Do you have your best thoughts while in the shower or singing along to music during your daily commute? Same here! Artificial intelligence (AI) also generates ideas and kickstarts brainstorming for me both personally and professionally. Viewing AI as a friend rather than foe is the first step to embracing it as a partner in your work as a human resources (HR) professional in the office technology industry.
In the world of HR, there are many emerging uses for AI. According to Khrisdigital.com, “92% of surveyed HR executives intend to increase their use of AI in at least one area of HR.” Let’s examine how AI can specifically support your hiring efforts.
Starter Prompts
Crafting specific and thorough prompts are crucial to effective use of AI, which can be your trusted companion in the hiring process by using the framework options below.
Prompt setup = R-T-F
(Role-Task-Format)
- Act as a [Role] in the [name of] industry
- Create [Task: “recommendations”] for [topic]
- Show as [Format: “bullet points/questions/proposed agenda”]
- Considering the following [important context/hiring focus area/competitive landscape]
- Add any relevant context that’s important to the situation
- Do you understand?
Example of a good prompt
“Act as an HR business partner. I would like recommendations for behavioral interview questions for a copier service technician. Please send me 10 questions in the form of an initial question with two options for potential follow-up questions. Consider the competitive landscape in the office imaging industry and my location in eastern Iowa. We aim to hire a candidate who has a high level of customer service focus and accountability in their work. Do you understand?”
Here are the results you are likely to receive
Absolutely, I understand. Here are 10 behavioral interview questions tailored for a copier service technician, with a focus on customer service and accountability. Each question includes three potential follow-up questions (the full list has been shortened for brevity):
- Can you describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer?
- How did you ensure the customer was satisfied with the outcome?
- What did you learn from that experience?
- Tell me about a situation where you had to manage multiple service calls in one day.
- How did you prioritize your tasks?
- Were there any challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?
A good prompt will provide you with results aligned with your intentions, allowing you to quickly achieve your goals.
Example of a poor prompt
“What should I offer a B2B salesperson in Minneapolis?”
Here are the results you are likely to receive:
- Entry-level positions: Around $51,736 per year with a range typically between $44,457 and $59,266.
- Average salary: Approximately $62,672 per year.
- Experienced sales reps: Can earn between $90,000 and $125,000 per year.
- Top performers: May earn up to $155,000 per year.
A poor prompt does not ask AI how to act or what role to assume. Notice I did not include any information about my industry, making this information unusable.
Get Comfortable with AI
First, I recommend technology providers become familiar and comfortable with AI by experimenting with tools that are readily available. While AI existed for several decades prior to its boom in 2023, it embeds itself so deeply in our daily lives that we don’t recognize our comfort with it and dependence on it. Apple’s iPhone assistant Siri is AI, for example. iRobot’s Roomba vacuuming machine has been around since the early 2000s, as well as “recommendation technology” such as Netflix recommendations.
I suggest becoming familiar with newer technology such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or similar programs. Create prompts to identify key attributes needed for success in your open roles.
For example, let’s imagine you’re hiring a business-to-business (B2B) sales professional who needs to bring in new clients. You’ll want to ensure the behaviors to be successful in the role are front and center in job ads, job boards and your website. Ask AI to review the job position to prevent focusing on B2C selling techniques.
Experiment cautiously—AI isn’t foolproof and doesn’t always return 100% correct information. Trust, but verify, is a wise approach.
Experiment with AI in the Hiring Process
At PathShare HR Services, the hiring process includes six critical components:
- Identify
- Source
- Engage
- Assess
- Offer
- Transition
Here, AI can contribute meaningfully to generate ideas in the same way your morning shower or favorite driving playlist sometimes does.
Identify
People are complex! When hiring, the HR professional’s goal is to support hiring the right person for the right role. Use AI to consider the attributes of top performers, as it can quickly research the right education, skills and experience. Good prompts support job position writing efforts whether you need ideas or fine-tuning. Use the prompt examples to develop interview questions aligned with hiring needs.
Prompt example
- Act as an HR talent acquisition leader in the office technology industry
- I need to hire a vCIO
- Create recommendations for education, skills and experience in the form of bullet points to copy and paste into a job ad on LinkedIn
- Consider the competitive landscape in the Midwest and attract a candidate who needs little training
Stuck on defining your employment brand? AI can help. Use AI to refine the career page on your website and generate topics relevant to today’s workforce. Certain tools even create recruiting videos or voice-overs, engaging candidates in new ways beyond written job ads.
Source
Companies must use a comprehensive recruiting approach to find and attract candidates. AI can enhance current job ads and brainstorm ideas for role-specific language, targeting hiring goals. Finding it difficult to attract great talent? Detailed prompts uncover the competitive market and brainstorm effective strategies to attract candidates. Ask AI to generate concepts for job board posts or training to use job boards to your advantage. Further, AI can craft a networking plan to support hiring success.
Engage
Getting a candidate interested in your opportunities is crucial. The online presence, employee value proposition (all things a candidate enjoys if employed by your company) and language used with passive candidates to generate interest all apply. AI can generate talk tracks to help!
Assess
Imagine your candidate pool is narrowed to the final talented individuals to interview. Using AI to elevate your interview questions makes a significant difference. Experiment with different ways of asking questions until they consistently yield the best results. Add a special touch with in-process updates or a one-pager about what to expect during the interview process. Both can be written with AI. A thoughtful and organized approach to interviewing makes your company stand out as a memorable experience.
Offer
Making an offer has never been easier! AI can draft offer letters or handle specific negotiation situations. Tell AI how to behave (e.g., “Act as an HR professional…” or “Act as a negotiation coach…”) to test which options work best. More GPTs, such as The Negotiator in Chat GPT, can be used to supplement your skills.
Transition
Your amazing candidate is hired, and it’s incumbent upon you to ensure their transition is equally impressive. AI can evaluate the current onboarding program, generate improvement ideas and create a career development framework for new employees. Is your focus total rewards? Consulting AI for recommendations enhances the definition of career and development opportunities, performance KPIs and service recognition criteria. Need a recommendation for concisely and effectively articulating policies and procedures? Draft prompts to try this out.
Beyond the First Year
Of course, serving all employees requires significant work beyond the hiring process. You can enhance culture programs, develop focus group questions, create frameworks for fireside chats, support ongoing employee development and even conduct employee engagement surveys by consulting AI.
Prompt example
- Act as an HR business partner supporting a help desk manager at a managed services provider
- Create a chart outlining a framework for daily stand-up meetings
- Format topics in column 1, follow-up questions in column 2 and action items in column 3
- Ensure this framework can be done in a daily 30-minute meeting
- Use simple and common language
In Summary
HR professionals, there’s a lot on your plate, especially in the hiring process. Start experimenting with AI using these ideas to create efficiencies and hire your ideal candidates. And if you’re ready to use AI in your hiring process, discover PathShare’s exclusive AI Starter Prompts for Hiring, designed for every step of the hiring journey. Visit https://www.greatamerica.com/pathshare/ai to access these tools and get started today!
Disclaimer: I promise, AI did not write this article—but it may have helped edit it!
Citations
(Editor’s note: URLs truncated to home pages)
Steven, Khris (2024, June 1). 25+ Incredible AI in HR Statistics For 2024. Retrieved from 25+ Incredible AI in HR Statistics For 2024 (updated) (khrisdigital.com) Kahn, Z. (8/26/24). Chat GPT Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 8/26/24, from Instgram
ChatGPT sourced responses to the Good Prompt example from:
- Customer Service Behavioral Interview Questions + Answers, biginterview.com.
- Upcoming BL K-Drama “Boys Be Brave” Director Interview: “Our … – Kpop-map, www.kpopmap.com.
- How to answer “Can you give me an example of a time when you had to …, www.remoterocketship.com.
