Despite all our concern over the Great Resignation and the new war for talent, new research we have just released shows that only one in four companies are currently recruiting in an optimised way. The ‘post and pray’ model, where you buy a job ad, place your positions on Indeed, LinkedIn, or another job board, and promote your company’s pay, benefits, and employee experience isn’t enough. 

One in four companies has more than a thousand open job requisitions right now, and in industries like healthcare, retail, hospitality, and distribution, hiring has become a source of operational crisis

Supply and demand

The reasons are all-too-familiar. One in four companies has more than a thousand open job requisitions right now, and in industries like healthcare, retail, hospitality, and distribution, hiring has become a source of operational crisis. Yet despite the urgency, our research shows that only one in four employers are designing jobs with clear opportunities for skill development and variety to attract and retain talent; only 11% promote a culture of internal mobility, and only 8% actively recruit from underrepresented groups.

More worryingly, levels of maturity of talent acquisition (TA) technology are the lowest-scoring elements in our entire framework. A tiny slice of companies—about 20%—have found success with talent marketplaces and are automating basic activities like scheduling interviews. Only 8% employ artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots in their end-to-end recruitment process today.

Strategies for winning

The research also found that companies which leverage the right recruiting strategies aren’t just winning the war for talent. They’re also twice as likely to exceed their financial targets and five times more likely to delight their customers. When companies go beyond the most basic practice of posting jobs on an internal portal and actively encourage a culture of movement and growth, they are 3.7 times more likely to see innovation rise and nearly five times more likely to be recognised as a great place to work.

Importantly, we also found that the human part of the process, recruiting specialists and professionals, is more important than ever. After all, recruiting is a people-centric process; ultimately, no software can adequately assess an individual’s fit with your job, your team, or your company. 

When companies encourage a culture of movement and growth, they are 3.7 times more likely to see innovation rise

Recruiters, one of the most important jobs in HR, are becoming critical to TA success. That’s why our maturity model labels ‘Human-Centred Recruiting’ the most advanced approach of all. But while the demand for jobs continues to surge, finding and keeping great recruiters is an issue, so investment in your recruitment team is key. In fact, companies that invest in their recruiting team are 3.9 times more likely to be leaders in innovation and 4.5 times more likely to achieve high levels of customer retention. 

Notable performance improvement

Our research shows that hiring should always include a look at internal candidates. Promotion of low-touch internal mobility strategies, including support for good temporary roles, project work, rotational assignments and mentoring should all be included within your recruitment process. When companies encourage a culture of movement and growth, they are 3.7 times more likely to see innovation rise, and nearly five times more likely to be recognised as a great place to work—which really matters in today’s ‘Glassdoor Effect’ world.

Our data shows that companies need to put skills and capabilities at the centre of their talent acquisition strategy. The study shows that when companies hire for behavioural skills in addition to technical expertise, there’s a notable performance improvement. Companies bringing these capabilities into their workforce are 5.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders, the study reveals, for instance.

Tech as an enabler

Finally, the use of the right HR tech is emerging as key to recruiting success. Companies that employ AI throughout their recruitment processes are, for example, four times more likely to see a consistently strong candidate pipeline. Those leveraging a variety of digital-hiring solutions, such as online assessments, virtual interview platforms and pre-hire chatbots, are twice as likely to attract and recruit the right talent.

When your company’s employment brand is strong, candidates feel a sense of purpose

Another important best practice from successful CHROs is that an integrated EVP should be a high-priority area of focus for TA success. When your company’s employment brand is strong, candidates feel a sense of purpose. If the organisation is seen as really listening to its workforce, companies are 5.4 times more likely to exceed financial targets, 6.1 times more likely to delight customers, and 7.4 times more likely to be able to innovate effectively.

The bottom line is that in this time of tough labour shortages, employee choice and increased wage inflation, it’s business-critical to get talent acquisition, which was always one of your most important priorities, right.

Read The Josh Bersin Company report: The Definitive Guide to Recruiting: Human-Centered Talent Acquisition.

Interested in this topic? Read HR and aquisitions: What role should HR be playing?

[cm_form form_id=’cm_65a14c3f5da64′]