Where we are and not using AI - The JSR Take
- Stuart Jackson
- Aug 22
- 4 min read
Artificial intelligence feels like it has been the hot topic for, well…as long as anyone can remember, frankly. The coverage is so mixed that it’s hard to keep up with whether it’s the shiny future of humanity or our impending doom. Certainly, the current zeitgeist is pretty down on the bots, and who are we to argue? But of course, we have our opinions - when do we not!? There are definitely areas of recruitment where we know AI is going to be incredibly useful and beneficial to the process. As a forward-looking and innovative company, we’re right on board with improving efficiencies and maintaining standards. However, there are some elements of this work in which we believe the human touch is absolutely vital. We are in the business of people, and person-to-person connection is our backbone - a company by people, for people. So let’s take a look at the division of labour - what is for the machines and what will always be literally ‘manned’ at JSR?
What’s for the bots?
Admin
Not recruitment specific, but just one for any business that is paying attention. There are so many administrative tasks which can be taken over by AI, from minute-taking and document filing to data analysis and schedule management. Some software is better than others, and it is definitely true that there are some wrinkles still being ironed out in these areas, but removing administration tasks from staff’s to-do lists frees up their time to focus on growth and relationships. Stay tuned for the robot that brings tea into the meeting room…
Legal Queries & Contracts
There will always be a place for lawyers in complex matters but there are some bits which we are sure are just as boring for them as they are for us. So why not lean into AI for the dry bits like contracts or basic legal and contracting questions. It keeps things quick, affordable and efficient and we like all those things!
Where are we keeping a personal touch?
Vetting
Using AI for getting CVs seems increasingly popular and in theory, it makes sense. Quick scan through lots of information, spot keywords etc. are right up AI’s street. But there is real risk of AI bias, which has been a general topic of concern with the technology. Because AI learns from humans, the foibles and biases of humans are baked into it. Even more worryingly, it doesn’t have the self-awareness or judgement skill to override these biases. Therefore, as the recruitment industry is increasingly considering ethical recruiting to be vital, why would we use a tool which falls into many of the traps we are trying to move away from? There is also a huge amount lost in machine vetting. At JSR, we are culture matching, not just skill matching. CV search engines have been skill matching for years, decades in fact. If this was all that recruitment firms offer, we would already all be unemployed. The value add of human understanding should not be under-estimated. Referral, word-of-mouth, trust, curious conversations go a long way in finding the most exceptional and well suited candidates.
Writing
AI can pull together a well-formed blog for nothing and has the capacity to take over all of your correspondence. But we really believe in the value of human interpretation, interpersonal connection and an empathic brain. We want this belief to be reflected in the work that we do, so you can be confident that if you are reading a think piece or a personal email from one of our team, there really has been a person sitting behind a keyboard, thinking of you or the community. We want the quality of our words to reflect the quality of our work. An AI article can offer great information but lacks soul, insight and depth. There is a reason it’s not called “A cheeky ChatGPT”, because cheeky requires wit, human and a person with lived experience of what makes humans tick.
Pretty much everything else
There are a lot of articles, videos, chats, etc flying around at the moment about whether recruitment firms (well, every job everywhere, but of course, our interest is in the recruitment firm chat) will be made null and void by AI. And fair enough, it is a really useful tool which is undoubtedly going to play a significant role in the workplace and life in general going forward. But recruitment is an industry for people, and it needs to be manned by people. If the level of interpersonal nuance that makes a person good at recruitment starts becoming evident in AI, we will have much bigger problems than losing our jobs (think ‘I, Robot’).
There is a lot of space for AI, as a partner in the workplace, as a way to improve efficiency, and as a way to keep up with the pace of the online and super-intelligent world. But Jackson Sims is staying manual with all things soul for the foreseeable future. If you want to speak to a human, it’s only a phone call away!
Jackson Sims Recruitment is a property recruitment company operating in the UK and APAC region. Should you be a candidate or client working in property management, we have a multitude of recruitment services that can be tailored to you.