In the fight against unconscious bias, Sweden experiments with AI – but will robotic interviewers really catch on?

Meet your interviewer, Tengai: she’s friendly, observant, and did we mention she’s a robot?

Tengai’s 16-inch glowing face sits on a table at eye level with the candidate. She smiles and blinks forming empathetic facial expressions as she asks “have you ever been interviewed by a robot?”

For most people today, the answer would be ‘no’, but that might not be the case in five years. For that, we have to thank Furhat Robotics, creators of Tengai. The AI and social robotics company that has spent the past four years building a human-esque computer interface that can replicate our speech and subtle facial expressions. The idea being, a human-like robot is much less scary than machine-like one.

A few companies, like the Swedish recruitment firm TNG currently trialing Tengai, are experimenting with the use of robots in their early interviews, and many more companies already use some form of AI in their selection process.

Many people have reservations about using AI to make hiring judgments. ‘How much should we trust these droids?’ they wonder. Indeed, the question has its merits.

Proponents of the technology point out humans aren’t great judges of character or ability because we are all affected by unconscious bias, which impedes our ability to assess fairly. And what’s more, this bias is hard to shake – numerous studies have shown that trainings which aim to minimize unconscious bias’ influence in the workplace has little to no effect on future behavior.  

On the other side, decriers of recruiting’s new reliance on AI-driven judgments point out that the underlying algorithms of these technologies can also be biased and given the homogeny of the tech and data-science field, we must be careful.

Let’s dive in…

Understanding Unconscious Bias

To grasp the argument for using robots in interviews, it’s first important to understand what unconscious bias is and how it occurs. As it has become a workplace buzzword, there’s often confusion around the actual defintion.  

Dolly Chugh is an award-winning psychologist and Professor at New York University. She specializes in the psychology of human bias. Speaking on the 10% Happier podcast, she offered a very helpful example which frames unconscious bias in a way that’s easy to understand:

“When I say ‘Twinkle, twinkle’ your mind probably automatically jumps to ‘…little star’. Somehow, ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’ became an association in your mind. And there are many other associations we’ve all internalized.

We may associate certain groups of people with certain attributes. But we probably don’t remember when that became part of how we think. This is because it’s all part of the flow of our unconscious mind. The unconscious mind represents the vast majority of our brain’s work. Unconscious mental processing is absolutely essential for us to function as human beings, but sometimes it can lead us away from being the person we’d like to be in certain situations.”  

Reining in biases, as a recruiter, can be tough. First impressions and gut feelings count for so much during interviews. But left unchecked, unconscious bias can result in unfair judgments, overlooked talent, and ultimately, discrimination.

Enter The Robots

Robots designed specifically for recruitment purposes are generally much better than humans at making unbiased decisions about a candidate. This has already proven to be true through a recruitment experiment conducted in Sweden.

Since late 2018, Swedish recruitment agency TNG have been using an AI-driven robot head called Tengai to conduct first stage interviews in place of human recruiters. The results have shown an encouraging example of AI eliminating discrimination rather than amplifying it.

New Technology, Same Process

Tengai was built by Furhat Robotics. At first glance, it’s appearance is a bit disconcerting. It’s a disembodied robotic head with a friendly-looking human face. It’s placed on a table where it sits about eye level to the candidate. All this to ensure the interview proceeds in a way which most closely candidates are accustomed.

Unlike a typical interview, Tengai doesn’t engage in small talk. This ensures all recorded responses are work-related. Each candidate is asked the same questions, in the same order, with the same tone of voice. Tengai standardizes the process to a degree that even the most methodical human recruiters can’t match.

Crucially, Tengai knows absolutely nothing about a candidate’s race, religion, gender, appearance, or other visual/auditory factors that commonly give rise to unconscious bias. Once the interview is complete, human recruiters then receive a transcript of the answers. It’s then up to them to decide whether or not to move that person forward.

By replacing human recruiters with Tengai, TNG and Furhat feel they are creating a fairer hiring process that still retains a ‘human’ touch. But it’s important to keep in mind that robot interviewers bring their own set of limitations and challenges.

Hiring Involves More than Interviews

Research shows unconscious bias often influences whether or not someone advances to the interview stage. Tengai and other robotic interviewers offer zero benefits when it comes to creating fairer resume selection processes. So, unless such robots are accompanied by other bias-tackling measures throughout all other stages of the hiring process, they are an incomplete solution to the problem.

Key Information may Go Unrecorded

Robots like Tengai create an extremely rigid interview process. And while standardization offers some benefits, it isn’t perfect. It prevents the natural ebb and flow of a typical human conversation. For example, a candidate may mention something in passing that grabs an interviewer’s attention. If they feel the information is highly relevant to the role, they can ask the candidate to elaborate or clarify. This helps prevent great candidates slipping through the net due to unintended omissions in their answers.

Candidate Experience And Employer Brand

Even when the rationale for using robots is clearly presented, some candidates are not going to like being interviewed by a robot. It’s easy to see how the process may be perceived as cold and clinical by some candidates. As a result, this may cause significant damage to the employer brand. Others will welcome the change, but introducing robot interviewers will undoubtedly polarise candidate opinion. So it’s important to weigh up the risk/benefit ratio, which will vary widely from business to business.

Not All Technology Is Similar

When selecting any new technology for a hiring process it’s important to consider what it actually does. Some robots are made to standardize the initial interview process to root out bias, while other tools use algorithms to evaluate the candidate’s facial expressions or speech. With the latter example, especially, organizations need to rigorously question the way the AI is making judgments and track if those judgments are leading to a homogeneous talent pool.

Successfully recruiting passive candidates requires mastering the art of persuasion.

According to LinkedIn’s hiring statistics, only 30 percent of people are actively looking for new jobs. This means 70 percent of LinkedIn users are passive candidates who are content (or at least fairly content) in their current role. So you need to do more than post a job ad to get their attention.

You need to show passive candidates that you’ve done your research. You need to convince them that life will be tangibly better at your company.  And you need to adjust your approach to make life as convenient as possible for them in the early stages of your hiring process.

Of course, there are many different factors that can persuade passive candidates, and they vary considerably from person to person. As there is no one-size-fits-all approach, recruiting passive candidates is more of an art form than a science.  

However, there are some fundamentals that apply across the board. So to help increase your chances of getting a yes, here’s are four ways to make your opportunity stand out amongst all the noise.

1. Use video to strengthen your employer brand.

When it comes to attracting passive candidates, everything ultimately hinges on the strength of your employer brand. Its importance cannot be overstated. While the other tips in this article are helpful, they won’t be much use if your employer brand doesn’t resonate with what candidates are looking for. Keep in mind the most pressing question for every passive candidate is:

“Is this new opportunity worth leaving the security and familiarity of my current role?”

Your employer brand should convince them that the answer is a resounding “Yes”.  And the most influential tool for doing that convincing is video. Why? Because video strengthens the authenticity of your brand like no other medium.

Passive candidates don’t just have to take your word for it. They can see how great your company and culture is with their own eyes. Indeed, according to research by the Aberdeen Group, best-in-class companies are 75 percent more likely to use video tools for employer branding. This helps them grab the attention of great talent with much greater ease.  

Use video to give candidates a flavor of daily life inside your company. If often helps to feature employees talking about why they joined the company and the aspects of their job they like the most. And contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a hefty budget to make your recruitment video a reality. These days, iPhones, Go Pros, and freely available editing software are more than capable of creating a polished production.

2. Offer what their current role doesn’t.

Passive candidates are very unlikely to jump ship from their current role to take on an almost identical position somewhere else. So to ensure your opportunity catches their attention, it needs to have some unique differentiators.

When you find a candidate who’d be a great fit for one of your open roles, then it’s time to do your research. A bit of detective work should reveal at least some of the limitations of their current role. Are they likely being underpaid? Maybe the environment is a poor fit for them? Have they been pigeon-holed with limited opportunities for growth?

Once you’ve identified a specific pain point for the candidate, highlight this in your outreach. Emphasize how your role will make life easier by resolving the issue for them.

3. Invest time in genuine personalization.

Cookie-cutter outreaches save huge amounts of time. But they rarely engage passive candidates. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Would you take time out of a busy schedule to respond to a message that looks like it’s been sent to hundreds of other people? Probably not.

Personalized messaging shows people that you care, as you’ve clearly taken the time to research them. It also significantly increases the response rate. Generic templates typically generate less than 20 percent response rate. Far from ideal.

Getting into the habit of always taking the quick and easy outreach option is terrible for the candidate experience, terrible for your employer brand, and terrible for sustainable success in recruitment. Becoming great at personalized outreach takes consistent training and practice. You won’t always get it right. But in the interest of your employer brand, it’s well worth the time investment.

4. Use video interviewing to make life more convenient.

These days, everyone is short on time. So one of the biggest challenges recruiters face when it comes to hiring passive candidates is persuading them to make time to attend an interview. In reality, only a small percentage of passive candidates are willing to make that kind of commitment early in the hiring process.

But what if you could remove the barrier to entry here? With video interviewing, you can. Candidates can record their answers to a set of predetermined questions via a video platform at a time that suits them. They can do their first stage interview from the comfort of their own home. Making the early stages of your hiring process as convenient as possible will help bring more great talent into your pipeline.