Using AI for Better Talent Acquisition and Training

Leveraging AI platforms, a company streamlined its recruitment process, boosting efficiency, fairness, and cost-effectiveness. This resulted in a remarkable 90% reduction in time-to-hire, a 16% increase in hiring diversity, and improved candidate and employee experiences.

Client:

Unilever is a multinational corporation, the driving force behind over 400 well-known brands encompassing various consumer goods, from food and beverages to personal hygiene products. Unilever’s relentless pursuit of new ideas and marketing magic keeps them at the top of the consumer goods mountain. Covering 190 countries internationally and supported by 170,000 employees, the conglomerate actively leverages AI solutions in operational activities, from product development and supply chain management to marketing and personnel recruitment.

Problem Statement:

Unilever’s recruitment process encountered several challenges, further intensified by the substantial expenses involved in traditional hiring methods. Despite extensive HR involvement, the recruitment process suffered from inconsistency and inefficiency – difficulties finding the right people and worries about unfair selection practices.

At the same time, the lack of easy-to-find information led to inconsistencies in employee performance. New employees who still need to familiarize themselves with the company and its internal processes, roles and responsibilities, internal resources, and tools are particularly affected by this. Seeking to overcome the recruitment challenges, Unilever implemented AI technology.

Results:

● Save 70,000 hours of interviewing time.
● Annual cost savings of £1,000,000.
● Achieved a 96% candidate completion rate compared to the 50% completion rate with traditional methods.
● Reduced time-to-hire by 90%.
● Increased diversity among new hires by 16%.
● 36% of employees in deployed areas have used HR AI assistants at least once.
● Approximately 80% of those who have used the tool plan to return to it.

AI Solution:

Unilever is overcoming recruitment hurdles with the help of AI through a partnership with Pymetrics and Higher View talent matching platforms.

AI Streamlines Screening: On the platform, candidates are assessed by participating in various games that evaluate their aptitude, logic, reasoning, and risk appetite. Through Pymetrics’ game-based assessments, Unilever winnows down a pool of 250,000 applicants to 3,500 qualified candidates.

AI Analyzes Video Interviews: Higher View’s platform analyzes 30-minute video interviews, identifying potential matches through language and body language analysis. The algorithm identifies potential matches for the position through natural language processing and body language analysis. Although AI does not oversee the entire process, it effectively pre-screens candidates, streamlining the initial screening phase.

AI Assistant Supports New Hires. After selection, AI continues to support new hires through Unabot, a helpful NLP bot. Unabot acts as a virtual knowledge concierge, accessing internal resources like policies and schedules to answer employee questions. This intelligent assistant even tailors information delivery based on an employee’s location and position, ensuring they receive the most pertinent details for a successful start.

Interesting facts:

● Vodafone, Intel, and Singapore Airlines are among the companies that have used similar AI talent-matching platforms.
● Unlike traditional tests, game-based exams elevate engagement and enjoyment levels, providing a more immersive experience for participants.
● To reduce unconscious bias, Unilever’s AI-powered recruiting process did not collect candidates’ gender or ethnicity data during the initial screening stage.

References:

1. Unilever finds top talent with HireVue assessments

2.Unilever saves on recruiters by using AI to assess job interviews

3. Unilever Recruitment Case Study: How It Works

Industry: Consumer Goods
Vendor: Pymetrics, HireVue
Client: Unilever