Why empathy outperforms efficiency in specialist hiring

The third installment in a series of articles from ‘Reclaiming Human Value in an AI-Enabled World’ by Martin Anderson, Founding Director of Carrot Recruitment

In the first two articles of this series, we explored how AI has standardised some hiring processes and why candidate experience has become inseparable from your employer brand.

This raises a further, and often misunderstood, issue:

Efficiency and effectiveness are not the same thing in specialist recruitment.

While AI has helped organisations move faster, speed alone rarely converts the talent that matters most.

The Seduction of Efficiency

AI’s appeal in recruitment is obvious. Automation seems to promise faster screening, shorter time-to-hire, and reduced administrative burden. In high-volume environments, those gains can be real and measurable. But in specialist consulting markets, such as Market Access, HEOR, and RWE, efficiency is only valuable if it leads to better hiring outcomes. Too often, it does not.

Research from Pew Research Center shows that 66% of US adults would avoid applying for jobs where AI is used in hiring decisions, signalling that many candidates associate heavy automation with a lack of human consideration
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/21/what-the-public-thinks-about-ai-and-hiring/

If highly qualified candidates disengage early, withdraw mid-process, or never apply at all, then speed has come at the expense of access and that is not efficiency. It’s attrition.

Empathy Is the Conversion Point

In specialist recruitment, the decisive moments are rarely transactional. They are relationship driven where rapport and trust are pivotal. Candidates convert, from interest to engagement, from interview to offer acceptance when they feel understood. That understanding comes from empathy: the ability to listen, to interpret context, and to respond thoughtfully.

This matters because specialist consulting careers are rarely linear. Candidates bring nuance, trade-offs, and personal motivations that cannot be captured through automated screening alone. Empathy creates space for those conversations. Efficiency does not.

Candidate Experience Reflects Decision Quality

There is a strong correlation between how candidates experience a process and how they perceive the quality of the decisions being made.

According to JobScore, only 26% of candidates describe their hiring experience as excellent, despite widespread use of advanced recruitment technology
Source: https://www.jobscore.com/articles/candidate-experience-statistics/

When candidates experience delays, templated communication, or unclear decision-making, they often infer deeper organisational issues, even if those assumptions are sometimes unfair or inaccurate – it’s all about perceptions.

Where AI Helps, and Where It Doesn’t

The most effective hiring models do not reject AI. They are deliberate about where it is used.

AI adds value when it:

• Reduces administrative burden
• Improves preparation and information flow
• Supports consistency behind the scenes

AI undermines outcomes when it:

• Replaces early human interaction
• Removes space for dialogue and context
• Obscures decision-making

In short, AI works best when it supports empathy, not when it replaces it.

Empathy Is Not Inefficient

There is a persistent misconception that empathy slows hiring down. Empathetic processes often move faster where it matters most. Candidates who feel engaged and understood are more likely to stay in process, respond promptly, and make informed decisions. They are also more likely to accept offers without fuss when they arrive.

Efficiency that leads to drop-off is not efficiency at all. Empathy, applied well, helps to smooth out any potential barriers and leads to a more effective process.

The Role of Partnership in Getting the Balance Right

This balance between efficiency and empathy is difficult to achieve in isolation. Hiring managers are busy. TA teams are stretched. The risk is that processes default to automation simply because it is available and seems like a good idea in principle. Partnership-led recruitment models help bridge this gap.

By working closely with clients, recruitment partners can help design processes that scale where appropriate but remain human where it matters. They can manage communication, maintain momentum, and ensure candidates feel informed and respected throughout.

That balance protects your brand, improves conversion, and delivers better hiring outcomes.

The Real Differentiator

As AI becomes more common place across recruitment processes, the impact of speed as a differentiator will reduce. Human empathy will not – it will be the piece that stands out for you in the talent market and will help differentiate you from those firms competing for the same talent.

In specialist consulting markets, the organisations that win will not be those that optimise hardest, but those that combine technology with judgement, clarity, and human connection.

Next in this series of articles:

In the next article, we will explore the limits of AI in non-linear consulting careers, and why human interpretation remains essential in assessing potential, motivation, and fit.

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Martin Anderson

Founding Director