Altius Link Introduces AI Interviews for New Graduate Recruitment

Altius Link, Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Masatoshi Natani; hereinafter "Altius Link") has introduced AI interviews*2 for the first round of new graduate recruitment as part of its corporate DX*1 initiatives. Through its BPO business, the company has consistently worked to streamline operations while identifying areas where human value should be prioritized. This initiative applies that same policy to the recruitment process. By standardizing evaluations through AI and visualizing applicant qualities, we aim to enhance the quality and time spent engaging with each individual applicant, ultimately leading to a further improvement in the applicant experience.

Background of Introduction: Challenges in Standardizing Evaluation Criteria and Strengthening Selection Systems In recent years, as recruitment competition has intensified, the importance of strengthening connections with applicants and fostering mutual understanding has grown, leading to a widespread movement to rethink evaluation philosophies and recruitment processes. At our company, inconsistencies in the content and perspectives of evaluation reports written by interviewers led to discrepancies in the level of detail shared with final interviewers. Furthermore, the first round of interviews was conducted by 80 managers outside of the recruitment department, making the reduction of administrative burdens associated with the selection process a challenge for the recruitment team as well.

Given this situation, we recognized the need to optimize our recruitment process and repeatedly explored whether the knowledge in AI and technology utilization cultivated through our various services could be applied to the recruitment domain. Meanwhile, the adoption of AI in recruitment remains limited; according to a survey by Nikkei Inc., the use of AI in "interviews" stands at only 4.5%.

Based on these challenges and the social landscape, we decided to introduce AI interviews as part of our recruitment DX to standardize evaluation criteria and build a selection system that allows for greater focus on dialogue with applicants, while simultaneously improving the quality of interviews and the applicant experience.

Benefits of Introduction: Improved Interview Quality through Fair, Unified AI Evaluation Axes and Interview Reports In preparation for the full-scale introduction of AI interviews, we conducted a phased implementation and effectiveness verification during the recruitment process for 2027 graduates. We confirmed the consistency between AI scores across 10 evaluation items and evaluations by recruiters, verified the impact on the applicant experience, and assessed the efficiency of the recruitment process before deciding to implement it for regular recruitment.

- Improved Interview Quality: Unified and Visualized Evaluation Perspectives Enable Deeper Final Interviews Standardizing evaluation axes through AI has reduced evaluation discrepancies, organized and visualized the characteristics and strengths of each applicant, and facilitated smoother information sharing for the final selection. Interviewers who conducted the final interviews provided feedback such as: "Because I can grasp the content of the first interview in advance, I can delve deeper into the applicant's thoughts and aspirations within the limited time." "By using the AI score as a reference, the points that need to be confirmed became clear." Moving forward, we will explore the potential to utilize the qualitative information obtained during the selection process for post-hiring development and placement considerations.

- Optimization of Recruitment Process: Reduced Operational Burden and Reallocation of Time to Applicant Communication We anticipate a reduction of approximately 95% in man-hours for recruitment-related tasks, such as interview management and scheduling, which previously required about 1,200 hours. This will allow recruiters to build a system that focuses more on communication and follow-up with applicants. Specifically, we are considering further enriching communication opportunities, such as expanding recruitment content, conducting interviews and feedback sessions via phone, and holding employee networking events. By providing opportunities to deepen self-analysis and career goals, and through support during the selection process, we will help applicants clarify how their "desires" and past experiences/strengths can be utilized at our company, thereby creating an environment where students can approach their job search with a sense of conviction.

- Applicant Experience: 83% Reported a Positive Impression in Candidate Surveys; A Selection Process Where It Is Easier to Express One's Experience and Strengths In a survey conducted, despite the majority of students being first-time users of AI interviews, 83% responded that the experience was "good" or "somewhat good." Positive feedback such as "It was an interesting experience in a new format" and "It was an opportunity to reflect on my experiences" suggests that the selection process served as an experience that allowed each applicant to organize their own experiences and thoughts, leading to multifaceted self-expression. There were also comments such as "I was confused because I wasn't used to AI interviews" and "I felt nervous/anxious about recording/filming." We will work to alleviate candidate anxiety by providing comprehensive advance guidance, such as explaining that they can prepare just as they would for a human interview and that they can listen to questions as many times as needed.

Moving forward, we will continue to work on improving the applicant experience throughout the entire recruitment process by strengthening touchpoints and disseminating information more effectively. Additionally, by leveraging the knowledge gained through the introduction of AI interview tools in our new graduate recruitment department, we will advance the accumulation of know-how regarding recruitment DX and the development and utilization of solutions that support the optimization of recruitment processes.

Naoko Nakamura, General Manager, Human Resources Development Department: "Deepening Mutual Understanding with Applicants for a Convincing Encounter" In recent years, as students' values and career perspectives have diversified, it has become more important than ever in recruitment activities to face diverse talent fairly and to correctly understand each individual's personality and way of thinking.

The introduction of AI interviews is an initiative to suppress variations in evaluations by interviewers and to realize a fairer and more consistent selection process. I feel that we have been able to create a flatter selection environment where evaluations can be made based on unified criteria and are less susceptible to the subjectivity of interviewers. For applicants, the reduction in the burden of travel and scheduling, and the ability to participate at their preferred time and in their preferred environment, are major benefits. Furthermore, compared to face-to-face interviews, there is less psychological pressure, and we expect that applicants will be able to express their usual way of thinking and their own strengths more naturally.

Additionally, we consider AI interviews to be merely an auxiliary tool to improve the quality of the selection process; the pass/fail decision for the first round is determined after recruiters review the AI analysis report results. In addition, we place importance on deepening mutual understanding through communication opportunities with our employees and having them experience our corporate culture.

We intend to continue utilizing the power of technology to improve the quality of time spent with applicants and to create encounters that are convincing for both parties.

*1. "Corporate DX" is one of the DX initiatives to realize the "Digital BPO Service" promoted by our company. We aim to achieve a sustainable high-profit structure through operational efficiency, work-style reform, and analysis of client company trends, and further aim to commercialize and improve services by accumulating knowledge and know-how based on verification results. https://www.altius-link.com/corporate/dx_strategy.pdf *2. We have introduced the interactive AI interview service "SHaiN" provided by Talent and Assessment Co., Ltd.