One Future of Recruiting
Maybe it's a make or buy decision engine.
Recruiting is undergoing a rapid transformation. Part of it is AI. Part of it is recession. Whichever explanation you choose, there are way fewer recruiters and way more technology options. The prevailing theory is that technology is going to replace lots of recruiters. The reality is that it is a bewildering array of options that require expert assistance to choose.
Part of what happens when AI enters the room is the deconstruction/reconstruction of the way we work. While we are comfortable in our silos and in our workflows, AI creates the opportunity to rethink things. Expect a ton of ‘thought leadership’ devoted to the question of realigning and rearranging the roloe of the recruiter and their relationship with the rest of the organization.
Organizations will always need to figure out how to get things done. There are layers and layers of execution associated with this problem. From determining the need for the work to actually getting it done involves defining the work, marshaling the resources, doing the work, reporting on progress, and understanding what to do with the resources once the work is done.
In the early industrial era, this meant getting people, acquiring materials, providing tools, and creation of the physical workspace. That way of thinking worked well through the digital era. In the industrial era, one function (the purchasing department) acquired material and tools. Another completely separate group (TA/Recruiting) handled the people part.
Today, the same pressure driving innovation elsewhere is challenging the industrial model for getting things done. AI (more accurately the promise of AI) gives everyone the opportunity to rethink the way things get done. ‘Marshaling the resources’ means something different when an AI agent is a kind of worker.
Today, any time there is work, it can be accomplished in the following ways:
Get the existing team to do it
Hire somebody to do it
Offshore it
Outsource it to a vendor
Subcontract it to temporary workers
Make it a ‘gig’ project
Build an agent
Subcontract the building of an agent.
In all cases, the job description is the underlying specification. It is the Statement of Work for any contracted solution.
A job description is also a specification for an AI agent.
It is also the Statement of Work for a project, an outsourcing contract, or a gig assignment. More and more, things will begin with the job description. In the next iteration of the recruiting function, a make or buy decision will precede every decision to hire. Before hiring, the work will need a deep cost tradeoff analysis. That’s where recruiting will start.
The job description, its role and its stakeholders will become the new recruiting fulcrum.