Core-Asset Consulting MD Louise Powrie considers the impact of technology on the recruitment industry and the personal experience that candidates value from us.

Human connection – the personal touch at the centre of the Core-Asset experience

I have recently been reading through the glowing reviews that Core-Asset Consulting gets from candidates through Feefo, and it’s provided some great insights into the way our consultants work and the difference they make to the recruitment experience.

We understand that job seeking can be a very stressful time, and this is increasingly being exacerbated by technology and challenging markets.  Many people get the feeling that their CV, covering letter, and application are being scanned by an AI and possibly dismissed before a human even sees it at the other end.

In market conditions where thousands of applications are sent for each role, we know our role, more than ever, requires our consultants’ expertise and deeply embedded and trusted relationship with our clients to help candidates stand out from the crowd.  Combined with a genuine interest in doing the right thing, these reviews really highlight that our candidates value this personal experience they get with Core-Asset Consulting so much. The reviews we receive consistently mention the professional, knowledgeable and tailored support they receive. Candidates talk about the time our consultants spend understanding them, and the helpful, personal touch to make sure the role aligns with what they want to do – there are no square pegs and round holes. Above all, we know we offer a counterpoint to the faceless digital experience.

The benefits of evolving technology and AI to recruiters are clear – they offer a way to process large numbers of applications with limited HR resources. They allow early steps in hiring to be outsourced to computers, with humans stepping in to make the big decisions at the end.

Like all recruitment consultancies, we are keen to use technology in any way that can improve the service we offer. But we’re cautious about situations where technological progress might cause setbacks in the candidate experience or introduce new forms of bias.

We have written recently about the risks of AI bias, and they are very real in recruitment. In our industry experiments in AI have two major problems. The first is that this is not like training an AI in chess, where it can run through millions of combinations of moves and find out the best outcome. We’re working with a live environment, with real jobs and real people: failed experiments have consequences. The second is that existing biases can easily be picked up and favoured by the algorithm. Inaccurate data or misrepresented successful hires could shape biased decisions as gospel.

The technological landscape will continue to shift rapidly, and when good software becomes available Core-Asset Consulting will remain open to considering it. But the recent reviews on Feefo serve as a reminder of what people value from us – expertise in recruiting delivered in a personalised and professional way. We have always believed that people are a company’s core asset, and we will stay true to that vision; that every candidate deserves to be treated like a person, not an anonymous applicant in a system.

Read all candidate reviews of Core-Asset Consulting at Feefo.