Should Talent Acquisition Build Its Own AI?

Are They Even Able To?

In a recent issue of This Week in Recruiting, Hung Lee argued that recruiters should support open-source, on-premises AI rather than allow organizations to become dependent on proprietary cloud providers.

His argument raises the make-or-buy decision that has been a discussion that has kept talent leaders up at night for as long as I can remember. Simply put: should employers create their own AI-enabled screening, assessment, and interviewing capabilities or buy one from a vendor?

The argument to make your own is appealing on the surface. An internally developed system could, in theory, better reflect the organization’s culture, jobs, skills, performance standards, and workforce strategy than a commercial product. It might also give the employer greater control over its data, algorithms and intellectual property.