Machines better than humans at recruitment

Recruiters may think that trusting their instincts sets them apart from the competition, but a new study has revealed that machines may be better than humans when it comes to making the best hires.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published the study. It looked at 300,000 hires in low-skill service-sectors across 15 companies. The researchers compared the hires that were based on an algorithm and the candidates selected by a person.

The candidates were tested by asking questions about technical skills, personality, cognitive skills, and fit for the job, Bloomberg reports. The results of the test were then put through the algorithm, which divided the candidates into three groups. Green candidates were deemed as having high potential. Yellow candidates were believed to have moderate potential. People in the red group were believed to have the lowest potential.

The results showed that recruiters may need to trust their instincts a little less as the candidates recommended by the computer stayed eight per cent longer than people selected by human recruiters.