Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Artificial intelligenceAutomationGamificationLatest NewsRecruitment & retention

Recruitment: automation is pushing away young candidates

by Adam McCulloch 6 Jul 2023
by Adam McCulloch 6 Jul 2023 Photograph: Shutterstock
Photograph: Shutterstock

Younger job candidates are becoming frustrated with automation when making applications, new research has found.

More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents born after 1996 reported being put off by not being able to speak to someone directly during recruitment processes and less than a third (31%) wanted to see more automation during the recruitment process.

The younger cohort of candidates, found the study by Reed Talent Solutions, was also more likely than any other age group to withdraw during the recruitment processes because of their dislike for automation and preference for dealing with a real person, which they perceived as being much quicker.

Only 64% of older employees felt the same way, found the study of 1,000 people who had secured a new job in the past year. Less than half (46%) of people born before 1996 experienced similar frustrations.

Neither group wanted more automation, however, with under half of older applicants wanting less human involvement and under a third of those born post-1996.

The reasons given by those older applicants who withdrew their applications early were that the process was too slow (51%) and that they weren’t fully aware of the job description and salary (31%); only 16% of this generation withdrew due to automation.

HR tech

AI can help level the playing field for SMEs

How will AI impact data protection compliance?

Peter Cheese: HR mustn’t be afraid of experimenting

AI could boost headcount and skills, recruiter predicts 

Julie Hinchcliffe, managing director of contingent workforce solutions at Reed Talent Solutions, said the findings underlined that it was unwise for organisations to imagine younger people wanted more automation. She said: “Businesses need to reconsider how they use automation throughout their recruitment processes to attract the next generation of talent. We all assume the younger generation prefers technology and its convenience – but in reality, the human element is so important.”

The research also pointed towards key trends that were consistent for all generations. For example, the most people would prefer to be told they have secured an interview for their job from someone directly, as opposed to via an automated response because only a human could provide immediate feedback and clarification, and appreciate nuance.

Hinchcliffe added that automation could help some recruitment processes if done well, “but what is key, is ensuring the time it takes between encountering automation and hearing back from a person is kept to a minimum. The longer you leave it, the more disengaged the candidate will be.”

She said that speedily delivering salary information was crucial and that in a market “where attracting talent is more of a competitive sport than a walk in the park, businesses need to regularly assess and evaluate their recruitment processes to ensure they’re as inclusive as possible”.

According to Hinchcliffe the survey brought some interesting differences to light that HR teams needed to consider. For example, generation Z candidates (those born after 1996) are much more likely to want more human interaction during the interview stage, whereas boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) preferred human assistance during the booking of interviews and tests, and during the reference and vetting process.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Hinchcliffe concluded: “Knowing when to implement human interaction or chatbot assistance, can really change the experience for potential candidates. If candidates leave you feeling heard, valued and respected for their time in the application process, they are much more likely to want to accept a job offer, or even try for another job with you in the future if unsuccessful.”

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more human resources jobs

Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
MPs seek clarification over Asda wages plans
next post
Employees don’t fully understand performance expectations

You may also like

Law firm limits employees’ AI usage

12 Feb 2025

CIPD to lead research into responsible AI adoption

4 Feb 2025

AI can only lead to better jobs with...

28 Jan 2025

Gartner’s nine HR predictions for 2025

16 Jan 2025

Josh Bersin: how AI will shift the HR...

23 Dec 2024

How HR can build a future-ready workforce amid...

24 Sep 2024

How asynchronous work is reshaping productivity and work-life...

2 Sep 2024

Employees feel ‘too much’ change happening at once

26 Jun 2024

Public sector pay increases to match private sector

15 Nov 2023

Skills: are we in the era of the...

16 Oct 2023

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+