An interview with Ashutosh Garg, CEO of Eightfold.ai.
By Ton Dobbe – Chief Inspiration Officer, Value Inspiration
Every week I interview entrepreneurs and experts from around the world to share their big idea about new forms of value creation and the potential we can unlock when technology augments the unique strengths of people to deliver remarkable impact.
I got inspired by the big idea behind Eightfold AI; hence I invited CEO Ashutosh Garg to my podcast. We explore the challenges around the recruitment process as we know it today and discuss how product innovation can help to change the paradigm.
The thing that triggered me most from my interview with Ashutosh
“Instead of people applying for a job, we recommend them.”
Why did this trigger me? What’s the bigger value here?
The value behind this statement could change the way we look at hiring people forever. Recruitment has always been driven by procedures defined decades ago: We have a job opening, we create a job profile, send it out, and wait for responses. Although this seems the most obvious approach, it has many flaws.
Here are just two examples of how this old system is flawed:
- Bias: We decide based on who we think is the right candidate – influenced by who we know, and what we think we see.
- Timing: We miss out on perfect candidates who become available when we don’t have a job opening.
Based on just these two examples the expectation is that 80% of people today end up applying for the wrong job – and that’s serious!
So, to eliminate this problem, Eightfold decided to turn the problem on its head – using the power of AI to uncover the potential of any individual and make connections intelligently, thereby removing the bias and timing issues. That’s a win-win for everybody.
What’s the most significant opportunity that intelligent matching creates?
It’s the opportunity to solve the war for talent at a global scale. Here’s how.
Let’s take the role of Data Scientist. This is possibly the job in highest demand these days. Typically, companies are looking for the perfect candidate who masters the skill today, ideally with 5 years’ experience. The problem this brings is scarcity, and unfair competition.
So, what if AI could help by approaching the challenge in a different way: Predicting which people could actually be expert data scientists by connecting the dots on what people are capable of doing based on the blend of skills, training and expertise they have gained in other areas? Wouldn’t this make the process much simpler?
(Spoiler alert: It would make the process simpler, and that kind of AI is here now.)
Listen to the big idea behind Eightfold.ai, and why it has the potential to transform the way we think about recruitment forever.