{"id":354,"date":"2025-02-19T10:50:31","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T11:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/?p=354"},"modified":"2025-02-19T16:23:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T16:23:21","slug":"ai-hiring-can-businesses-afford-the-soft-skill-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/19\/ai-hiring-can-businesses-afford-the-soft-skill-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"AI hiring: can businesses afford the soft skill gap?"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence (AI) is popular for its ability to help businesses automate tasks and save time. And for businesses looking to hire new employees, AI tools can help find the right candidates faster, filter CVs and make the whole <\/span>recruitment process<\/span><\/a> smoother.<\/span><\/p>\n

But while these tools make hiring more efficient, they can sometimes overlook candidates with valuable soft skills \u2013 such as communication, <\/span>teamwork<\/span><\/a> and problem-solving \u2013 that aren\u2019t always easy to measure with algorithms.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result could be disastrous for today\u2019s hiring managers. Soft skills are increasingly being prioritised by UK organisations \u2013 a Startups survey of 531 business leaders has revealed that 64% say they are more likely to prioritise soft skills over hard skills during hiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

More businesses than ever use AI in recruitment<\/h2>\n

AI tools are increasingly becoming the right-hand man for modern recruiters. According to a study reported by <\/span>Stand Out CV<\/span><\/a>, 42% of UK tech firms used AI to screen and recruit candidates in 2024, while 20% of small businesses and SMEs use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen CVs and cover letters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some are even using generative AI to write job role descriptions for open vacancies, leading to a notable <\/span>decline in job spec quality<\/span><\/a> that\u2019s confusing many job hunters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Likely, the trend will continue. The percentage of UK businesses that have adopted AI is expected to <\/span>increase to 22.7%<\/span><\/a> this year, equating to an additional 267,000 businesses that will use the technology in their operations, including for hiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are clear advantages to employers in using AI to streamline and facilitate recruitment processes,\u201d Laura Oxley, Director of the employment team at Walker Morris commented. \u201cWith an increasing number of UK employers using AI for this very purpose, the trend for employers using AI recruitment tools appears to be here to stay.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a demand for soft skills, but AI tools might not meet it<\/h2>\n

AI might be a smart way to skim-read hundreds of applications at once. It can certainly identify keywords that will demonstrate technical, hard skills, such as qualifications.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, AI tools may not yet be advanced enough to evaluate a job application to spot important, less tangible soft skills like communication, creativity, and adaptability. And these are the kinds of abilities that UK employers are increasingly prioritising.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our survey revealed that 64% of business leaders would be more likely to hire based on soft skills over hard skills, versus just 7% who say they would not. particularly businesses that are over five years old (75%).<\/span><\/p>\n

Human recruiters are also more likely to pick up on qualities like cultural fit for the company\u2019s <\/span>organisational culture<\/span><\/a> and potential for growth \u2013 things that AI might overlook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amplify founder Lars Schmidt said: \u201cRecruiters need to be able to ask questions and really understand what they\u2019re being asked to do, and how that fits into the overall goals and objectives of a business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

AI recruitment is missing the \u201chuman touch\u201d, but is used for CVs<\/h2>\n

For job seekers, there have been concerns over the lack of a \u201chuman touch\u201d in AI recruitment, with <\/span>67% of candidates<\/span><\/a> believing that these tools make the process feel impersonal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s despite a survey by Carmichael Fisher Search revealing that 73% of candidates would be put off from applying for a company if they knew AI was used in the screening process.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Guardian<\/span><\/a> recently shared the experience of a job seeker who landed an introductory phone interview with a finance company. However, when answering the call, they were met with an automated AI system that \u201csounded similar to Siri\u201d. The candidate also claimed that the system wouldn\u2019t let them ask questions about the role.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, it\u2019s been found that many candidates leverage AI as well, with <\/span>46% of job seekers<\/span><\/a> using some form of it in their search, such as ChatGPT for CV writing, which could make it harder for recruiters to appraise the candidate\u2019s unique behavioural traits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both parties must be careful of over-relying on AI tools in hiring. Doing so could risk a significant soft skills gap. Businesses are going to continue to adopt AI tools, but human recruiters are still essential for making deeper connections and finding the right talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

The post AI hiring: can businesses afford the soft skill gap?<\/a> appeared first on Startups.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligence (AI) is popular for its ability to help businesses automate tasks and save time. And for businesses looking to hire new employees, AI tools can help find the right candidates faster, filter CVs and make the whole recruitment process smoother. But while these tools make hiring more efficient, they can sometimes overlook candidates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":355,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions\/355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}