ArticlePDF Available

Current Advances In Digital Recruitment Of Human Resources And Its Potential For Companies

Authors:
  • St. Andrews Georgian University
  • Georgian International University GIU

Abstract and Figures

Unprecedented changing and inconsistent global environment offers both new opportunities and many challenges to modern business. In order to adapt and survive, companies need to make decisions quickly. Team working is still important even with physical distancing caused by COVID19 around the world. Competitive advantage of companies correlates with its human resources, and hence, HR management faces novel difficulties to provide the company with needed human resources under this vague, unfamiliar environment of crisis. The obvious solution to these challenges can be new tools for process digitalization of HR management as well as using of AIenabled technologies. Therefore, this exploratory research aims to describe the advancements in digitalization of recruitment as a main role of human resource management, and its implication on potential job candidates. Companies should consider digital transformation of their HR recruiting processes to survive and grow.
Content may be subject to copyright.
1
საქართველოს როვნულ უნივერსიტეტი ეუ- სამეცნიერო ჟურნალი
SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF GEORGIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY SEU
SEU & SCIENCE
ირველი საერთაშორისო სამეცნიერო ონლაინ კონფერენციის
თანამედროვე გამოვევები ეკონომიკასა ბიზნესში
ოხსენებათა კრებულ
Conference Proceeding of 1st International Online Scientific Conference
Contemporary Challenges to Economics and Business”
ბილისი 2020 Tbilisi
May 16 მაისი
2
სამეცნიერო კონფერენციის მოხსენებათა კრებული გამოცემულია ლაზარსკის
უნივერსიტეტსა (პოლონეთი) და საქართველოს ეროვნულ უნივერსიტეტ სეუ- შორის
არსებულიევროპული ინტეგრაციის კვლევითი ჯგუფის
ორმხრივი თანამშრომლობის ფარგლებში
Proceeding of the Online Scientific Conference is published within the framework of
bilateral cooperation of the „European Integration Research Group“ between
Lazaski University (Poland) and Georgian National University SEU (Georgia)
არედაქციო კომიტეტ Editorial Board
ავმჯდომარე: Editor-in-Chief:
ანა ფირცხალაშვილი Anna Phirtskhalashvili
აკონფერენციო საბჭ: Conference Board:
ანა ფირცხალაშვილი Anna Phirtskhalashvili
მარტინ დალი (პოლონეთი) Martin Dahl (Poland)
თენგიზ თაქთაქიშვილი Tengiz Taktakishvili
ანდრეა აპოლონი (იტალია) Andrea Appolloni (Italy)
ექნიკურ რედაქტორები: მარიამ კეპულაძე
Technical Editors: Mariam Kepuladze
ISNN 1987-8591
უაკ (udc) 001.5
საქართველოს ეროვნული უნივერსიტეტი სეუ Georgian National University SEU
რედაქციის აზრი შეიძლება არ ემთხვეოდეს ავტორისას. სტატიაში მოყვანილი ფაქტებისა და მონაცემების
სიზუსტეზე პასუხისმგებელია ავტორი
Editor’s position may not coincide with that of authors. Authors are responsible for the facts and data in the article
Table of Contents
3
Tengiz Taktakishvili
Online teaching during Covid-19 pandemic and its effectiveness: case of
Georgian National University SEU
Paata Shurghaia
Tackling Coronavirus (Covid-19) – Business Responses and Policy Measures
Iza Gigauri, Ekaterine Gulua, Zurab Mushkudiani
Current Advances In Digital Recruitment Of Human Resources And Its
Potential For Companies
Tea Mchedlishvili
Tax Policy as a Competitive Tool of a Country to Attract Foreign Direct Investment
Understanding the relation between tax policy and FDI: testing causal mechanisms
between 2002 and 2016 in OECD countries
Gia Zoidze
Conceptual model of agro-sphere development of Georgia
Asmat Shamugia
The criteria for an effectiveness of the company’s anti-crisis strategic
management on the modern stage
Tamar Matcharashvili
Business development features according to Global Competitiveness and
Doing Business Indexes in South Caucasus Countries
Ana Mazmishvili
A new challenge for tourism: the global pandemic and its impact on tourism industry
Guram Sherozia, Natalia Nogaideli, Davit Chkotua
Pandemic marketing challenges and changes: case of Georgia
სარჩევი
30
Current Advances In Digital Recruitment Of Human Resources And Its
Potential For Companies
Dr. Iza Gigauri
Associate Professor
St. Andrews Georgian University
Dr. Ekaterine Gulua
Assistant Professor
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
Dr. Zurab Mushkudiani
Associate Professor
Batumi Navigation Teaching University
Abstract
Unprecedented changing and inconsistent global environment offers both new opportunities and
many challenges to modern business. In order to adapt and survive, companies need to make
decisions quickly. Team working is still important even with physical distancing caused by COVID-
19 around the world. Competitive advantage of companies correlates with its human resources, and
hence, HR management faces novel difficulties to provide the company with needed human
resources under this vague, unfamiliar environment of crisis. The obvious solution to these
challenges can be new tools for process digitalization of HR management as well as using of AI-
enabled technologies. Therefore, this exploratory research aims to describe the advancements in
digitalization of recruitment as a main role of human resource management, and its implication on
potential job candidates. Companies should consider digital transformation of their HR recruiting
processes to survive and grow.
Keywords: online recruitment, artificial intelligence, AI, digitalization, digital HR
31
1. Introduction
Globalization and technological advancements have caused alterations on the job market
characterized by emergent technologies. In the age of fourth industrial revolution, new foundations
of competitive advantages have been created: digital inequality, information and communication
technologies, Artificial Intelligence tools.
Bounded rationality is a main characteristic of decision making, since managers do not have all
information1 on current local or global developments. Human Resource managers can make more
mistakes when using traditional HR tools and methods as they act under limited conditions of time
and space. But digitalization of management processes and using Artificial Intelligence for
performing HR tasks enable managers to process a large amount of information error-free, and
expand their abilities and boundaries.
Today’s complex environment has led to many changes including the process of recruiting, and
online recruitment (OR) has become an important source of recruitment for human resource
managers. Human Resource Managers need to adapt to new challenges caused the recent pandemic
crisis, and get used to working online with employees, managing digital processes, dealing with
employee dismissal, as well as carry out retention and selection procedures online.2
Although focus of attention of existing studies on website content has been mainly on product
information or customer reactions, companies often provide information regarding their human
resource management through websites, and employees also communicate about HRM on a
company's website.3 The novel technological environment has induced a change of recruitment
policy as well. Currently, social networking websites and OR platforms are experiencing
considerable growth. Progressively job applicants around the world spend time in the digital context
to a great extent. According to Kemp,4 active social media users equal 3.8 billion, while 4.5 billion
people use the Internet. Thus, companies would want to stretch their recruitment efforts across
online space using more digital tools and methods in order to attract talents who spend their time
in that digital space.
1 in  ulter, 201.
2 ulua, 2020.
3 an  in, 2018.
Kemp, 2020.
32
Digitalization has more and more influence on the Georgian companies as well, taking into
consideration the recent pandemic implications. Hand in hand with other countries,
some lockdown restrictions have been imposed also on Georgia. As a result, many companies are
re-evaluating their business models. However, few researchers are focused on OR concept in their
studies, particularly little is known about applicants' profiles.5 This is especially true regarding the
research of this phenomenon in Georgia.
In this article, we focus on online recruiting concept and process. We propose that the e-recruitment
strategy has important implications for companies as they seek the position in the current digitalized
market. To develop our argument, we first discuss the nature and role of contemporary e-Recruiting
systems. We explore the concept of OR, and the advantages and disadvantages of digitalized
recruiting process. Next, we highlight the conceptual framework of AI-enabled Recruiting, and
present current research findings. We examine the theoretical framework of digital, Al-enabled
recruiting technology and tools. We then make recommendation to Georgian HR managers
regarding design of effective online procedures. Finally, we consider future empirical research.
2. Online Recruitment
Recruitment process includes sending a strong, distinctive message to targeted audience in order to
attract their attention, and get them involved in the application procedure. E-recruitment or Online
Recruitment costs significantly less than traditional methods since it uses websites in order to recruit
human resources for a company.6
The Internet has become a mainstream recruitment medium in past decades. As jobseekers scan
employment websites for opportunities, both large and small organizations make extensive use of
corporate websites in their recruitment programs.7 There is significant increase in use of technology
to recruit applicants. Online recruitment enables organizations to reduce the time and cost of
recruitment and reach more potential applicants.8
ran, ila,   ant, 2019.
6 icu, 201.
Price, 200.
8 earell  mn, 201.
33
In general, career information is presented in an engaging manner to promote the employer brand
and gain interest from prospective applicants.9 For this reason, application forms are made accessible
online for the early stages of the selection process as well as pre-selection tests are often conducted
via the Internet. According to Brandão, Silva and Dos Santos (2019), OR is a growing trend. It takes
place online, using tools that enable the receipt of applications, the search for professionals, a quick
triage and provision of feedback to applicants. Although it is considered as a pragmatic approach for
giving widespread coverage, OR is still impersonal causing distrust of governing the procedure, and
especially whether the job announcement is true and authentic.10
As stated by Heric (2018), the full potential of digital technologies is appearing, which have affected
all features of HRM from online applications through Chatbots sending automatic replies to
machine learning tools that can forecast employees' future behavior.
The 2018 survey of 500 human resource managers in the USA, UK, and Germany aimed at gaining
insight into digital opportunities to embrace, and consider presumed dangers.11 Most respondents
(87%) agree that online tools will totally alter HR domain, however 75% of them admit that their
IT systems do not yet have optimal performance or their business results do not correspond to their
ambitions.12 Besides, most respondents plan to increase their IT budgets in order not to fall behind
and catch up with the digital transformation.13
The main goal of OR is to capture attention of the highly skilled and competent workers with
suitable profiles for the job announced.14 The process involves the following stages: to announce job
in the digital space, to prepare a form to be filled up online and make it accessible for potential
applicants, to develop digital database where the applications will be stored.15 OR may also imply
using specialized selection tests such as knowledge or personality tests; responding immediately
online; arranging tools that enable the elimination of applications unsuitable for the job.16
Consequently, OR tends to go beyond placing job openings available on the Internet.17
9 Price, 200.
10 ran et al., 2019.
11 Heric, 2018.
12 ii.
13 ii.
1 ran et al., 2019.
1 ii.
16 ii.
1 ii.
34
Chang & Chin (2018) suggested that the realm of HRM should be expanded by highlighting the
importance of website signaling. Findings of their study encourage the constant HRM signaling to
the market in order to increase recruitment effectiveness. The research18 affirms the vital role of the
websites in developing an effective pool of applicants. Recruitment processes begins instantly when
a company reveals its HRM information externally.19
According to Voicu, 20 questionnaires are used for online recruitment to make an online pre-
selection, before a first interview. An online questionnaire can include questions concerning
professional qualification; an online test can confirm the knowledge level of the candidate; surveys
can explore candidate personality. After each online test or questionnaire, evaluations are made
through various software to consider only the candidates that satisfy job requirements.21
Moreover, social media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive
platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss and modify user-
generated content,22 The research conducted by Nagendra23 found that all the basic HR functions
including recruitment can be effectively managed by social media. Consequently, organizations add
social media to their general online recruitment strategy to meet the goals of being cost-effective,
competitive, targeted, and strategic when sourcing for top talents.24
Since Social Networking Sites play an important role in the recruitment process, companies need to
use its full potential to accomplish their purposes.25 The advancing technology and social
networking serve as a platform to connect with people who accept to share opinions, and be
represented as the person or professional there26 The marketing strategies of many companies
promote social networks for communication and attraction of talents within online recruitment
system; They have even initiated online recruitment procedures with Snapchat that is social media
enabling video interview with a job candidate.27 According to the study of St. Gallen University28,
18 an  in, 2018.
19 ii.
20 icu, 201.
21 ii.
22 in, nuar, mar, mar,  alan 201.
23 aenra, 201
2 in et al., 201.
2 lk  cumann, 2019
26 an c  ente, 2018
2 ii.
28 mann, 2012 lk  cumann, 2019
35
42% of companies in Germany utilize social media with the aim to increase their employer brand
and to recruit new employees.
Golovko & Schumann (2019) found the positive correlation between Facebook posts and
recruitment success. Research results show that if a company announces job, recruiting information
or other work-related news on Facebook, the overall recruitment process will be successful.29 The
researchers suggest that HR managers should engage proactively and permanently on Facebook
while simultaneously using traditional channels. Although social networking sites are essential to
human resource management, the impact of those sites on effectiveness of recruitment is still to be
confirmed.30
Even though not all Facebook content influences recruitment success, the positive influence of
information about recruitment is still confirmed31. HR professionals can use Facebook to post
information about job or remind the followers to send applications due date.32 This can increase the
quantity of received applications, as potential candidates can be more interested in companies about
which they already have some knowledge.33
Technology prone companies are investigating how to use social networks with video within their
online recruitment process, and how to influence candidate attitudes so that they apply for job
openings through those novel technologies.34 However, they need to take into consideration the
potential doubts of applicants about social media or video-enabled applications during the
recruitment procedures. To screen applicants through online systems can be considered by the
applicant as invasion of their privacy and consequently causing negative feelings towards the
company and workplace.35
The survey36 indicated that there are real concerns regarding privacy, and companies need to use
social networking with video not because it is trendy or modern but as an integral part of their e-
recruitment strategy to ensure candidates apply for the job opportunity. Therefore, companies
should spread information that applicants' personal privacy will not be violated in the course of the
29 lk  cumann, 2019
30 ii.
31 ii.
32 ii.
33 ii.
3 an c  ente, 2018.
3 tutn, mpn,  eae, 201.
36 an c  ente, 2018.
36
e-recruitment through social media, and that they have appropriate online recruiting systems,
processes and procedures in place.37 Van Esch and Mente (2018) suggest that the company strategy
on using video-enabled social media should be a component of the e-recruitment strategy.
Furthermore, hiring time can be reduced by 75% when using AI-based candidate screening tool in
order to attract talents while ameliorating accuracy.38 Natural Language Processing (NLP) can
further upgrade job listings of big companies for more diversity, and other digital technologies
enable recruiters to increase talent database, find applicants with suitable skills, and even predict
the future shortage of employees or needs for talents.39
In order to assess or motivate people, human judgment still plays an essential role.40 But up-to-date
digital technologies enable recruiters and managers to develop digital systems that transform jobs,
and reach improved decisions regarding employees via digital, automatic operations, and
consequently, reduce costs, and improve business outcomes.41
Finally, companies should take into consideration perceptions of different stakeholders in order to
optimize the OR process.42 The application of the digital technology have advantages not only for
organizations in terms of saving time, reduce costs, improve screening accuracy, but it is also
beneficial to candidates because of its convenience, quick responses, and simplicity.43
There should be mentioned some advantages and disadvantages of Online Recruiting highlighted
by researchers. The research conducted by Brandão and colleagues (2019) has demonstrated that
OR process is easy, cost effective, and reduces paper work, as applications can be stored in digital
databases. Additionally, OR enables the quick feedback to candidates as companies provide
automatic feedback. This leads to improved recruitment process, as well as communication image
of the company.44 Another advantage which is often mentioned regarding OR, unlike the traditional
recruiting approaches, is its capacity to cover a wide range of geographical areas enabling
organizations to include diverse populations, and make it possible for various communities to access
to job openings around the world.45 Some disadvantages associated with OR are as follows: First,
3 ii.
38 Heric, 2018.
39 ii.
0 ii.
1 ii.
2 ran et al., 2019.
3 an c  ente, 2018.
 ran et al., 2019.
 ii.
37
organizations can receive high number of applications. Second, organizations need to be ready with
technological systems to arrange systematically information into the database.46 OR processes may
be financially costly to implement because developing a computer system that enables the
placement of job opportunities online, a database that is capable to handle applications, and screen
those that are of interest to the organization can be costly. In addition, having a system available to
give feedback to applicants may render a process expensive.47
3. Digital Recruiting 1.0 To 3.0
The analog recruiting is limited by cognitive biases of humans, such as anchoring bias, confirmation
bias, or similarity bias. Besides, the traditional selection method - unstructured interview that has
been used mostly, is capable to predict candidates' performance at the firm only with 14%
accuracy.48 Additionally, structured interviews' validity is estimated as about 30%.49
Digital Recruiting 1.0 including digitalization of information concerning job positions and candidate
information allowed organizations to reach out a large number of potential employees through their
corporate websites, and simultaneously, prospective employees could look for and screen thousands
of jobs easily through the Internet to find the most suitable.50
Digital Recruiting 2.0 emerged as a result of the digital companies (e.g. Indeed) that combined all
the jobs throughout numerous websites so that candidates could find all open positions at one place;
and organizations also were able to offer their jobs at one platform through which applicants could
reach them freely.51 In addition, to post their job openings digitally and better target job ads, as well
as provided information to prospective job candidates.52
The fundamental new component of Digital Recruiting 3.0 is Artificial Intelligence (AI) 53
Currently, companies are commencing to transform their recruiting activities through AI as
computers can already execute tasks, solve problems, and reach decisions that were only a privilege
6 ii.
 ii.
8 Hunter  cmit, 1998 a cite in lack  an c, 2020
9 Hucutt, ulertn,  erauc, 2013 lack  an c, 2020.
0 lack  an c, 2020.
1 ii.
2 ii.
3 Kaplan  Haenlein, 2018 lack  an c, 2020.
38
of human intelligence.54 Both employers and applicants will be influenced by AI-enabled recruiting
process, which includes job postings, search of candidates, conducting job interviews, and finally
evaluate the applicants.55
Research shows that significant possible advantages of AI is considered to be its capacity to first
identify and attract job candidates, then filter and assess them, and finally conduct interviews with
applicants.56 determined two main reasons for these advantages of AI-enabled recruiting systems:
First, it can process huge amount of data and make decisions at a velocity that surpass human
abilities; and second, it can surmount cognitive biases of human judgment that cast doubts on
reliability in recruiting process.
Moreover, a large proportion of the respondents of Global Human Capital Trends survey see the
role of technology increasing across a range of recruiting processes over the next years.57 The most
change across recruiting activities is expected in sourcing/ outreach of candidates, and 83% of
respondents expect the technology increase in screening process (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Expecting technology increase in recruiting activities
Source: Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey, 2019.

lack  an c, 2020.

rit  tkinn, 2019.
6
lack  an c, 2020.

lini, et al., 2019.
39
Thus, available technologies revolutionize recruiting, and new tools powered by AI can make that
process more scientific, scalable, and effective.58 AI-driven chatbots are considered as a streamlined
approach to the application process, as video interviews can filter and evaluate applicants for their
suitability to a specific job or organization, and other new tools can also help to target job promotion
and to search candidate extensively.59
4. AI-Enabled Recruiting
AI-enabled recruitment has become necessary to utilize for several reasons as claimed by Black and
Van Esch (2020): (1) Competitive advantage is a result not only tangible assets but also intangibles
causing transformation of human resources from supporting to a key role; (2) digitalization has
reshaped the business and social scenes resulting in using digital recruiting process; (3) the recently
AI-enabled recruitment has been greatly improved in terms of efficiency, and hence, attracting
more attention by HR managers (Black & Van Esch, 2020). Consequently, HR professionals should
take strategic steps to profit from recruiting systems that AI is offering.60
AI technologies enable companies to create simulations digitally and evaluate not only the results
but also the applicants' activities during the simulation in case companies require more from
candidates than an interview or simple selecting procedures.61 For example, available tools can
combine data existing publicly with machine learning capabilities to generate a comprehensive
profile of the candidate, which then emphasizes factors that distinguish each candidate based on
their suitability for the position.62
According to Van Esch and Black (2019), technological progresses have turned AI recruitment from
inquisitiveness into a crucial potential. AI recruiting technologies enable filtering applications as
well as conducting digital job interviews asking number of questions to candidates. 63 Moreover,
candidates have an opportunity to record their responses as many times as they want before sending
8 lini, et al., 2019.
9 ii.
60 lack  an c, 2020.
61 an c  lack, 2019.
62 lini, et al., 2019.
63 an c  lack, 2019.
40
their ultimate answer.64. Then, AI tools assess responses, vocabulary, and honesty; evaluate facial
expressions, and personality of candidates.65
Although AI technology has reached a stage when it is more effective and efficient than humans
are, its actual practical use by executives is delayed.66 According to a survey, mobile phones are seen
as the main tool to search for a position (89%), and 45% of respondents use mobile devices every
day for job searching activities,67 however, in fact they do not submit applications through their
mobiles.68
Most recruiters do not actually know about the available digital technologies.69 While AI is able to
manage applicants throughout the recruiting procedures, recent survey has demonstrated that only
38% of companies are using AI in recruitment process.70 This delay prevents companies to receive
large number of applications, and to target suitable applicants.71
According to Black and Van Esch (2020), the development of AI-enabled recruiting systems is costly
and complex with various tools. For this reason, researchers suggest buying tools from external
providers, except companies need to hire numerous employees every year, and hence can justify
developing AI tools by themselves.72
Moreover, prospective applicants may have a negative attitude towards AI-enabled recruiting
technologies because humans are absent, and processes are automated.73 not to mention privacy
challenges as effectiveness of AI depends on social networking and professional profiles.74 These
problems can be solved with transparency and fairness of recruitment procedures.75
Furthermore, the introduction of AI recruitment technology can interrupt the functionality of HR
professionals.76 Interestingly, some recruitment firms may replace employees in order to save costs,
but applicants require communication with humans during the recruitment and selection process.77
6 ii.
6 ii.
66 i.
6 ii.
68 Paep, 201 an c  lack, 2019.
69 rit  tkinn, 2019.
0 elitte, 2018 lack  an c, 2020.
1 rit  tkinn, 2019.
2 ii.
3 rit  tkinn, 2019 an c, lack,  erlie, 2019.
 rit  tkinn, 2019.
 ii.
6 an c, lack,  erlie, 2019.
. rit  tkinn, 2019
41
Consequently, Wright and Atkinson (2019) argue that AI poses no danger for recruiters to downplay
their importance but instead improves the process efficiency.
Van Esch and Black (2019) found that people participate in AI recruitment process via their mobile
devices, as they increasingly use social media and meet AI ads or posts on news feeds. Additionally,
the research has indicated that applicants anticipate fairness from AI and see AI-enabled recruiting
as modern tools, new and fun, so they engages in AI-enabled recruiting process.78 The recent
research by Van Esch, Black, and Folie (2019) addressed potential applicants' viewpoints in respect
of AI-enabled recruiting process, and its impact on candidate decision to apply for a position. They
found that the completion of application process through AI tools is largely affected by the attitudes
of prospective candidates towards a company.79 This is because of the novelty of adopting AI
recruitment, which positively affects the probability of a job application.80 The research results
suggest that organizations do not need to hide their use of AI in fear of alienating potential
candidates, rather organizations should promote their use of AI in the recruitment process and focus
on potential candidates that already have positive views of both the organization and AI.81
5. Digital Recruiting For Companies In Georgia
AI-enabled recruiting can bridge the gap between company requirements for human resources and
skills of workforce available on the job market, given that AI has a capability to match those skills
and requirements as well as interests and expectations of both candidates and a company. A recently
launched startup company in Georgia is offering cloud-based HR program for recruiting and
selecting employees with automated processes.82 Besides, many Georgian companies have been
already using social media to post job announcements and attract potential candidates.
Using digital technologies and artificial intelligence is possible at all phases of recruiting and
selection of human resources in Georgian organizations (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Stages in HR Recruitment and Selection Process
8 an c et al., 2019.
9 ii.
80 ii.
81 ii.
82 intn rup, 2020.
42
Source: Authors’ own elaboration
Some processes can become fully automated, i.e. they can be implemented without interference of
humans. Even the most interactive HR processes, such as: consulting candidates at the data
collection stage and interviewing applicants, can be conducted through Chatbots. Artificial
intelligence can be actively used in the analysis of interview results. This completely changes the
quality of the operation of each process. Selecting talents with minimal human intervention
provides great opportunities for timesaving, accuracy, unbiased analysis, impartial, and fair
decision-making.
The abovementioned benefits allow human resource managers to create systems for virtual
organizations, attract global talents, process a large amount of information and compare data, create
jobs anywhere in the world, and coordinate the work and activities of their employees remotely.
Furthermore, the introduction of modern technologies in the recruitment process involves the
creation of big data, digitization, digital transformation, and the use of AI (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Introduction Process of Modern Technologies in Recruiting
43
Source: Authors’ own elaboration
Create Big Data, Digitization refers to the digitization of information related to recruitment,
ensuring their availability, creating digital databases. This stage is a prerequisite for all other stages.
Digitization is the internal optimization of processes such as work automation, paper minimization,
and results in cost reductions.
Digitalization refers to the use of digital information to improve processes. It means digital
transformation of processes, using electronic channels, digital communication, cloud, hardware, and
exchanging digital information in digital format, digital modeling of stages of the recruitment
process. Digitalization is carried out with the active participation of human beings. Digitalization
implies change to the business model, and lays the groundwork for Digital transformation.
Digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to analyze digital information
related to recruitment. It refers to the use of Codebots to manage repetitive processes, to the
automation of recruitment processes, and to software use in recruitment processes. Digital
transformation creates a complete cycle of automatic digital systems for all operations of the process
and ensures digital automatic connections between these systems without human intervention.
44
HR Recruiting using Artificial Intelligence is the highest level of Digital transformation. It refers to
automation of implementation of the whole cycle of digital systems in all stages of the recruitment
process through artificial intelligence (without human intercession). All phases of the process from
examining applicant’s CV to the job interviews takes place without human involvement. AI enables
consultation, interviewing, and negotiation to be performed through Chatbot.
This process obviously requires the implementation of accompanying, and supporting operations as
well as employee trainings.
The introduction of these processes is particularly effective in global companies, where the number
of job seekers in each vacancy equals tens of thousands. For example, Google receives more than
3,000 applicants a day, and it may receive 75,000 applications in one week from the announcement
of the vacancy.83 The use of modern tools of hiring people for such organizations is a critical
necessity. Ignoring the advantages of using modern technologies in the process of human resource
management, such as digitalization of processes, creation of databases, use of AI, may be the main
reason for the failure of organizations in a competitive market. Therefore, companies with less
advanced technology need to introduce at least an online recruitment process.
Today, when the world is facing great uncertainties, organizations on the one hand face the
challenge to decide for operating online, to retain qualified personnel, and also recruit the best
talents in the world who have lost their jobs because of the economic difficulties, but to have the
right skills to work online. On the other hand, a large amount of workforce has lost their jobs, as
companies are unable to maintain their wages due to the financial crisis, leading to increased
employee turnover when workers leave companies voluntarily, but also involuntarily as some
organizations dismiss employees or require different skills that they are lacking of.
Under such conditions, there are still economic entities whose income has increased significantly,
and they have to hire new employees. Amazon.com, for example, has hired 100,000 new
employees,84 and its founder, Jeff Bezos, has upped his fortune by $23.6 billion.85 The recruiting
process for this number of employees by traditional methods may take years and still be ineffective.
83 in  ulter, 201.
8 Palmer, 2020.
8 erma, 2020.
45
The adaptation process to new reality has been easier for organizations with highly skilled staff and
operations through modern technologies. Evidently, the sectoral affiliation of the organization plays
also an important role, as the demand for certain products has dropped significantly due to new
reality regarding the state of global pandemic. However, this does not imply that all companies are
definitely successful, those sectoral ownership allowed them to make high profits due to the
increased demand for their products. Many of them have encountered problems with safety
standards, staff training, additional staffing, or finding other resources. Consequently, there is an
urgent need for organizations also in Georgia to adapt to this reality, to make investments for
developing flexible systems, recruiting talented staff, and creating a solid image and strong
foundation to meet the challenges of the future.
5. Conclusion
The research has highlighted the importance of digitalized recruitment process especially today's
inconsistent environment which creates many challenges to modern organizations but also offers
new opportunities.
Although the trend of using online systems and artificial intelligence in the recruitment process has
been researching since the twentieth century, it has recently become more essential as companies
need to meet the requirements for physical (social) distancing due to the global pandemic of the
new coronavirus.
Organizations are introducing AI in recruitment. Consequently, human resources and business
managers should devote more attention to adopt AI-enabled recruiting.86 It should be stressed that
Artificial Intelligence recruiting systems are still new, uncommon, and quite unfamiliar to the most
companies around the world. Thus, HR managers should take into account the risks associated with
this novelty. However, if executives embrace AI-enabled recruiting, it has great potential for
reaching wider, distinct, and more qualified candidates to create comprehensive talent pools.87
In general, digital recruiting process has made progress from 1.0 to 3.0 to AI-enabled recruiting. But
AI applications available today can be just tip of the iceberg; its full range of potential will take place
86 lack  an c, 2020.
8 ii.
46
in the near future. To be successful, companies need to take into consideration privacy concerns
among candidates, and plan recruiting activities accordingly.
Also, Georgian HR executives should investigate the AI-enabled recruiting technologies proactively
to determine suitability by screening number of candidates accurately and quickly. OR process is
easy, and cost effective as applications can be stored in digital databases. Moreover, OR enables the
quick automatic feedback and improves overall recruitment process. Additionally, digital recruiting
encourages organizations to reach distinct populations, for example in the regions of Georgia, and
enables those populations to gain access to job opportunities.
The main implication for HR managers is that they can use social media strategically, not merely to
inform people about job opportunities or remind them upcoming deadlines. Potential candidates
with knowledge of the working environment in the company through social media express interest
in applying for company job positions. Additionally, HR professionals should understand candidate
perceptions of the AI tools in order to use it strategically. It should be emphasized that OR processes
can be financially costly to implement because of complex computer systems, databases, and AI
tools. But the main advantage of digital recruiting lies in its effectiveness to "identify, attract, screen,
assess, interview, and coordinate with job candidates".88 So it may make economic sense to adopt
the contemporary changes in HR recruiting in favor of digital technologies. Thus, human resource
managers should take strategic steps for capturing benefits that AI-enabled recruiting offers.
5. Future Research Avenues
The further primary research aims to contribute to the use of Online Recruitment by Georgian
companies. It will also study empirically the job candidates who respond to job ads using OR. The
future research will shed light to the profile of potential candidates who use online job search
processes, and to describe these individuals. Moreover, it will identify companies using this HR
method. With that end in view, data will be gathered from job seekers, applicants, HR professionals,
and company managers or executives.
88 lack  an c, 2020.
47
References:
1. Beardwell, J., & Thomson, A. (2017).
Human Resource Management: A Contemporary
Approach
(8 ed.). Pearson Education Limited.
2. Black, J. S., & Van Esch, P. (2020). AI-Enabled Recruiting: What Is It And How Should A
Manager Use It?
Business Horizons
(63), 215-226.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2019.12.001.
3. Brandão, C., Silva, R., & Dos Santos, J. V. (2019). Online Recruitment In Portugal: Theories
And Candidate Profiles.
Journal of Business Research
(94), 273-279.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.04.011.
4. Chang, E., & Chin, H. (2018). Signaling Or Experiencing: Commitment HRM Effects On
Recruitment And Employees' Online Ratings.
Journal of Business Research
(84), 175-185.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.11.002.
5. Deloitte. (2018).
The Rise Of The Social Enterprise .
Retrieved May 12, 2020, from Delloitte
Insigts: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/HCTrends2018/2018-
HCtrends_Rise-of-the-social-enterprise.pdf
6. Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey. (2019).
Leading the social enterprise:
Reinvent with a human focus.
Retrieved May 12, 2020, from Deloitte Insight :
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/5136_HC-Trends-
2019/DI_HC-Trends-2019.pdf
7. Din, S. Z., Anuar, R. H., Omar, N., Omar, H., & Dahlan, J. M. (2015). Discovering the Use
of Online Recruitment via Social Media of Student Internship.
Procedia Economics and
Finance
(21), 856 – 860. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01181-8.
8. Golovko, D., & Schumann, J. J. (2019). Influence of Company Facebook Activities on
Recruitment Success.
Journal of Business Research
(104), 161-169.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.06.029.
9. Gulua, E. (2020). TRENDS, CHALLENGES AND ORIENTATIONS OF HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.
Innovative Economics And Management, 7
(1), 51-67.
10. Heric, M. (2018).
HR's New Digital Mandate: Digital technologies have become essential for
HR to engage top talent and add value to the business
. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from Bain
& company:
https://www.bain.com/contentassets/3dea09cc27fd426abfb35f9caa0e97dc/bain_brief_-
hrs_new_digital_mandate.pdf
11. Huffcutt, A. I., Culbertson, S. S., & Weyhrauch, W. S. (2013). Employment Interview
Reliability: New Meta-Analytic Estimates By Structure And Format.
International Journal
of Selection and Assessment, 21
(3), 264-276. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12036.
48
12. Kaplan, A., & Haenlein, M. (2018). Siri, Siri, In My Hand: Who’s The Fairest In The Land?
On The Interpretations, Illustrations, And Implications Of Artificial Intelligence.
Business
Horizons, 62
(1), 15-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2018.08.004.
13. Kemp, S. (2020).
Digital 2020: Global Digital Overview
. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from We
are social: http://wearesocial.com/blog/2020/01/digital-2020-3-8-billion-people-use-social-
media
14. Lerma, M. (2020).
Jeff Bezos’s Net Worth Has Increased by $24 Billion During the Covid-
19 Pandemic
. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from Robb Report:
https://robbreport.com/lifestyle/news/jeff-bezos-made-24-billion-during-coronavirus-
pandemic-2915078/
15. Linton Group. (2020). Retrieved May 14, 2020, from Employee Selection Programme:
https://linton.ge/Home
16. Nagendra, A. (2014). Paradigm Shift in HR Practices on Employee Life Cycle Due to
Influence of Social Media.
Procedia Economics and Finance
(11), 187-207.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(14)00188-9.
17. PageUp. (2017, December 17).
2018 Recruiting Trends: Our Top 10 Hiring Trends To
Watch
. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from https://www.pageuppeople.co.uk/resource/2018-
recruiting-trends-our-top-10-hiring-trends-to-watch/
18. Palmer, A. (2020, March 16).
Amazon To Hire 100,000 More Workers And Give Raises To
Current Staff To Deal With Coronavirus Demands
. Retrieved May 11, 2020, from CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/amazon-to-hire-100000-warehouse-and-delivery-
workers.html
19. Price, A. (2007).
Human Resource Management in a Business Context
(3 ed.). Cengage
Learning EMEA.
20. Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. A. (2014).
Management
(14 ed.). Pearson.
21. Rossmann, A. (2012).
Social Media Excellence 12.
Universität St. Gallen, Conrad Caine Gmb
H. , St. Gallen.
22. Stoughton, J. W., Thompson, L. F., & Meade, A. W. (2015). Examining Applicant Reactions
to the Use of Social Networking Websites in Pre-Employment Screening.
Journal of
Business Psychology, 30
(1), 73-88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-013-9333-6 .
23. Van Esch, P., & Black, J. S. (2019).
Business Horizons, 62
(6), 729-739.
https://doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2019.07.004.
24. Van Esch, P., & Mente, M. (2018).
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services
(44), 266-273.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.06.016.
49
25. Van Esch, P., Black, J. S., & Ferolie, J. (2019).
Computers in Human Behavior
(90), 215-222.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.009.
26. Voicu, M. C. (2014). Using Online Questionnaires In The Employee Recruitment Activity.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
(124), 34-42.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.457.
27. Volini, E., Roy, I., Schwartz, J., Hauptmann, M., Van Durme, Y., Denny, B., & Bersin, J.
(2019).
Deloitte Isights
. Retrieved May 11, 2020, from Accessing Talent: It’s More Than
Acquisition - 2019 Global Human Capital Trends:
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2019/talent-
acquisition-trends-strategies.html
28. Wright, J., & Atkinson, D. (2019).
The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence Within The
Recruitment Industry: Defining A New Way Of Recruiting
. Retrieved May 11, 2020, from
Carmichael Fisher Executive Search: https://www.cfsearch.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/10/James-Wright-The-impact-of-artificial-intelligence-within-the-
recruitment-industry-Defining-a-new-way-of-recruiting.pdf
... "Electronic recruitment is one of the outcomes of this transformation, e-recruitment is broad term often named as online recruitment or digital recruitment. It is defined as method that uses technology or web-based tools for sourcing, attracting, tracking, screening, and hiring suitable candidates" [21,25]. In the traditional recruitment process human action at every step is necessary compared to digital recruitment where human action is required only at key steps i.e., screening, or final decision. ...
Article
Full-text available
This paper aims to investigate the role and function of digital and smart technologies, including AI applications, within organizations in making them much more inclusive for people with disability (PWD) at the workplace starting from the recruitment process. Specifically, this conceptual study provides an indepth analysis of smart recruitment process for creating work environments much more inclusive and sustainable for PWD. In the last three decades, also because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital transformation, largely adopting digital and smart technologies, has significantly, both positively and negatively, affected any field and industry in the private and professional life. Indeed, our ways of working and quality of life have been improved by digital and smart technologies which are able to overcome geographical, physical, and social barriers. Likewise, some negative effects are related to this phenomenon, such as digital divide especially for some categories of people, like those with disabilities or special needs. This conceptual paper provides a systematic literature review; indeed, the phenomenon of smart recruitment is investigated providing an overview regarding its insights, challenges, and future developments. A bibliometric analysis is conducted using WoS and Scopus databases with manual selection through the VOSviewer software.
... The recruitment process has been significantly impacted by the rise of the Internet and digital technologies. Gigauri et al [1] identified three phases of digital recruitment technologies: ...
Article
Full-text available
Trends caused by global processes and changes, along with new opportunities for management, create the need to envisage the challenges that arise. The paper discusses the main paradigms of human resource management, current global trends and challenges; It is quite difficult to predict the future in the context of the global pandemic caused by the spread of Covid 19, although it is clear that the only way for many companies to survive is to digitalize processes. The current chaotic environment from human resource managers requires to adapt quickly to new challenges, such as: working with employees online, managing processes online, new control mechanisms, dealing with employee dismissal, retention, and selection needs; Decoding such talents as adaptability, lateral thinking, and agility based on virtual relationships in humans. This is a time when it is especially valuable to have knowledgeable and adaptable staff. As never before, the implementation of proportional incentive mechanisms of contribution to the results of the organization is actual. The paper examines the situation in Georgia from the perspective of global indicators, as well as priorities and orientations, the consideration of which will play an important role in the competitive operating of business organizations.
Article
Full-text available
Artificial intelligence (AI)—defined as a system's ability to correctly interpret external data, to learn from such data, and to use those learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation—is a topic in nearly every boardroom and at many dinner tables. Yet, despite this prominence, AI is still a surprisingly fuzzy concept and a lot of questions surrounding it are still open. In this article, we analyze how AI is different from related concepts, such as the Internet of Things and big data, and suggest that AI is not one monolithic term but instead needs to be seen in a more nuanced way. This can either be achieved by looking at AI through the lens of evolutionary stages (artificial narrow intelligence, artificial general intelligence, and artificial super intelligence) or by focusing on different types of AI systems (analytical AI, human-inspired AI, and humanized AI). Based on this classification, we show the potential and risk of AI using a series of case studies regarding universities, corporations, and governments. Finally, we present a framework that helps organizations think about the internal and external implications of AI, which we label the Three C Model of Confidence, Change, and Control.
Article
Full-text available
This paper focuses on the importance of online questionnaires, used in employee recruitment activities. It presents the theoretical frame of this study, as well as some existing software and hardware tools which can be used in order to implement online questionnaires. The article also highlights several observations on the type of questions which can be used in the online environment and, in the end, it presents algorithms which can be used for questionnaire data analysis.
Article
AI-enabled recruiting systems have evolved from nice to talk about to necessary to utilize. In this article, we outline the reasons underlying this development. First, as competitive advantages have shifted from tangible to intangible assets, human capital has transitioned from supporting cast to a starring role. Second, as digitalization has redesigned both the business and social landscapes, digital recruiting of human capital has moved from the periphery to center stage. Third, recent and near-future advances in AI-enabled recruiting have improved recruiting efficiency to the point that managers ignore them or procrastinate their utilization at their own peril. In addition to explaining the forces that have pushed AI-enabled recruiting systems from nice to necessary, we outline the key strategic steps managers need to take in order to capture its main benefits.
Article
Social networking sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, have become a significant part of the employee-recruitment process; many companies use SNSs to achieve their recruitment goals. However, studies on recruitment practices or social media influence have not examined the effect of recruitment activities using SNSs on recruitment success. This study fills this gap by analyzing the impact of various company activities on recruitment success using the vector autoregressive model (VAR). Results demonstrate that, on Facebook, company posts with a general focus, as well as posts containing work or recruitment information, have a positive impact on recruitment success. The authors provide human resources (HR) managers with recommendations on how to shape successful employment marketing campaigns using Facebook as an element of a modern HR multichannel strategy. The authors recommend proactive and permanent engagement on Facebook while simultaneously using traditional channels.
Article
Recruiting talent has moved from a tactical HR activity to a strategic business priority. This has been driven by shifts in the source of firm value and competitive advantage and the critical role of human capital in those shifts. Technological advances have moved digital, AI-enabled recruiting from a peripheral curiosity to a critical capability. However, we know little about candidates' reactions to AI-enabled recruiting. Consequently, in this study, we examine the role of social media use, intrinsic rewards, fair treatment, and perceived trendiness on the intentions of prospective employees to engage with and complete digital, AI-enabled recruiting processes. The positive relationships between these factors and candidates' engagement with AI-enabled recruiting have several important practical implications for managers. We also examine the larger implications and make general recommendations to firms about using AI-enabled recruiting technology and tools.
Article
Organizations are beginning to adopt and capitalize on the functionality of AI in their recruitment processes. However, little is known about how potential candidates regard the use of AI as part of the recruitment process and whether or not it influences their likelihood to apply for a job. Our research finds that attitudes towards organizations that use AI in the recruitment process, significantly influences the likelihood that potential candidates will complete the application process. The novelty factor of using AI in the recruitment process, mediates and further positively influences job application likelihood. These positive relationships between attitudes towards the use of AI in the recruitment process and the likelihood of applying for a job have several important practical implications. First, it means that whilst anxiety is naturally present when AI is part of the recruitment process, the anxiety doesn't really affect the completion of job applications and therefore, organizations do not need to spend money on either hiding their use of AI or reducing the anxiety levels of potential candidates. To the contrary, the research suggests that organizations do not need to hide their use of AI in fear of alienating potential candidates, rather organizations may want to promote their use of AI in the recruitment process and focus on potential candidates that already have positive views of both the organization and AI.
Article
In the war for talent, many organizations have started marketing the use of social media as a platform to communicate with and attract talent as part of their e-recruitment strategy. Recently, some of those organizations have begun replacing part of the e-recruitment process with social media platforms with video, such as Snapchat. Technology continues to advance and social media use has largely become an acceptable method for people to communicate, share ideas, and portray themselves both personally and professionally. Participants (n = 535) were surveyed regarding whether they would apply to an organization that marketed video-enabled social media as part of their hiring process, as well as their privacy concerns and attitude towards an organizations perceived trendiness. The results indicate that whilst privacy concerns exist, if organizations are only using video-enabled social media as part of their e-recruitment strategy to be perceived as ‘trendy’, then applicants are less likely to apply for the job.
Article
Online Recruitment (OR) is a growing trend. It takes place online, using tools that enable the receipt of applications, the search for professionals, a quick triage and provision of feedback to applicants. This exploratory research aims to describe perceptions of this tool, gathering data from potential job candidates and personnel stakeholders. Data was gathered using a survey and interviews. Results show that 46% of participants had already used OR and that for 42% of the applicants it took less than a week to receive feedback from the recruiting organization. Qualitative data suggests a dominant positive appraisal of this type of recruitment. It is considered a fast method and is able to reach a wide audience. However, it is impersonal and there are doubts regarding the control over the process and the veracity of the job ads. Organizations should consider the perceptions of different stakeholders in order to optimize the process of OR. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296318301814?dgcid=author
Article
Even though existing studies on website information have focused on e-commerce views such as product information and customer responses, firms and employees also frequently dispatch information on websites regarding the firms' human resource management (HRM). Using signaling theory as well as findings from strategic HRM, the present research explores the causes and effects of HRM information flow on websites. Data were collected with a longitudinal and multisource frame of two HR manager surveys and two website analyses. Path analyses using AMOS provide evidence that (1) firms implementing commitment HRM signaled more detailed HRM information on their websites, (2) firms' website signaling had a significant effect on recruitment trends as a before-experience outcome but no effect on employees' web ratings as an after-experience outcome, and (3) website ratings by employees were significantly influenced by firms' actual use of commitment HRM. A discussion of the theoretical contributions and practical implications is included.