Depending on the role that an employer is looking to fill, the process of recruiting and hiring professionals can be time-intensive, laborious and costly.
And as a former executive, Milwaukee-based entrepreneur Oliver Degnan is keenly aware of this, which, despite all of the time, energy and money thrown at the process, can still result in a candidate that's not an ideal fit for the organization.
Degnan is hoping that artificial intelligence can help.
Degnan’s professional background includes stints with such companies as Marshfield Clinic, ChenMed, Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative and, most recently, IBM Phytel.
At each company, Degnan said he used many of the tried-and-true methods of interviewing candidates, including background checks and online platforms such as Indeed and LinkedIn.
“But at the end of the day, these are really just tools,” Degnan said. “Even after all of that, I still need to keep my fingers crossed. Did I get lucky?”
Degnan, who is in the process of earning an executive MBA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Lubar School of Business, will soon bring to market an AI platform aimed at solving the quandary he and many of his executive-level peers have faced across the globe.
The platform, MoreTalent, has been in the works for several years, Degnan said, but picked up steam early this year when he left his position at IBM Phytel to serve as CEO of the AI-driven company.
At launch, Degnan said MoreTalent will have the capacity of giving hiring officials the ability to automate an entire job interview, in addition to guiding the applicant and interview teams on a precision-based process.
The seed of the new startup was born out of frustration and inefficiency, Degnan said, but it also was the result of a glimpse into the future and where new trends are emerging.
“I kept thinking, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this,’” Degnan said. “AI was a big buzzword at the time, but nobody really understood the technology.”
Fast-forward a few years and AI’s abundant possibilities are becoming more widely known, Degnan said, pointing to part of the reason for the rollout of MoreTalent, which should be available late in 2018.
“If (AI) is done right, it could be a huge beneficial asset to our day-to-day lives,” Degnan said. “Within the next few years, it will be everywhere.”
In the months leading up to the upcoming launch, Degnan said he and fellow team members are building up the platform. At onset, it will be tailored toward such positions as software developers, medical assistants and primary care physicians.
“It’s learning a lot right now,” Degnan said of the AI that will guide MoreTalent. “We need to capture a lot of experiences with the platform. It’s getting smarter each day.”
Degnan said he and his team believe they are on the cusp of a revolution in the hiring process.
“It’s not going to be an assistant,” he said. “It’s a mechanism that’s going to improve with talent acquisition. It’s going to be a huge time saver.”
