Author: Future Manager Research Center

Discrimination is a phenomenon that, unfortunately, still continues both within the work environment and in the personnel selection processes.

In fact, many candidates report discrimination in the hiring processes: HR managers of these companies have excluded them because of their age, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or skin color. Moreover, some women say they were not hired due to the fact that they were pregnant or they had children to support.

Although it is known that personal characteristics should never affect the judgment of a recruiter, sometimes they can expresses involuntary prejudices, not acquired based on a direct experience with the individual person, but by general assessments on the group to which they belong.

By the adoption of algorithms aimed at the automation of the hiring process, it is possible to minimize discrimination, excluding personal characteristics irrelevant to the position, in favor of the recruitment of employees who represent the best fit for the role.

In a situation where a person’s job may be in the hands of external factors, there is a need for digitization of HR processes.

Artificial intelligence deals with the removal of prejudices, intentional and unintentional, of the HR staff of a company, giving priority to meritocracy and penalizing favoritism.

The AI mechanisms are made to be inclusive, in order to ensure diversity in the working environment that allows a drive towards innovation and an increase in performance.

Although HR digitalization has led to considerable advantages from this point of view, it is impossible to disregard the human factor when choosing a candidate.

A selection based on an algorithm can be useful in the initial screening of CVs, where qualified candidates, who fit for the role, will not be denied the opportunity to be included in the next steps of selection. Subsequently, the recruiter will have to go beyond the experiences and the education of the individual, assessing the candidate’s personality and his suitability for the job position.

The right combination of these two approaches can ensure the recruitment of highly qualified candidates, who are also suitable from a personality point of view, while safeguarding the diversity and variety of the work environment.