Major Aussie -Employers struck about ‘dehumanization’ movement: ‘You are treated like a song’

Bunnings has joined various other large Australian retailers who use artificial intelligence in its recruitment process.

The application process includes a chat and video interview driven by Sapia AiA tool designed to screen candidates.

According to the Sapia website, the technology was ‘built based on taking up, efficient and effective’.

Bunnings describes the AI ​​interview as similar to a traditional telephone interview with a recruiter, but emphasizes various benefits.

“You can take all the time you need and edit your answers until you are happy with it,” the company explains in its FAQ for applicants.

“There are usually five questions and most people end up in about 30 minutes.”

For those who do not have access to the required technology, Bunnings candidates reassures that they can ‘arrange an alternative format to complete the same interview questions’.

The retailer emphasizes that the AI ​​interview was designed to be honest and impartial and to concentrate exclusively on answers to a standardized series of questions.

Bunnings has joined various large Australian retailers to use artificial intelligence in its recruitment process (Stock Image)

Sapia is used by a number of companies throughout Australia, including Woolworths, Qantas, David Jones, Suncorp and Starbucks.

It was founded by Barb Hyman, a former HR director who is located in Melbourne.

Sapia claims that companies that use his software save up to 20 hours a week during the recruitment time, while also cutting the time-to-rent in two.

They report a 90 percent satisfaction with applicants.

Recruiter Tammie Ballis, who has a realistic careers, expressed skepticism about the approach and called it ‘dehumanizing’.

“It is a cost -saving position, it is also a screening tool,” she said Daily Mail Australia.

“You are now treated as a number more than ever, especially if you are applying for jobs for the big retailers.”

She acknowledged that companies tried to save money and said that the HR process is often ‘expensive’.

A screenshot of a vacancy, from a public company, promoting the use of Sapia AI was shared on Reddit

‘The big retailers is not touching my suggestion to you as a recruiter. You have previously picked up a personal and human experience when registering for a small or medium -sized company, “said Mrs. Ballis.

One user of social media shared a screenshot of a vacancy advertisement from an non -shifting company that promoted the use of Sapia AI during the recruitment phase.

The post quickly received criticism with many who closed the use of artificial intelligence.

‘Pro-tip: if they were actually interested in hiring you, they would speak to you personally. Do not tolerate this with this dehuman C ** P, “they wrote.

“We are cooked,” wrote another.

“It won’t be long before people sell optimum answers for AI interviews, it will be as SEO for Google,” a third party added.

“As long as someone knows the keywords/sentences, they will take the interview.”

Bunnings Chief People Officer Damian Zahra said that the company was still familiar with the ‘expertise’ of their ‘internal recruitment team’.

“Every year we receive a large amount of applications for roles from a diverse group of people, from those who sign up for their first job to those who have joined our team as part of their pension plan,” he said.

‘For some roles we use an online automated chat interview in the early stages of the application process with which we can assess every candidate and guarantee an honesty in our recruitment process.

‘We rely on the expertise of our internal recruitment team in selecting candidates and all applications are assessed by our team, followed by personal interviews to ensure that their skills and experience fit them well.

“We also know that not everyone is sure to apply online, so we also have options for people to contact our talent team directly by telephone or via their local store.”

A spokesperson for Sapia AI claims to claim that technology ‘dehumanizes recruitment’.

“Traditional recruitment processes are full of bias, inefficiency and inconsistency – so that people are often reduced to their resume or zip code,” he said.

‘Our AI guided, chat-based interview is designed to give each candidate a fair chance, in his own words and at their own time. No face-to-face bias. No ghost. And everyone gets meaningful feedback – something that rarely happens when hiring. ‘

Daily Mail Australia contacted Sapia AI and Woolworths for comment.