I’ve been to the California Staffing Professionals Conference (CSP) for the last two years; this is one of the most educational and enjoyable industry conferences. All the conferenciers have such great information to share and do it so willingly for the benefit of the staffing industry. The courses and breakout sessions offered at this conference are packed with informative topics relative to our industry and the new flavor of the month.
One session that stood out to me was Technology as a Recruiters Best Friend, which was presented by Ninh Tran and addressed the use of AI in recruiting. This presentation resonated with me because we are releasing a next-generation software interface, and are hard at work with introducing a new AI-based sourcing tool that will change the way our customers find candidates. Tran spoke about a “phenomenon” called the Hype Cycle, which is the progression that new technology goes through when first introduced. The Cycle is the normal progression of how hype builds what the new automation can do, how it crashes when reality sets in because of its limitations, then after which time, most consumers find a happy medium of what can be done using these features. I enjoyed learning about the Cycle because it gives me a fresh perspective of how my organization has been a 30+ year pioneer in the HR Technology space.
Learning more about the Hype Cycle was helpful and enlightening as I’ve watched our customers adopt new technologies and knowing how SmartSearch has been a significant contributor in their day-to-day workflow is very rewarding, especially when it’s difficult for new applications to find solid footing when first introduced.
Overall the entire conference was an absolute joy to participate in, from meeting many of our current partners and industry leaders face-to-face, to showcasing our next generation interface, to learning about relevant topics. I can’t wait to attend the conference in 2020.