Recruitment strategies: how can companies secure AI experts?
40% of European AI startups do not use any AI technology at all (AI survey by MMC Ventures) A phenomenon which Dr Hakan Duman, a freelancer specialising in AI innovation projects, also sees as posing a risk to communication with AI talents:
”If companies push the topic of AI hard in their own marketing, this should not contradict the actual AI expertise on the team. Fake AI damages a company’s reputation – whether among customers who are expecting better services or products, or among employees who want to develop their AI expertise further”.
Last but not least, ‘faking’ of this kind can also discourage AI talents who are getting to know a potential new employer. We have summarised the recruitment strategies that are most likely to work for AI champions in these 4 top recruitment tips from our interview partners.
“Faking AI damages a company’s reputation”. Dr Hakan Duman, freelancer specialising in AI innovation projects
TIP 1: Implement an AI roadmap!
- How do you embody AI? Many German companies are experimenting with AI at a departmental level, but only a minority are pursuing a uniform, company-wide AI strategy. But doing so represents an important advantage for top AI talents in US corporate groups and startups. Getting rid of silos and showcasing the added value AI offers across departments is a start. To do this, companies need AI and IT skills, but also team expertise in the areas of change management and transformation.
- Purpose = useful and challenging tasks are essential. AI talents want to work for an organisation that has a positive impact on the world, where they can realise their potential and make a difference.
TIP 2: Be authentic!
- Are this particular talent and team a good match? This depends on the level of AI maturity – but it’s something both sides need to be honest about. As a company, you should be transparent about what you have already achieved in the area of AI and the data available to access. This means that the experts who are already involved in the process should be sitting at the table for job interviews, where they can provide information such as: What is being used? What resources are available? Are employees empowered to drive the respective topics further?
- Outstanding managers attract good people: managers with technical expertise not only act as role models on a team, but are also able to accurately assess, appreciate and highlight the potential of the solutions that AI talents develop.
“AI must be approached as team hiring. The best results are not achieved by lone warriors, but rather by an ecosystem of visionaries and doers.”
Dr Andreas Liebl, Managing Director, appliedAI Initiative
TIP 3: Ensure stable relationships!
- Create emotional connections to the product or company and the AI project: if there is any discernible direct connection between the AI experts’ work and the end product (e.g. applications within the vehicle, customer service tools), this will help the employee to identify more strongly with the company.
- Are you on the right track? According to our interviewees, one thing will become clear at a crucial point: if the AI expert is sure that their company is pursuing a real, i.e. a serious, data-driven AI strategy and striving for tangible cultural change. For example, this could be when traditional top-down decision-making is reshaped by recommendations from AI tools such as neural networks.
TIP 4: Offer development prospects!
- AI talents are not lone warriors: you should be providing an environment in which the field and the people who work in it can develop and grow. That is why implementing an AI roadmap should also always be tackled as a team-hiring exercise. If you start with one or two positions, the people occupying them should have the freedom to play or move around within an ecosystem. Isolation is a cardinal error that will quickly drive AI talents out of your company.
- Exchange within the AI community: all of the business partners from dla’s research highlighted the huge importance of this aspect. Numerous formats are available to facilitate such exchange, from trade fairs and events with outstanding speakers to hackathons or collaborations with the global community, particularly open-source development and dedicated collaborations with universities and research institutes.