AI fears are growing

The fear of being replaced by technology has now risen to become the second biggest concern for UK respondents to the survey, after the cost of living – a leap up from ninth place in the workplace fears index last year. The findings suggest ‘that AI anxiety does not exist in isolation – it’s highest among employees who already feel overwhelmed by technological change, or insecure in their roles.’

Recruitment concerns

The rise in the use of AI in recruitment processes is a new and significant concern for finance and accountancy professionals in the UK. Globally, 45% of respondents said they were worried about the use of AI in recruitment processes – but in the UK, this increases to 69%.

Women (72%) are more worried on this point than men (62%); Gen Z, meanwhile, who are growing up in an AI world, are the least concerned – but even so, six in 10 of this generation say that the fairness of the process, if AI is used in hiring, is a worry. Algorithmic bias, as well as a sense of distance and anonymity, are seen as the biggest concerns.

These apprehensions are not restricted to candidates; globally, 54% of board-level leaders have their own concerns about the use of AI in recruitment, and many stress the importance of strong governance around its use.

One roundtable participant explained that his organisation used AI-related tools for tasks such as filtering CVs, running skills assessments and managing job ads. ‘We are confident that it helps us to filter through the data we collect after advertising [a role],’ he said. ‘However, when it comes to a serious or final call for the selection – I think human intervention is crucial at this stage.’

The report argues that there is no preventing the growing use of AI in hiring talent, as recruiters are seeing operational efficiencies and productivity gains. Indeed, according to LinkedIn, 93% of recruiters plan to increase their use of AI. The report, though, warns that the concerns expressed by so many respondents suggest that this is fraught with risk for organisations.

‘There’s an overall sense of an “AI arms race” at the moment,’ it adds. ‘Organisations are increasingly using AI across the hiring value chain, while candidates themselves are using AI chatbots to support their job applications – leading to a surge in the volume of applications and growing complexity in recruitment systems.’

It’s up to organisations’ leaders, the report says, to convince prospective talent ‘that their AI hiring processes are fair, equitable and supported by appropriate human oversight’.

Search for meaning

Unease about AI-driven recruitment comes at a time when many finance professionals are looking for the chance to make a meaningful difference in their work.

While two-thirds of UK respondents said that they feel secure in their role and engaged with their employer, 49% expect their next career move to be to another organisation. And when looking for a new employer, the organisation’s reputation on social and human rights – more so than environmental issues – is often a deciding factor.

Globally, 58% of respondents said that an organisation’s environmental record was a key factor in making it attractive as an employer – but in the UK only 42% of respondents said the same.

In fact, more than half of respondents say that their ambition is to find a role that makes a meaningful difference to the world – not just to report on environmental and social impact, but to help create it. Only 39% of respondents say that their current finance role already contributes to helping their employer respond to social impact issues, but 54% say that they would want this type of role in the future.

‘With so much focus on environmental credentials alone,’ concludes the report, ‘organisations may be overlooking an even more powerful recruitment tool: the broader social impact.’