AI and recruiting: an alliance looking toward the future

Until a few years ago, only a few companies used AI as a daily support in their activities; today, it is hard to find those that do not. This is a sign of progress, innovation, and, above all, change. First with technology and now with artificial intelligence, our way of working is evolving, creating new challenges and goals.

Among organizations that use generative artificial intelligence, 70% employ it in the human resources sector, achieving excellent results but also raising many questions: how much can we trust GenAI and its evaluation capabilities? How can it strengthen recruiters’ soft skills? The possibility that prejudice and bias may influence the worker selection process is, inevitably, a concern. For this reason, BCG has decided to take action.

The consulting firm has in fact developed the AI Talent Promise to support employees in key business processes such as recruiting, as well as performance evaluation and staff training.

The six principles of BCG’s AI Talent Promise
The goal of the AI Talent Promise is to propose a set of guiding principles for a corporate use of artificial intelligence that is:

1. transparent, by explaining how and in which areas AI is used and what role human personnel play in decision-making processes;
2. responsible, by taking accountability for the tools used and carrying out the necessary checks to ensure they are effective and ethical;
3. learning-focused, as the use of AI should be grounded in continuous experimentation and the company’s commitment to understanding and accepting the implications of its use;
4. ethical;
5. communicated, ensuring that all users are aware of and informed about the use of AI;
6. reliable, because the protection of personal data is essential.

BCG’s AI-based tools
In 2023, BCG launched a recruiting platform that, through the integrated involvement of AI and human personnel, matches candidates with open positions (taking into account skills and experience), automates the organization and management of interviews, and creates descriptive previews of roles that must then be validated by recruitment staff.

As for performance management, BCG has developed two tools in line with the principles of the AI Talent Promise. On one hand, Prime supports case leaders in creating feedback for consultants by turning simple notes into structured comments (which, however, still require human review), thus reducing working time by approximately 27,000 hours.

On the other hand, ChatPDG supports HR and marketing teams in drafting year-end reviews, saving about 80 minutes per document. Overall, optimizing time allows managers to invest the hours gained in direct training with employees.

In addition to the tools already in use, BCG is also working on other technologies capable of making the company stronger and more competitive in the future. For example, the company is experimenting with an AI-based personal assistant able to support the recruiting team in assigning consultants to projects that best match their skills and other specific characteristics.

A short guide to adopting the AI Talent Promise in your company
There are six steps required to create a work environment that uses AI responsibly on a daily basis:

1. define and communicate the principles of the AI Talent Promise, and therefore promote a responsible use of artificial intelligence toward people;
2. highlight the impact of AI on employees and potential candidates for new hires;
3. invest in training activities for the HR team;
4. gradually integrate AI into business activities;
5. gather feedback from employees;
6. collaborate and engage with different teams to ensure the ethical use of AI.

Not just Human Resources
Consultants, too, have now integrated generative AI into their daily work routines, for example to propose new ideas to clients or to work on their soft skills.

Today, BCG aims to spread and share the AI Talent Promise in order to involve, even beyond the company context, recruiting teams (and not only them) in the ethical and conscious use of artificial intelligence: not as a substitute, but as a valuable ally in selecting new talent capable of helping companies grow, achieve their goals, and contribute to progress.