- New tech measures sentiment in candidate references more accurately than humans
- Geared to make recruitment process easier and more efficient
Automated candidate referencing company, Xref, has unveiled its new pioneering ‘Sentiment Engine’ technology as part of its continued mission to make the recruitment process easier and more efficient. The unique technology ‘scores’ candidate feedback from referees and is already delivering 92% to 99% accuracy, higher than that achieved by humans when checking references.
Xref’s new Sentiment analysis engine provides employers with an increased sense of a candidate’s professional performance and suitability for a role. The engine leverages an algorithm which examines reference responses and rates feedback positive, negative or neutral, offering a new method of data analysis which interprets the referee’s ‘tone of voice’ for the employer.
The technology uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to scan references and create a concise report that is sent back to the employer for their consideration. The Sentiment Engine will save recruitment professionals up to 16 minutes per reference, as its takes just a few seconds and can be completed at any time of day and on any device.
The new tech is part of Xref’s overall candidate referencing solution, which not only saves the organisation time and money but also improves the productivity of the hiring staff, by allowing them to spend time on other tasks of more strategic value to the business. Its time-based referencing service helps employers comply with employment laws and, when supplemented with Sentiment’s ‘tone of voice’ analysis, reduces the chance that a reference is misinterpreted, providing a new indicator to detect the possibility of fraud.
The development of the Sentiment Engine is a natural progression for Xref, which continues to positively disrupt the traditional referencing process by putting data at the heart of hiring decisions.
The company was borne out of a belief that HR has become almost too reliant on ‘gut feeling’ with old recruitment practices not providing the consistent, reliable and measurable data needed to make confident hiring decisions.
Tim Griffiths, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Xref said: “We have a mantra at Xref that ‘if we touch it three times, we automate it’. It’s part of our commitment to make business as efficient as possible and we felt that there had to be a faster and smarter way to read the sentiment within candidate references.
“Our Sentiment algorithm leverages neural net technology to extend our platform’s capability for employers. The statistical breakdown of information included in candidates’ references provides insight into a candidates’ suitability, and an important new way to examine reference responses. It’s a great help to employers that want meaningful information to assist making data-driven recruiting decisions.”
