The year is 2025. You own a successful recruitment agency that is celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Walking through reception you are greated by your colleagues:
"Good morning Bob", says ReceptionDroid B451.
"How was your weekend, Sir?" enquires AccountBot 3000, affectionately known as 'Beryl'.
According to a study by the BBC and the University of Oxford, there is a strong chance that these administrative positions in recruitment could become automated. Naming the robot Beryl is perhaps less likely. The survey ranks Sales administrator at a 97.2% chance of becoming automated, and telephone salesperson at 99%.
Recruitment Consultants, on the other hand, are probably safe from the automation revolution. While the survey doesn't mention recruiters per se, Sales accounts and business development managers are only 16.5% likely to be automated, and Business sales executive are 39.3% likely to be automated.
That said, there will probably be changes to the way recruiters work, as more of their role becomes automated. Administrative or time consuming tasks will almost certainly become entirely automated. Telephone marketing and sales administration aspects of the job are the most at risk of automation, according to the BBC. These aspects of the recruiting role “do not necessarily need a high degree of social intelligence, leaving them exposed to automation.”
We can see the beginnings of this automation revolution in today’s recruitment software. CV parsing software, for example, can already extract candidate skills and populate your recruitment software. When was the last time you had to manually create a new candidate record?
Predictive Analytics, the digital equivalent of the Crystal Ball, will continue to improve. This will make it easier to identify the candidates with the right skills, experience and 'cultural fit' for each role.
So, what does the recruitment consultant of the future look like?
They will likely have an even more specialised role than they do today. They will be coveted for their emotional and social intelligence, especially in areas of the role that require networking and negotiation skills. Recruitment consultants of the future will have to provide an even more consultative approach. They will spend more time with candidates, preparing them for interviews and providing advice. Of course, they will have to spend more time with clients, nurturing and managing more accounts than ever before. Provided their clients haven't been replaced with the Model 5000 HR-o-Matic, that is.