Die Rolle von Fairness in KI-gestützten Recruiting-Prozessen: Potenziale und Herausforderungen aus der Perspektive österreichischer Personalrecruiter*innen

Abstract

Filling open positions is an increasing challenge for many companies due to the current shortage of skilled labor. Consequently, there is a demand to utilize new innovations. The integration
of artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising potential in many sectors, including human resources(HR). At the same time, however, the implementation of AI raises numerous questions,
including how to ensure fairness. As well as in other countries, AI is finding its way into human
resources in Austrian companies due to the shortage of skilled labor.
Therefore, the research question guiding the thesis is: What potentials and challenges do Austrian recruiters see in the use of AI in the recruiting process in terms of fairness?
The thesis aims to identify the potentials and challenges of artificial intelligence along the entire recruiting process with a specific focus on fairness. A qualitative study was conducted to
answer this research question. Specifically, guided interviews were conducted with nine recruiters from Austrian companies in the energy and water supply, manufacturing of goods, and
construction industries to gain in-depth insights into the experiences, perceptions, and perspectives of the interviewees. The results were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis
method by Kuckartz (2018). The key findings show that the recruiters surveyed have a very
wide-ranging understanding of fairness, as can also be confirmed by the scientific foundation.
At the same time, many of the recruiters recognize potentials, such as increasing efficiency,
optimizing and neutralizing the recruiting process, but still recognize many challenges, especially when it comes to fairness in the selection process.
The results also show that clear guidelines and standards are required to be able to implement
AI in recruiting while ensuring fairness. Practical implications and guidelines for HR are therefore presented to enable the integration of AI in the recruitment process.
Keywords: Shortage of skilled labor; AI-driven recruiting processes; optimization of the recruiting process; fairness in recruiting; bias; opacity of AI

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Christina Ortner (Supervisor) & Carrie Kovacs (Supervisor)