AI as support

audeoSoft is one of the pioneers when it comes to future-proof recruiting trends. In this interview, Managing Director Marcel Termoellen presents the software and the company's next plans.

Marcel, you have been managing director of audeoSoft for about four years now. Tell us a bit about the company.

My father founded audeoSoft in 1999. To this day, specific software for recruitment is our main focus. Our team of specialists develops the software – staffitpro – together with our customers. We involve our customers by tailoring the features to their needs and wishes. In addition, we have special commissioned projects with a focus on artificial intelligence and automation.

How and when did you first come into contact with the topic of AI?

It was in a somewhat more concrete form during my master studies in the USA. However, I was already toying with the idea of delving deeper into the subject when I was in my twenties. But I've only been actively involved since I became managing director of audeoSoft. Among other things, I have been actively researching this area with Amazon.

How is your software currently structured?

It is web-based and modular. There are currently four AI-based functions, all in the candidate search area. One function, for example, is search support: If a recruiter searches for a specific term, the feature automatically works with synonyms as well. These come from a database populated with data from more than 100,000 resumes. This feature is so useful because job descriptions often differ from applicant to applicant. If a recruitment agency is looking for a project manager, for example, the search scope expands to include terms such as project manager and the like. This significantly increases the hit rate and also supports new employees in recruiting in particular.

What other functions are there that work with AI?

For example, the purely automatic applicant pre-selection, known as auto-matching. This function is also backed up by a huge database. The function automatically matches suitable candidates with a previously entered job description. In our experience, nine out of ten of the applicants we have matched so far have fit the advertised position. That is, of course, a great rate. Our software has already convinced several hundred customers.

What exactly are the advantages for recruiters when they use staffitpro?

Our clear goal is to support recruiters in their work – not to make them redundant. The software makes the processes surrounding the search for candidates easier. This is especially helpful for recruiters who are just starting out in their careers. Because working with the software is like having many years of experience in the business.

And how do recruiters benefit who have been on the job already for a long time?

Recruiters who have been in their job for a long time and have a lot of experience save time by using the software. This is achieved by automatically performing many routine tasks, such as auto-matching. These usually manual activities cost immense capacities that could be used more efficiently in other ways. In concrete terms, we're talking about one day per working week that can be freed up for strategic tasks.

What other features are you planning in the near future?

A major milestone will be our “Recruiting Pipeline 2030” – a pyramid, so to speak, for our future approach. Roughly described, this consists of moving from the internal, rather passive level to the external, active level. One planned feature, for example, is that a chatbot will ask candidates simple questions for the purpose of data matching, for example with a view to their current employment status. The next level should then be a bot that is able to have "deeper" conversations with the candidates in order to get to know them more or less. As a step up from this level, we plan for the bot and recruiter to work hand-in-hand. As virtual assistants, the bots will primarily relieve humans of routine tasks, such as initial job interviews or other data matching. Despite all the AI, the pyramid also reflects our conviction that human recruiters are always needed as the center of the software. Because only real people are capable of being empathetic and, thus, making assessments of candidates based on that. In the end, it is the human being who makes the final decision in favor or against the candidate.