Kearney turns to AI to eliminate human bias in consulting hiring
What started as a hiring experiment in India may now reshape the way a global consultancy decides who makes the cut. Kearney, one of the world’s largest global consultancies, is overhauling its recruitment system to eliminate any human bias introduced in the selection process. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Mckinsey & Co. Competing with companies like the likes, the India-based consulting firm has undertaken a massive mapping mission that determines the career trajectory of everyone who applies to Kearney over the years. The company in its India office will also be among the first consulting firms to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to interview candidates, again in an effort to improve accuracy.
Siddharth Jain, managing partner and country head of Kearney India, said: “Kearney India has piloted a program where we look at thousands of resumes that have come to us over the years. We identify candidates and match their profiles based on their current performance level, whether in the company or elsewhere.” Mint. “This helps us understand how accurate our selection and interview processes have been in the past regarding the profiles we select/select or exclude.”
The firm has approximately 800 consultants in its India office, but Mint We could not detect global power spread across 40 offices.
Purpose: eliminate hiring errors
Kearney’s primary goal is to eliminate type 1 and type 2 errors and “move to a near-perfect method of hiring the best candidates.” A Type 1 mistake is when one misses the opportunity to shortlist a good candidate who fits the profile. In a Type-2 error, a candidate who is not suitable for the company is selected.
“Artificial intelligence tools eliminate social, gender and conceptual biases that interviewers have. “Some conglomerates are now implementing an AI round, which is the third-fourth round, testing whether the interviews held so far are free of bias,” said Kaushik DasGupta, India managing partner of executive search firm ODGERS. “The tools will also detect whether the candidate is consistent with their answers and beyond the resume screening process.”
The shift in hiring patterns comes at a time when there is a fierce war for talent in the consulting world. According to Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), some of India’s leading B-schools, companies like Bain & Co, Boston Consulting, McKinsey and Accenture have recruited students from the 2026 batch. These offerings stem from India’s growing role in complex, AI-focused work, with most global projects being led by Indian teams.
Taking the need to eliminate biases to another level, Kearney India is trying to ensure that the first few rounds of interviews are conducted by in-house AI tools. “Candidates will upload their CV and video message and the initial screening and evaluation will be done by the AI. We have noticed that the accuracy is higher in this as it is free from human biases,” Jain said. This pilot was launched by Kearney India in 2025 and is currently being rolled out across a few campuses where we recruit regularly.”
Both Mckinsey and BCG did not respond Mint‘s queries, but Finance Times In January, it was reported that Mckinsey was asking graduate candidates to use artificial intelligence tool Lilli when taking exams for global positions.
A similar story is developing at home. Artificial intelligence makes its presence felt in the business world-school campus recruitment. In a move to keep up with the times, companies have allowed students to use AI tools as part of the hiring process. Mint Last October, he wrote about how AI tools are now widely accepted around the world. B-schools because case study analysis forms an integral part of their recruitment process. Unlike engineering colleges where coding exams are held or students are asked to develop products, management students are required to develop business strategy plans. Recruiters, including consulting firms, wanted to test the thought process behind using specific clues and coming to a conclusion.
While consulting giants are testing how AI tools are used for recruiting, the practice is more common among startups. The tools save costs and time when reviewing resumes.
Saumil Tripathi, co-founder of AI-led recruiting firm Grapevine, uses an in-house AI tool to select startup candidates. “The voice-based AI tool, called Round 1, lasts 5-9 minutes for an interview and we cater to startups that have raised initial funds but have small hiring teams. We take the first round where we test the candidate’s aptitude and then pass the information to the client for interviews,” Tripathi said. Mint. The three-year-old startup handles 300 calls a day.
This shift reflects a broader corporate initiative to bring consistency to one of the most subjective business decisions.
