Ready, Set…AI Not Yet: Majority of HR Professionals Want More Training, Education, and Laws for AI in The Workplace

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Jul 18, 2023, 08:00 ET

Around one-third of job candidates and HR professionals believe AI leads to more bias in hiring

62% of HR Professionals say that AI can help them hire the best candidate

NEW YORK, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greenhouse AI and DEIB Report, a new survey of 2,700 candidates and 100 HR professionals, has discovered that 80% of HR professionals and 48% of candidates have used or are considering using generative AI in the hiring process. While the majority are utilizing AI's benefits, the survey results show that concerns are top of mind among candidates and HR professionals alike.

The large majority of HR professionals (84%) believe that there should be more education and training in the workplace regarding AI tools. A further 62% believe that there should be more laws specifically governing AI tools to prevent bias in the recruitment process. The data has revealed that both HR professionals and candidates are equally torn on whether AI will lead to more or less bias in hiring.

AI and DEIB: The Two Acronyms Shaping the Future of Hiring
HR professionals see AI as the future of hiring – most (62%) believe that AI can help them hire the best candidate – but there's work to be done to ensure it is used ethically. Half of the respondents' companies are not monitoring or evaluating the performance of AI tools, leaving job seekers frustrated. Almost one-third (27%) of candidates believe that AI leads to more bias in the hiring process. HR professionals are split with around 37% strongly or somewhat disagreeing that AI will reduce bias in the hiring process, and 28% feel the opposite. Furthermore, one-third of HR professionals (33%) believe that AI will help organizations reach their DEI goals, yet 31% strongly or somewhat disagree.

Screen In, Screen Out
While around half of HR respondents (48%) strongly or somewhat agree with their company using AI to screen job applications, one-third (33%) of HR professionals disagree. Similarly, over 35% of candidates disagree with the use of AI in job application screenings. Over one-third (35%) of candidates said using AI in the hiring process is fair game since companies are using AI to sort through resumes.

While HR professionals are starting to implement AI in the hiring process, they want more transparency from their companies and candidates on their AI usage. Over 38% of HR professionals believe that if a candidate has used AI in the application and hiring process, they should disclose that to the company they are applying to. Almost 50% of candidates say that companies should do the same.

"While AI is a beneficial tool for automating tasks and increasing efficiency, it shouldn't be used in its present form to make human-based decisions like hiring. Our report found that HR professionals realize this and want to implement AI thoughtfully to ensure the hiring process is fair and equitable. As companies begin using AI, it's critical that they are clear and transparent about how they are using it while being able to monitor and identify applications that could have a biased impact on a hiring decision," said Henry Tsai, VP of Product and Design at Greenhouse.

Many senior leaders know that AI demands training and education. Lani Phillips, Vice President of Channel Sales at Microsoft, says, "Educating employees not only on the scope of how AI can be used, but on the ethical considerations of it, like privacy, transparency, and bias, will be critical as we go forward with the intention of responsible and ethical AI."

Additional survey data shows:

Close to one-third (31%) of candidates are worried that a company might reject their application if they used AI in the hiring process.

And 37% of HR professionals have or are considering implementing AI screening/plagiarism tools.

Candidates who are currently using generative AI in the job search are using it to:

Write resumes (45%) and cover letters (41%), answer job application questions (36%), help prepare for interviews (38%), help with skills testing as part of the interview process (34%), and write and/or help with a job interview assessment (25%).

However, almost one-fifth (18%) of candidates do not believe AI is advanced enough to create quality documents such as resumes and cover letters.
The main reason job seekers are using AI is to save time during lengthy hiring processes, specifically to:

Save time finding jobs that are relevant (47%)
Save time preparing (e.g. interview prep, creating documents such as resumes/cover letters, etc.) (42%)
Stand out from the competition (42%)
Apply to more jobs as the application process is too lengthy and inefficient (31%)

For access to the full results from the Greenhouse AI and DEIB Report, visit our blog here.

Survey Method
Greenhouse, the hiring software company, surveyed over 2,700 candidates in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ireland, and 100 HR professionals.

About Greenhouse
Greenhouse is the hiring operating system for people-first companies.

Our industry-leading software brings a structured hiring approach to any company's process, helping to promote more fair and equitable hiring practices and more data-driven decisions so companies can continuously get better at hiring.

We've helped over 7,000 companies turn talent into their competitive advantage, so they can hire for what's next. Some of the smartest and most successful companies like HubSpot, Buzzfeed, J.D. Power, Scout24 and The Knot Worldwide use Greenhouse for data and guidance on the behaviors and capabilities they need to improve their overall hiring performance as they move up the Hiring Maturity™ curve.

Greenhouse has won numerous awards including Fortune Best Workplaces (2019-2022), Inc. Magazine Best Workplace (2018 – 2022), Glassdoor #1 Best Place to Work, Forbes Cloud 100, Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Inc. 5000, Crain's Best Places to Work NYC and Mogul's Top 100 Workplaces for Diverse Representation (2022).

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SOURCE Greenhouse Software, Inc.