Google has announced some new updates for its Hire app, the recruitment tool it released last year to “help small and medium businesses recruit more effectively”.
Adding to Hire’s existing functionality, Google has announced some new ways that it's using AI and machine learning to streamline common tasks within the app, saving time for recruiters.
As explained by Google:
“With the launch of Hire last year, we simplified the hiring process by integrating it into the tools where recruiters already spend much of their day—Gmail, Google Calendar and other G Suite apps. Recruiters tell us Hire has fundamentally improved how they work, with less context switching between apps. In fact, when we measured user activity, we found Hire reduced time spent completing common recruiting tasks—like reviewing applications or scheduling interviews—by up to 84 percent.”
First off, Hire will now utilize AI elements to automatically suggest ideal time slots in the interviewers’ calendar, based on their connected Google Calendar schedule/s.
Hire will also alert you if an interviewer cancels last minute, and will subsequently recommend available replacement times, cutting down the time spent searching through different booking calendars for available rooms, appointments, etc.
Google's also found that recruiters spend a lot of time reviewing resumes, often by searching for specific keywords.
“Watching people interact with Hire, we found that they were frequently using “Ctrl+F” to search for the right skills as they scanned through a resume - a repetitive, manual task that could easily be automated.”
Google says that Hire will now use AI to automatically analyze the terms in a job description or search query, then highlight them on resumes.
The reference to ‘AI’ here is probably a bit loose – is it really machine intelligence, or merely a script that searches for related words? Then again, there’s a lot of glorified search engine-type tools that are now, apparently, using AI, so it’s in line with wider application of that descriptor.
And the last new addition for Hire is one-click calling, and simplified logging, for candidate follow-up.
“Whether they’re screening candidates, conducting interviews, or following-up on offers, recruiters often have dozens of phone conversations each day. This means spending a lot of time searching for phone numbers or logging notes. Hire now simplifies every phone conversation with click-to-call functionality, and automatically logs calls so team members know who has spoken with a candidate.”
They're relatively basic, but helpful additions, and they’ve been built based on app usage trends - so Google is focusing on improving what recruiters are actually doing within the app, which should see the updates provide benefit.
It’s interesting to watch the development of the recruitment tools from the major players. While Google hasn’t provided any usage stats for Hire, Facebook's also trying to get into the recruitment game, while LinkedIn, the current market leader, continues to advance its tools, with the backing of parent company Microsoft.
Both Facebook and Google, through Hire at least, are focusing more on smaller operators, which is not LinkedIn’s strong point, but you’d think that there must be a limit on how much competition we can see within the sector. Facebook has more active usage, and more reach, but Google is the leading platform for search and discovery.
Which is better for your needs will likely come down to the specifics of your business, but as Google continues to develop Hire, it’s worth keeping it in mind to help grow your business.