D
Digital | Catalyst
Digital sourcing
WITH A HUMAN FACE
Going forward, talent-acquisition teams will need to integrate
the best that technology has to offer with a human face.
T
o paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of
the death of talent acquisition have
been greatly exaggerated. However,
the pace of change is accelerating,
leaving many employers feeling left
behind. Too often it can become a race between
competing employers to automate everything.
In recent years, there has been considerable
investment in start-ups in the talent-acquisition
space. Both funds and venture arms of big
technology players have placed large bets on
emerging technologies and the opportunities
created by the commoditisation of recruitment.
Funds chasing the next talent-acquisition
unicorn have created a scenario where (according
to research by Everest Group) 42-45% of
investment today is focused on candidate sourcing
and screening and just 13-15% on the candidate.
In a crowded and confusing marketplace,
there has been a shift in focus by tech investors
to the elements of the recruitment funnel
that present the greatest revenue
opportunity, with the potential risk
that this misses the demands of both
candidates and hiring managers.
Despite this, it’s still possible to
leverage a distinct advantage by focusing
on people and relationships.
Amplifying
intelligence
Over the past decade, the
entrepreneur Peter Thiel has
applied software and principles
he used to prevent fraud at PayPal to
great effect in his ‘tech spooks’ venture
Palantir Technologies. Thiel
realised that relying on artificial
intelligence (AI) alone would
not suffice when identifying
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the behaviours of the world’s most sophisticated
terrorists. The Palantir team adopts a philosophy
of intelligence augmentation or amplification using
human analysts to explore data from multiple
sources.
This use of technology to augment human
intellect has made Palantir one of the world’s most
valuable private technology companies. It also
has significant potential when applied to talent
acquisition, repositioning technology as facilitator
and enabler with a human lens at every stage
of the process.
Needles in haystacks
A skilled sourcing team can find ‘needles
in haystacks’. Increasingly, the ability
to identify, then attract