The extent to which expectations of artificial intelligence technologies differ in personnel recruitment is documented by the IT Freelancer Study 2019, conducted by temporary employment agency Experis. In the overwhelming majority of companies, HR managers hope the use of algorithms will help simplify their search for suitable freelancers. The IT freelancers themselves, though, see things quite differently: Most think that AI is suitable for preselecting candidates, but not for any actual decision to hire them.

Over the past twelve months, 70% of the companies surveyed have hired freelance IT specialists, with the trend rising. Freelancers are often used for business-critical projects, so high standards apply when it comes to selecting them. The study found that the placement of IT specialists via online portals has increased from 13.5% to 14.7% compared to the previous year. It also found that increasingly fewer IT freelancers are marketing themselves; the number of those hired directly without an agent fell from 39% to 36.5% compared to the previous year.

IDG Business Research Services obtained the results of the ‘IT Freelancer 2019’ study as part of an online survey, for which a total of 1,016 qualified interviews were conducted and analyzed.