72% of hiring managers don’t trust AI to make hiring decisions
Workable's AI in Hiring & Work survey finds that 15.3% of hiring team members rely solely on humans to make final hiring decisions – and another 56.8% only use AI as a supportive tool in making that decision. This is an excerpt from our AI in Hiring and Work survey report, based on responses from 950 hiring managers in the US and UK. Visit here to download the report in full.
The acronym “GIGO” – or more elaborately: Garbage In, Garbage Out – exists for a reason. It’s the suggestion that a machine (albeit a little less evolved than an AI-driven machine) will only do exactly what you tell it to do.
In other words, if it fails, or doesn’t deliver the results you intended, you’re at fault – because you were the one giving the orders to the machine..
This mindset is still relevant in today’s hiring landscape, and begs the question: how much do humans need to be involved in the use of AI in the hiring process?
Can you just push a button and let AI work its magic, and presto, you’ve got a new hire? “You will act as my hiring manager. You will look at this list of candidates and tell me to hire the best one based on their ability to do the job as outlined in the job description I have provided you with.”
That’s a fair prompt right there – and ChatGPT will respond accordingly if you give it the information it needs to make that hiring decision.
But maybe the question is better phrased as: do you use AI to help in the evaluation stages but not at all in the selection process?
The human-AI seesaw
Note that we’re not asking how much AI is being used or how much humans are involved in the entire process – we already know that to some extent above. Rather, where is the fine line between human and machine in that final decision – to hire?
Not a lot of trust is placed in AI in that case, it turns out. More than one in seven respondents (15.3%) say their choice of candidate continues to be a fully human decision, while an additional 56.8% say it’s mostly human, with AI merely as a supportive tool.
More than one in five (21.1%) maintain an equal balance between the two.
And for those letting AI drive decisions? Only 6.7% lean more towards (or rely entirely on) AI-driven recommendations when making hiring decisions.
The industry lens
IT / Technology / SaaS (75.8% vs. 72.1% overall) and Education (74%) lead the pack in terms of leaning towards human judgment.
Accounting (11.4% vs. 6.7% overall) and Education (9.2%) are more likely than the overall average to lean towards AI recommendations.
Accounting, in fact, is more than five times as likely (3.8% vs. 0.7% overall) to rely solely on AI recommendations.
Retail (31.3% vs. 21.1% overall) and Construction (29.3%) are most likely to put equal weight on human and AI when making that important final decision in hiring.
Frequently asked questions
- How do businesses balance AI and human involvement in hiring?
- Businesses predominantly rely on human judgment, enhanced by AI as a supportive tool, to make final hiring decisions. This approach ensures a nuanced evaluation of candidates.
- What percentage of hiring decisions are made solely by humans?
- 15.3% of respondents indicate that their hiring decisions are made entirely by humans, underscoring a significant reliance on human judgment.
- Are any industries leaning more towards AI for hiring decisions?
- Accounting and education sectors show a higher tendency to utilize AI recommendations, with accounting notably five times more likely to depend solely on AI.
- How do retail and construction industries approach AI and human decision-making?
- Both retail and construction industries are more inclined to give equal weight to human and AI judgments, reflecting a balanced approach in these sectors.
- What concerns might limit AI's role in hiring?
- The limited trust in AI for making final hiring decisions suggests concerns over AI’s ability to fully understand the nuances of human capabilities and cultural fit.
