive updates throughout the process – whether they advance to the next screening step or not.
The intelligent technology tackles the entire talent acquisition process, from job profile writing, to ranking candidate applications against an organization’s job description parameters such as education, experience and special skills. When recruiters and hiring managers receive the ranked candidates, they decide which people to move forward with for scheduled interviews. The chatbot blocks the calendars of both interviewers and candidates, automatically managing rescheduling and cancellations.
Skillate’s customers span industries including IT, manufacturing, automotive, and pharmaceuticals in India, the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Organizations on average have reduced screening timeframes from initial job posting to scheduled candidate interviews by 60 percent. One customer in IT services reduced time to hire by 50 percent, and improved the quality of candidate applications by a factor of three.
Intelligence saves talent sourcing costs
Drawing from global, role-based skill profiles, Skillate’s algorithm can help recruiters write job descriptions that are likelier to attract the most qualified candidates. The tool also sources candidates already in the company’s database who have previously applied for other jobs. This has saved some organizations as much as 30 percent in sourcing costs.
“We’re helping companies cost-effectively build a future talent pipeline,” said Vaibhav. “They can become less dependent on expensive job boards and quickly collect a candidate’s updated information, speeding up recruitment and hiring as new positions become available.”
Chat bot guidance to make the candidate shortlist
Job seekers on an organization’s career site can get immediate answers to their burning questions during pre-screening exchanges. The chatbot asks candidates to upload their resume, then provides job openings that best match that person’s qualifications. Instead of wondering and waiting for a response to their submitted application, people have greater transparency into the entire process.
“The chatbot helps candidates find opportunities most suited to their qualifications,” said Vaibhav. “During screening for particular positions, the chatbot collects data from candidates in a natural conversation, asking relevant questions. People can also ask questions like whether or not they can work remotely or if travel is required.”
Anonymized data prevents bias
The algorithm helps organizations address diversity and inclusion, masking personal data on resumes, as designated by the company. This could include someone’s name, email address or telephone, location, education, and other details that could reveal gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other sensitive identifying information. What’s more, historical recruitment data reveals hiring patterns, helping track diversity and inclusion efforts.
Growth opportunities from SAP Startup Studio
Skillate is among the fast-growth companies that have partnered with SAP Startup Studio at SAP Labs India. Vaibhav acknowledged the expertise of SAP’s executives in supporting Skillate’s product design and go to market efforts.
“We learned what enterprises were looking for based on their recruitment challenges, and designed our solution so that it’s integrated with the SAP SuccessFactors HXM suite of cloud-based applications, giving recruitment teams an additional layer of intelligence,” he said. “We really appreciate the access to SAP’s customers, which directly supports our global growth plans.”
Skillate is available on the SAP Store.
Personal experience leads to recruiting innovation
Viabhav launched Skillate after struggling with recruitment for employees at an AI-based startup where he worked as a data scientist.
“We weren’t attracting the right people despite receiving numerous resumes and applications,” he said. “I applied my AI expertise to the global talent recruitment challenge and came up with Skillate. It’s also aligns with my commitment to impact many people in a positive way. I wanted to create something that people love to use and businesses find valuable.”
Eventually, Viabhav hopes to create a complete AI-based talent intelligence platform that includes recruitment, management, experience, and succession planning.
In a post-pandemic job market, finding the most qualified candidates and hiring them as fast as possible is not a trend, but a must-have for global growth.
Source: forbes.com
