Responsible AI use: 5 ways to ensure fair hiring experiences

Generative AI (GenAI) presents bright opportunities to enhance talent acquisition (TA) processes and assist recruiters. It also comes with risks – like technical errors, biased training data, and a lack of transparency – causing artificial intelligence to unintentionally overlook top candidates and negatively impact hiring experiences.

But with proper procedures, culture and training, you’ll responsibly benefit from the power of AI while ensuring fair hiring experiences for everyone. Get better results from AI with these insights from five Cielo experts:

Transparent processes

Talent acquisition teams can ensure responsible AI use with fair and positive experiences for all stakeholders by focusing on ethical implementation, human oversight, and diverse perspectives. Transparency is key. Clearly communicate with candidates and hiring managers about when and how AI is being used in the recruitment process. This builds trust and allows for informed consent. Also, implement systems to monitor AI outcomes for unexpected or unfair results and have processes in place to address and resolve issues quickly.

– Yvonne Baumgartner Muckly, Senior Vice President – Strategic Accounts

Human oversight

Recruiters are the primary users of intelligent tools for TA, so – with their human oversight – the tools can facilitate positive, fair hiring experiences. AI can give hiring managers sharp insights about candidates, like highlighting any gaps in experience compared to the job description to help guide interview discussions. It also provides a self-serve ability to develop high-quality job descriptions and advertisements. TA professionals simply need to add relevant keywords and requirements, and AI tools can ensure their company's tone of voice, brand and DEI considerations are factored in.

– Kumar Bhaya, Vice President – Business Development, APAC

Improve experiences

Use GenAI to enhance candidate and hiring manager enablement. That in turn will improve the hiring experience for both – plus the speed and cost of hire. Talent acquisition teams need to let go, create new roles, and embrace the new future of AI in TA.

– Felix Wetzel, Vice President – Product Management

Effective training

For responsible AI use and fair hiring experiences, make hiring managers and recruiters aware of how exactly GenAI is impacting the TA process. Explain the opportunities of AI as well as the potential downfalls. Awareness and understanding of how AI influences the outcomes is important to understand as it will certainly support the hiring process but should not replace the human aspect of hiring. 

– Kirsten Mayer, Executive Vice President – People & Culture

Ethical frameworks

Most employees and candidates expect a consumer-grade digital experience and to "choose their own adventure." So, hiring teams must be very intentional about "AI-only" versus individuals’ choices about how they want to engage. Cielo’s design principles of AI in HR are an excellent set of guardrails for responsible AI leverage. Review the principles as you work through change to educate as you go and minimize risk.

– Sally Hunter, Executive Vice President – Revenue Strategy

As GenAI in TA becomes commonplace, leaders must retain fair practices. By prioritizing human oversight, transparency, training, and proper frameworks, you can consistently deliver positive talent experiences for all.