One in four businesses already use robotics in their HR function

A quarter of senior HR professionals are already using robotics in their HR or talent acquisition function, according to a recent survey by global talent acquisition and management firm Alexander Mann Solutions.

However, despite the fact that over 70 per cent of senior HR professionals believe that robotics will have a positive impact on their organisation over the next three years, figures from LinkedIn’s 2017 Global Recruitment Trends report reveals that internal teams are only investing 17 per cent of their budget into new technologies. This figure continues to be dwarfed by investment into job adverts and recruitment agencies, which, when combined, accounts for over 50 per cent of these companies’ total spend.

Laurie Padua, director of technology and operations consulting at Alexander Mann Solutions, says: “Not only is it encouraging to see that one in four senior HR professionals is already using robotics as part of their talent strategies, but also that over 70 per cent of department leaders understand the benefits of utilising robotics and automation in their HR functions.

“Software automation holds significant opportunities for HR professionals, and can augment the repetitive tasks often inherent with talent acquisition, including data migration, sifting and aggregating.

“In fact, analysis from GR8 revealed that as much as 60 per cent of recruiters’ time is devoted to sorting candidates, and that by automating the top of their funnel process, recruiters can gain between three and five hours a day, which can be used for truly productive tasks.

“These tools are not intended to eliminate the role of HR professionals, they are designed to relieve them from repetitive and often mundane tasks that consume valuable time that would be best spent leveraging their interpersonal skills and engaging with candidates.”