As we are already witnessing the application of AI in this fast-moving world, programs can never perform in a biased way. Though humans make many imperfect decisions, not able to become a better judge is a disapproving quality. But, machines cannot judge people. You can never make them lie. And, this is the entire point of applying AI-based algorithm to hire people. Frida Polli, a neuroscientist opened here start-up, Pymetrics to help companies hire people in a better way. We believe it or not that sometimes our personal feeling or sixth sense clouds are judgments. But, one cannot let this harm his or her recruiting operation. So, many companies are using the platform of Pymetrics to hire best-fitted profiles for any job. Frida established the company in 2012. It is an initiative to democratize the hiring practice using ethical AI and behavioral data. The company is based in New York City.
About Frida Polli
Frida went to Dartmouth College and acquired her bachelor’s degree in English (Post-baccalaureate premedical studies). In 2001, she went to Suffolk University and graduated in 2007 with a Ph.D. in Neuropsychology. Later, she went to Harvard Business School and acquired her MBA. Before going for her Ph.D. she was a Research Assistant at Boston University School of Medicine. She was also a Doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Before graduating from Suffolk University, she was an intern at Harvard Medical School. She was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT for three years. In 2012, she founded Pymetrics and currently serves as its CEO.
Why entering into start-up culture?
Being a research scholar, Frida went to some of the most prominent universities in the world. She has an experience of more than ten years in the field of neuroscience. But, something always bugged her about its application. Though she liked her field of research, she wanted to do more than just working in the lab. Frida wanted to apply her research ideas in the practical world. So, she applied for Harvard Business School. But, initially, she had no idea in which field she wants to start her entrepreneurial journey. Frida followed her intuition.
During her two years at Harvard, she faced this problem of recruiting. She and other fellow students carried out many types of research. It included examining individuals, their personalities and tallying possible outcomes. Frida realized that this is an inefficient way of hiring people and thus got the idea of her start-up.
Building Pymetrics
The team of Pymetrics is much diversified. It has hired employees starting from data scientists to policy analysts. After Frida came to Harvard Business School, she planned her start-up. So, many things happened eventually once it started rolling. Frida said since the platform is based on Behavioral data she needed to hire engineers and data scientists. A general body has to be established for every company. This led to the hiring of a general counsel.
Expansion
Though Pymetrics is a US-based company, it decided to expand abroad. One of the biggest reasons for this is pursuing companies that are the hotspot of Fortune 500 companies. So, Frida decided to expand its business to London, Singapore, and Australia. Some of the biggest companies that use the platform of Pymetrics are Unilever, LinkedIn, and Accenture.
The base idea of Pymetrics
When a human analyzes another human, we tend to be biased without us being aware of it. The main goal of Pymetrics is to eradicate this from the hiring sector. But, apart from this Pymetrics also lets you know what job you are better suited for. In Pymetrics, there is no one single algorithm for every job possibility. So, if you are not qualified enough for one position, you are open to trying other options. Pymetrics build an individual algorithm for individual job opportunities.
Why AI is helpful?
This can be clarified with a small example. Let’s say we don’t want to be biassed towards hiring. What if a company needs to immediately hire 50 employees and you end up receiving more than 1000 responses? In this case, most of the resumes are left unturned due to a shortage of timing and inadequate human labor. So, the best candidate might have been the one from the left out pile. But, when it comes to Pymetrics, the platform does all the work for the company. This way it becomes more perfect and time-efficient as well.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more