Recruitment leaders are doing well when it comes to technology adoption. Based on a Findem and KarmaCheck study, 95% use some form of technology to track hiring and recruitment metrics.
A big survey
People intelligence company Findem and background check platform KarmaCheck recently partnered on a study that unpacks many of the biggest trends catalysing change in recruiting and hiring. The State of Hiring and Recruiting Report was developed from in-depth surveys of 312 HR leaders from mid-sized and large employers across the United States. It dives into a myriad of issues facing the industry, such as the use of hiring and recruiting metric, the practices of benchmarking and tracking key metrics, how leaders view technology as well as the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recruitment.
Only 5% track metrics manually
While 95% of HR leaders use some form of technology to track hiring and recruiting metrics, that leaves 5% of the 312 surveyed leaders who do not rely on any form of technology to track their metrics. Of the 95% that do use tech, 56% rely on dashboards within specialised recruiting and/or HR technology software. The remaining 39% rely on external dashboards, that consolidate hiring statistics.
Technology is key
The study found that HR leaders value technology to improve efficiencies and increase scale within recruiting and hiring across all industries. Technology also is regarded as a key way to improve coordination among internal HR teams and to drive alignment with hiring managers. When we get into the reasoning behind the importance of tech adoption, the overall highest scorer remains simple: more candidates.
Technology also is regarded as a key way to improve coordination among internal HR teams and to drive alignment with hiring managers.
With 57%, ‘increasing the volume of candidates’ is the highest scorer as far as what type of importance technology brings to the recruitment process. Awareness of open roles (47%), improving the quality of candidates (45%), driving more diversity in the talent pool (41%), and improving team coordination round off the top five. Remarkably, with 17%, screening candidates is one of the lowest scorers. Only scaling up and down operations (13%) scores lower.
86% plans to buy more tech
Given the broad array of reasons why hiring and recruiting leaders think technology is important, it’s should come as no surprise that buying more recruitment tech is high on many wish lists. Overall, 86% plan to purchase more technology in 2023. “Only one tech HR respondent said they did not plan to purchase new hiring and recruiting tech next year”, the report noted.
Applicant tracking systems are atop the wish list
So what are they buying? Atop the list: applicant tracking systems (38%). Candidate sourcing tools also appear popular (34%), while outreach and engagement tech (29%) is the third most-popular option. Contact finder tools (3%) and analytics and measurement software (8%) are the lowest scorers on the list. Scheduling and coordination tools (16%) are also relatively low scorers — though its lack of popularity could be explained through the notion that it may simply be a type of tech many have already purchased.
AI-powered tools are growing in popularity
The report also delves into the current state of Artificial Intelligence adoption among HR tech leaders. Roughly four out of every five (81%) leaders say they are now using AI-powered tools to help with hiring and recruiting. And even among the 19% that are not, more than half (53%) of report they will look to buy AI-powered tools in 2023.
Roughly four out of every five (81%) leaders say they are now using AI-powered tools to help with hiring and recruiting.
AI is most-used to screen candidates for relevant experience (62%), the report notes. Help power background checks (58%), source for candidates for specific roles (57%), automating routine tasks (56%) are also all high-scorers. The only low scorer in use cases in the hiring recruiting process is ‘reduce bias in candidate sourcing’, with a mere 23%.
Automating repetitive tasks, something most AI-tools include in their business case, is a low scorer with 19%.
Efficiency in sourcing candidates (65%) is the winner when it comes to how AI-enabled tools have most helped. Expanding the reach of the team without having to add more personnel (65%) also scored high. While improving the speed of the hiring process (62%) rounds off the top three. Automating repetitive tasks, something most AI-tools include in their business case, is a low scorer with 19%.
More direction needed about regulations
Talent leaders, meanwhile, appear to want more direction when it comes to Artificial Intelligence usage. A lack of regulatory understanding remains a common denominator for many in recruitment. “When asked if they believe there should be regulation on when and how AI is used to support recruiting and hiring, an overwhelming 83% affirmed their support for regulations”, the report noted. “Support for regulation grew to 91% at the VP level and above.”
