Start small, win big: Staffing and AI in 2024 (with insights from IDR & Allen Recruitment)

This newsletter comes to you from Jason Heilman , SVP of Product at Bullhorn , and highlights the recent webinar “Exploring AI: Preparing your business” with Matthew Fischer and Jason Heilman . This edition also features insights from IDR, Inc. ’s Will Hayes and Allen Recruitment ’s Brian Cunningham . You can find a recording of that session here. And make sure you subscribe to stay up-to-date with all things AI and automation.

As we head into 2024, one question I keep getting asked is how staffing businesses can get started with AI. Many are wondering if it’s the right time for them to add a new tool to their tech stack or if their teams will feel threatened by a technology that does certain parts of their jobs for them.

My biggest piece of advice? Start somewhere, and start small.

I’m happy to say this advice was echoed greatly by two powerhouse staffing leaders – Will Hayes from IDR, Inc. and Brian Cunningham from Allen Recruitment – who joined a recent episode of our Exploring AI webinar series to share their experiences and insights on using AI in their organizations. They weighed in on why they got started with AI in the first place, how they got their teams to adopt the new tool, and how they ensured their organizations were set up for success. 

I highly recommend checking out the full recording of the session, but I wanted to share some key learnings in hopes it will help staffing firms overcome any apprehension they have about AI.

The catalyst for AI

Will and Brian were among the early adopters of Bullhorn Copilot, helping us improve our AI product and ensure it’s the right fit for the market.

And both leaders weren't shy about their motivations for embracing AI. Brian’s team has an ambitious goal for the year ahead: "Our aim for 2024 is to 3x the value of placements, and we see AI having a big part in that. That doesn’t mean we’re going to have 3x the number of people or get them to work 3x harder. It’s about trying to make our team more efficient, help them make more placements, and make those placements quicker.”

Will sees AI as a way to uplevel their recruiters and provide better training: “AI has done a good job of giving us more access to better training and taking away some of those areas that are tougher for newer recruiters to conceptualize, like Boolean strings or putting together candidate summaries.”

Both schools of thought align with how Bullhorn is approaching AI: shortening the time it takes for a new recruiter to be productive and helping staffing firms work more efficiently.

Beyond the hype: Real-world impact

The best part of working with these early adopters has been seeing the impact AI is having on their businesses, particularly in the area of search and match. We took a deep dive into our search and match strategy in the last Exploring AI episode, so it was great to hear real-world examples of how our customers are leveraging this functionality.

A few major benefits stuck out here:

• Faster, smarter searching and matching: "Building a quality search is an art form that sometimes takes years to get right," shared Will. "AI will just speed up the time to get that accurate. And if you can get the list accurate and get clients on the phone with quality candidates sooner, that’s everything." Brian agreed, adding, "What we found recently is that if you give someone a shortlist, they don’t value it as much as if they built it themselves. So we’re trying to bring our recruiters back into doing the actual searching and matching."
• Taking the grunt work out of the equation: Repetitive tasks like updating profiles and writing certain types of emails can be seamlessly handled by AI, freeing up recruiters to focus on building relationships and closing deals. As Will put it, "When you’re hiring junior people, you’re trying to compete right away, especially if your clients are working with multiple staffing partners. So speed is key here."
• Enhanced candidate quality: AI's analytical prowess can unearth hidden gems in your database, ensuring you attract the top talent. Brian put it simply: "AI is like having an admin or researcher on call. Now, we’re matching quickly and matching better. We get better shortlists by setting up the job correctly and having good candidate data. Adding AI is a bit like making a sauce: the process was working, and it was nice, but we added AI, like putting a bit of salt into a sauce, and now it's working really well."

Security and compliance considerations

Of course, with any powerful technology comes responsibility. The panelists acknowledged the concerns surrounding AI's potential risks and the need for responsible implementation. 

Their advice?

• Start with transparency: "Start with your privacy policies and being upfront that you’re leveraging these technologies," advised Will. "Putting that information on your site, in chatbots and different areas, is a great first step." And for those in Europe, Brian added, “GDPR defines strict rules around data and privacy. All recruitment companies should already have that privacy policy in place, and those strict rules also apply to AI.”
• Partner with trusted vendors: "There should be accountability with the partners and vendors that you’re working with. There are new bias audits and accreditations and standards that companies have to achieve to pass different state law audits," shared Will. "Tell your partners that you’re not aware of the risks and have them help educate you."
• Embrace continuous learning: "As you’re learning about responsible AI, share that continuously with your organization and update training materials to explain how to leverage those tools. You’re always building onto your current state, enhancing it. It’s an everyday process," Will reminded the group.

Preparing your data (and your teams) for AI

Technology alone isn't enough. To truly unlock the potential of AI, you need clean data and you need your team on board.

Here's how the panelists prepared their data and achieved buy-in:

• A focus on data quality: Good data in means good data out. This means not only cleaning and maintaining clean data but also building a culture in your organization centered around data hygiene. “Data quality is not for one or two people to handle. It’s for the entire organization, and you can leverage tech at the desk level to drive it home for your recruiters and salespeople,” added Will. Brian’s team is leveraging automation to help here: “We built an automation to check if certain info is filled in after a screening call, and it reminds the recruiter to update salary, job title, etc., if it’s missing.”
• Clear communication: "Change management is something that cannot be overlooked," Will emphasized. "The change management process also involves getting information and sharing that with your vendors. If you’re an early adopter, your partners want to hear that feedback. You have to drive this adoption from the top down."
• Incentives and internal champions: "We do contests and incentives for using the new tool," Will shared. "If you are confident the tech will bring a higher ROI in the future, then you need to do things to incentivize the behavioral changes that need to happen for them to take advantage of it." Brian’s organization leverages internal champions to help the change process run smoothly. “Go slow to get people on board. People see anything as a change, and people don’t like change. One of the biggest things that works for us is getting someone to champion it. If someone says, ‘I did it, I made that placement, I found that candidate,’ other people are more likely to accept it.”
• Team buy-in: "Remember the people," Brian cautioned. "AI can seem scary, and it’s moving quickly. If recruiters and salespeople are going to use it, they have to see it as something that makes their lives better: make more placements, make those placements quicker, respond quicker, and do more. There has to be a benefit to them. They won't want to use it if they see it as something to replace them."

Embracing the future

Navigating the AI frontier can be daunting, but the rewards are undeniable. Our early adopters are already seeing gains from AI, and it’s only the beginning. 

“Right now, being an early adopter, what makes me feel confident is the speed at the desk level and the ability to ramp up a new resource in three months instead of four to five months. That amount of cost savings is really important,” explained Will.

Measurement is key here, something Brian echoed. “We use Bullhorn Analytics to measure pretty much everything we do. The number tells you how hard someone is working, the ratio tells you how smart they’re working. We want to see continuous improvement with ratios coming down.”

If those outcomes aren’t inspiration enough, Matt and I shared our key takeaways to help more staffing firms start to embrace AI in their organizations:

But don’t just take our word for it. When asked about final advice about preparing your business for AI, Will and Brian were happy to share their words of wisdom:

Will emphasized starting somewhere and staying on top of the change management process. “You have to start somewhere, and soon. This isn’t a fad; this is going to change your workflows and change your recruiters and salespeople's day-to-day job duties, so the faster you adopt this tech across your organization, the better.”

Brian encouraged staffing leaders to focus on the long-term benefits: “If you have the power of AI in your hand to help you write a better email quicker, it allows you to do more stuff. And work-life balance is a huge thing for people, so I see this as something to take away the administrative tasks. If it can replace that and allow us to focus on the pieces we’re good at – talking to candidates or clients, bringing people together, getting a deal over the line – it has freed someone up. Don’t be scared, embrace it. Go quickly because it is moving quickly.”

Remember, AI is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The key is to find the approach that aligns with your unique needs and culture. Embrace experimentation, learn from your mistakes, and adapt as you go. 

What other questions do you have about AI heading into 2024? Let me know in the comments! 👇

If you’re looking for more information on Bullhorn’s AI product, Copilot, check out our website.