Use of artificial intelligence in the job candidate interview and hiring process, at least at some level, is becoming more common at U.S. companies. Proponents say it saves time, filters out candidates that aren’t qualified for the job and presents hiring managers with the most suitable pool of candidates.
Opponents say AI has shown bias in candidate selection, and falls short of judging applicants on softer skills and personality traits.
AI is now finding its way into managing employees long after they’ve been hired, and that too is raising concerns.
A survey of more than 1,300 office managers with direct reports conducted by Resume Builder found a majority are now using AI to make personnel decisions, including promotions, raises and even terminations.
“It’s one thing if you are using it for some sort of transactional thing in your job, but now we’re talking about peoples’ livelihoods and their jobs,” said Stacie Haller, chief career coach at Resume Builder. “My hope is that the human part of the process in Human Resources and overseeing peoples’ careers don’t just become left up to AI.”
Haller said overreliance on artificial intelligence in making high-stakes personnel decisions can become a slippery slope for companies.
“It also leads the organization to have some liabilities if somebody feels they were unfairly fired or didn’t get a raise, and it was AI and the information wasn’t correct,” she said. “I think there are some liabilities there.”
In the survey, six in 10 mangers said they rely on AI to make decisions about the employees they manage, including 78% who said they use AI to determine raises, 77% for promotions, 66% for layoffs and even 64% for terminations.
Most concerning, two-thirds of managers using AI to manage employees said they have not received any formal AI training, according to the survey.
“Organizations need to find some uniformity and training and build this in like they build in any other process,” Haller said. “And it has to be verified, But when it comes to peoples’ careers and lives, I think the human aspect needs to play a bigger piece here.”
An overwhelming majority of HR managers surveyed said they do maintain control over AI recommendations.
“The good news is, most of these folks have told us that if they don’t agree with the decision, they will override it,” Haller said. “But it seems that too many in our surveys are leaning to use it in that direction, and it feels a little Wild West out there.”
When asked which tool they rely on most, ChatGPT was cited by 53% of managers, followed by 29% for Microsoft’s Copilot and 16% for Google’s Gemini.
Most are also using AI for personnel issues that are productive without affecting careers, such as training materials, employee development plans and draft performance improvement plans.
Results from Resume Builder’s survey on HR manager use of artificial intelligence are online.
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Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.
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