Reports of the demise of HR's hiring role have been greatly exaggerated. For years now, we've been seeing headlines about how data analytics will soon outperform flesh-and-blood recruiting agents.

But for all the hype, alogithmic models have yet to reliably connect people with great jobs.

And it's not for lack of trying. For many years, eHarmony has been developing its job-hunting answer to its successful online dating platform.

Part of the problem is that it takes a lot of data to create an accurate data-picture of a job applicant. These job hunting profiles often ask for much more information than even the most ponderous job application, causing users to bail before they're completed a useful profile.

And a solution isn't as simple as eliminating questions: too little info and the engine can't find well matched jobs; too much and users don't take the time. Beta testers who have tried out new employee-employer matching engines often report that the jobs supplied were ones that could've been found easily through other methods (without spending an hour answering personal questions).

That said, it's likely only a matter of time before some genius cracks the code. But until then, recruiting managers need not worry about algorithyms stealing their jobs all at once. It's likely that more sophisticated data tools will be resources, not replacement.

Read full article at PCMag.