3041: The Human Element: SHL's Take on AI in Recruitment

In the latest episode of Tech Talks Daily, I bring you an insightful conversation with Andy Bradshaw, CEO of SHL, the global leader in HR technology and psychometric science.  As AI continues to reshape the workforce in 2024, Andy's expertise couldn't be more timely or relevant. With over 25 years of experience in technology and service businesses, including renowned companies like Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Sophos, Andy brings a unique perspective to the table. His passion for leveraging human insights to enhance business and individual performance shines through in this engaging discussion. The episode kicks off with Andy explaining SHL's remarkable transformation into a talent intelligence powerhouse. He reveals how the company now leverages an astounding 45 billion data points across 150 countries to provide unparalleled workforce insights. As the conversation unfolds, Andy delves into the critical importance of early career recruitment in today's global talent shortage. He offers valuable strategies for tackling this challenge, emphasizing the need for organizations to recognize recruitment as a two-way process and focus on potential and motivation rather than just specific job skills. One of the most fascinating segments of the interview explores the power of internal mobility in solving critical talent problems. Andy shares eye-opening statistics on the increased filling of internal roles post-pandemic and discusses the numerous benefits this approach brings to both employers and employees. The discussion then shifts to a fresh perspective on hiring tech talent, with Andy advocating for looking beyond skills to focus on durable "soft" or "human" skills. He introduces SHL's identification of 11 key human skills for early career success, explaining how this approach allows for future job flexibility and can help reduce salary inflation for niche skills. Andy talks about how organizations are moving from talk to action, setting concrete targets, and using independent data sources to reduce bias in hiring and talent management processes. The conversation concludes with an exploration of AI's role in recruitment. Andy outlines how SHL integrates AI into assessment products, candidate experience, and big data interpretation while emphasizing the importance of transparent and ethical AI use.