More and more people are intrigued by our unbiased interview avatar Tengai and we are getting a bunch of questions relating to it. So, in this blog post, we want to answer the 10 most frequently asked questions!
10 Most Asked Questions
1. How do you ensure that the avatar is gathering information in an unbiased way?
Tengai conducts blind interviews, which means that our AI never uses facial recognition software to remove any possible discrimination based on appearance. A blind interview also means that Tengai won’t take notice of other variables, such as a person’s accent or the pitch of their voice. Furthermore, we don’t let Tengai know anything about the candidates before the interview. We purposely don’t give Tengai information, so it becomes impossible to identify specific candidates. That way we keep biases out of the interview.
Read more about the unbiased digital interview.
2. Where did the idea behind Tengai originate?
The idea behind Tengai originally originated at the Swedish recruitment and staffing agency TNG. This is crucial, since TNG is not just a regular agency, but has been specializing in unbiased, data-driven, structured, and competency-based hiring over the last 20 years. It is important to us because we want to ensure that Tengai’s diversity and inclusion software always aims to create an inclusive, fair, and more transparent candidate experience, while also removing unconscious prejudices.
3. What and why do you teach the AI avatar?
Tengai is developed to mitigate unconscious bias in the interview process. So we are programming it to conduct situational- and skill-based interviews. By establishing a three-question pattern that assesses soft skills and personality traits. The inclusion and diversity software Tengai has is unbiased by design and this is crucial to keep the process objective.
Learn more about the science behind Tengai.
4. How is Tengai enhancing the candidate experience?
Our goal was to create a unique and enhanced candidate experience with Tengai. It was also very important for us to make sure that the interview experience was comfortable and exciting for the job seeker. So we worked extensively to understand what factors in a meeting between a human and an avatar to ensure that every job seeker feels safe and comfortable. Therefore, we have incorporated ideas and suggestions from hundreds of test applicants and instructed Tengai to exercise “human” cues. These cues could be anything from nodding, leaning of the head, or saying hmm.
By integrating Tengai into the recruitment process you are assuring a more fair and objective selection process. Our intention behind developing the AI interview was never to replace human recruiters. But it is a recruitment tool that is complementing data-driven insights
5. This is a new way to recruit. How has that affected you as a recruitment professional?
We’ve really had to look at ourselves to understand how we conduct interviews. Which movements, facial expressions, and words do we use to confirm talent as humans and as candidates? We’ve gone to great lengths to analyze the questions that the avatar should ask. It has been very important that the questions are as clear and as concrete as possible. Tengai struggles with ambiguity, so the less vagueness there is in a talent’s answer, the better Tengai is to evaluate and validate the skill sets.
Read more about the importance of developing responsible AI.
6. Why would it be good for all recruiters to partake in this work?
All recruiters work old-school and in a world where tech development goes faster by the day, we need to question old-school skills. It’s useful to evaluate yourself, the way you work on a daily basis and your interview technique. Even if we tend to think that we do a great job for our clients and candidates, there are always things that can be better. You just need to dare to challenge yourself. We need lifelong learning even in the recruitment industry. As we’ve taught Tengai social codes, we’ve become aware of how we behave in similar situations with people whom we know and don’t know.
7. How advanced is Tengai’s communication?
There’s a lot of focus on providing and gathering information in recruitment and this also applies to Tengai. Tengai shares information in a dialogue form about the interview, and how it will be conducted, and then gathers the answers. As the interviews go on, Tengai is also interpreting and understanding what the candidate is saying. This is regardless of the number of words and sentences used. So yes, Tengai can handle open questions and open-ended answers. If Tengai doesn’t understand an answer, the candidate will be informed and asked a follow-up question, and subsequently attempt to continue the conversation and the interview.
Read more about conversational AI.
8. How does a series of questions asked by Tengai differ from one asked by a human?
There’s no capacity for extra words or narrative that isn’t directly linked to a question that Tengai has asked. Tengai asks all questions in exactly the same way, in the same tone, and typically in the same order. That way it is a more fair and objective interview. A hiring manager would deviate from this formula, adjusting to candidates’ responses and thereby extracting more from them which makes the process unfair. Additionally, humans are also influenced and affected by unconscious bias. And therefore both the candidates and recruiters are subject to preconceptions and subjective interpretations. But you are lowering the chance of this by utilizing Tengai!
Learn more about fair recruiting practices.
9. What are the greatest advantages of Tengai?
There are many benefits of using Tengai in your recruitment process, but here are some of the ways Tengai can enhance the hiring process:
Increased efficiency
By using Tengai's AI interview, recruiters can increase productivity and save time by reducing the number of resources required to complete each task. According to a LinkedIn survey from 2021, 67% of hiring managers are utilizing AI for saving time.
Improved quality of hire
Tengai can help companies automatically filter out unqualified applicants and improve their ability to identify top candidates. This will improve the quality of hire, as the candidates with the "right" competencies can be identified early in the hiring process.
Mitigates bias
Using Tengai to screen candidates early on in the recruitment funnel creates a more structured process, which can help push bias further down the recruitment funnel and thus contribute to a more unbiased and fair experience. Additionally, with Tengai you are able to invite more candidates to participate in the recruitment process’s early stages, allowing for greater diversity by ensuring a better and broader selection of talents.
Enhance the candidate experience
Tengai creates a great candidate experience with brisk responses and guided instructions throughout the application process. This will make your brand more credible and attractive to job seekers.
Private and secure
Today, Tengai is being used by the public sector in many countries. For example in Sweden, where several Municipalities are using Tengai to ensure security and privacy. Having analog processes makes it challenging to keep track of candidate data and follow GDPR regulations.