Can AI Aid Recruiters in Identifying Intangible Candidate Qualities?

According to data compiled by Deloitte Insights, as many as 92 percent of companies have reported that human capabilities, or soft skills, matter as much or more than hard skills in today’s business world.

The study attributes these findings to the necessity of collaboration and adaptability for businesses with plans for growth.

Interestingly, a growing number of professionals are referring to soft skills as ‘durable’ skills that can be developed and nurtured, much like learning to play a musical instrument or improving at a certain sport.

But while traditional skills are becoming easier to identify through automation tools and artificial intelligence, the task of spotting more intangible soft skills represents a conundrum for recruiters looking to lean on technology to assist them.

Soft skills are generally shown rather than told, with visual cues through body language, facial expressions, and demeanour offering insights into the ability of candidates to communicate effectively and adopt a more personable tone for building relationships.

Despite this, technological breakthroughs appear to be helping recruiters when it comes to identifying and shortlisting candidates based on their soft skills. With this in mind, let’s take a deeper look at how recruiters can use the right intelligent tools to better quantify soft skills in candidates:

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Artificial intelligence leans on natural language processing (NLP) to analyse the speech and written responses for candidates to gain an understanding of soft skills.

While the range of assessments that NLP is capable of conducting can vary depending on the AI models deployed by recruitment teams, responses can be evaluated for clarity and coherence, the use of inclusive language, and emotional tone, as well as sentiment analysis.

These assessments can be key in getting to grips with the communication skills of candidates, along with their ability to work or even lead teams.

There are plenty of growing use cases surrounding NLP as a tool for soft skills assessments, and Unilever’s AI-powered hiring process makes use of the technology to analyse video interviews to assess word patterns that can correlate with those used by high-performing employees.

These insights can be utilised by aligning Applicant Tracking Systems with employee management processes to better understand the soft skills of strong performers and improve employee lifecycle metrics.

Identifying Personality Traits

Artificial intelligence can take the assessment of soft skills to new levels, particularly when it comes to analysing the online footprint of candidates to better understand their core personality traits.

One leading example of these assessments in action can be found in how AI analyses social media profiles linked to candidates to learn how they interact with other users online, as well as aligning their interests and values with those already present within the company.

This helps to create more appropriate culture fits within an organisation to assist the onboarding processes and minimise instances of turnover due to an unsuccessful bedding-in period for a new role.

Additionally, artificial intelligence platforms can assess the soft skills of candidates by simulating different scenarios and evaluating the quality of responses during the hiring process. By learning how a candidate would react in different situations, it’s easier to gauge whether different applicants have the soft skills required for specific roles, such as those in customer service or sales positions.

Video Interview Analysis

AI can also empower recruiters to better understand the soft skills of candidates during the video interviewing process.

Here, the technology assesses nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and subtle changes in the voice of candidates to understand their confidence, professionalism, and ability to engage with the interviewer.

While humans are skilled at spotting nonverbal cues during video interviews, the fast-paced question-and-answer environment means that it can be more challenging to constantly monitor facial expressions and body language. Instead, generative AI tools can provide insights at the end of the interview that offer indications on how each candidate responded to questions and what it may mean for their soft skills.

Finding That Human Touch

While artificial intelligence is emerging as a great tool for assessing soft skills in candidates, it’s essential to maintain a balance to ensure that no mistakes are made.

Because 67 percent of candidates believe that the use of AI tools can make the recruitment process seem ‘impersonal,’ there’s a risk that the responses of individuals could be clouded by a lack of a human interviewer present.

Human oversight should remain a priority during the recruitment process, but incorporating emerging technologies can help to provide an extra layer of scrutiny that paves the way for greater accuracy in hiring suitable candidates.