Poonawalla Fincorp, a non-banking finance company under the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, announced its adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in human resource (HR) processes to manage risks and improve hiring accuracy. The phased implementation has reduced the time taken to finalise job offers from about 10 days to less than a day, cutting time and operational costs by 90%.
AI tools now handle document verification and candidate screening, improving recruitment efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The company, following the appointment of Arvind Kapil as Managing Director and CEO in June, has focused on AI-driven changes in talent acquisition. This step aligns with its goal to create a customer-focused ecosystem, with plans to extend AI across compliance, customer service, and operations.
The AI system facilitates faster candidate matching, automated document checks, and real-time screening. It matches resumes to job descriptions quickly, helping recruiters identify top candidates more accurately. Automated document verification reduces manual errors and saves time. Job listings are now created and posted automatically, ensuring job descriptions are precise and communicated without delays.
Salil Hajarnis, recently appointed as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), is leading the company’s digital transformation and AI initiatives. The new AI system minimises manual intervention in recruitment processes, accelerating and streamlining them. Additionally, a WhatsApp-powered AI bot is being developed to provide instant support for employee queries on leave, payroll, policies, and benefits.
The integration also improves the evaluation of candidates’ technical and cognitive skills, supporting fair and unbiased hiring. Poonawalla Fincorp has partnered with IIT Bombay to assist with key elements of the AI implementation. Pushpak Bhattacharyya from IIT Bombay’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering highlighted that AI is transforming the financial services sector, with more projects planned at Poonawalla Fincorp beyond the current HR focus.
