Recruitment AI start-up Job Crystal is here to help SMEs

Job Crystal, a women-led, South African recruitment website offering online solutions since 2015, has announced the launch of a world-first, AI-powered tool. CRYSTAL uses machine learning (ML) to screen millions of candidates and get the best fit for your company.

The search and screening stages are the most time-consuming in the recruitment process.

Founded in 2015 as an online service, Job Crystal could realise its dream of deploying its AI engine thanks to a R4.2 million investment from the Enygma Ventures Shift Fund in 2020.

“There are extraordinary costs to a business if they can’t find the right person quickly,” explains Job Crystal CEO Sasha Knott. “It can mean the difference between getting ahead of your competitors or forever trailing behind.  It can be the difference between meeting your company and growth targets, or complete business failure.”

CRYSTAL scans 43 candidate pool databases, screening 34 million employable South Africans to surface a possible match, but there is further innovation in the service’s unique pricing model. Business owners pay per job description and don’t have to commit to annual subscriptions.

It’s not all up to the machine though, as Job Crystal has a team who provide a human touch through actively teaching the machine to deliver the best results and counteracting any latent AI prediction bias.

Knott and business partner Kelly Louw, who acts as company COO, developed the product to help small and medium enterprises to make a meaningful, positive impact on the South African unemployment crises.

“Together, small and medium enterprises in South Africa employ 60 percent of the country’s workforce,” Knott says. “It makes sense that this industry sector has access to the best tools that support them in growing their businesses and becoming sustainable.”

“With the launch of CRYSTAL, we aim to put a next-generation recruitment tool in the hands of the business owners driving economic recovery and future growth, who are, together, also providing jobs for more and more South Africans.”

CRYSTAL further differentiates itself in a busy market by actively mitigating against AI bias towards men under 40. The human intervention steers the AI engine to be a better tool to help South African companies meet their equity targets and benefit social growth.

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Featured image supplied by Job Crystal