When you’re trying to manage a talent acquisition team, keeping up with hiring trends can feel like another full-time job. The good news is that people at companies like LinkedIn, Randstad, Aptitude Research, KPMG, and Accenture have full-time jobs fielding studies and publishing research. To save you the time of reading the reports and figuring out what’s most important, we reviewed the latest research and gathered 23 statistics from studies published in the first half of 2023. Let’s take it away—and tell you our takeaways.

Talent acquisition’s seat at the table

• 77% of talent leaders say their talent acquisition strategies are more about total value creation for the company than about achieving cost savings, jumping 32 points in 2023 from just 45% the previous year.
• 87% of recruiting pros say TA has become a more strategic function over the past year. 
• 70% of TA pros say the team can claim a seat at the proverbial table. (LinkedIn)

Takeaway: With more TA leaders than ever claiming a seat at the table, they must stay abreast of trends to keep generating value for the business by hiring the right people who can build the company’s future.

Need for cost efficiency & agility

• 53% of in-house recruiting pros predict their recruiting budget will decrease or stay flat in the coming year. (LinkedIn)
• 77% feel their strategy is more focused on agility this year, an increase of 11 points since last year. (Randstad)

Takeaway: With flat to declining budgets, companies must invest in technology that helps enable agility.

Tech consolidation on the horizon

• On average, a company invests in more than ten technology solutions for its recruitment function.
• 32% of those seeking to replace point solutions say they are doing so because they want to consolidate providers. (Aptitude Research)
• Gartner predicts that by 2025, the recruiting landscape will consolidate, resulting in 20% fewer point solution vendors in the marketplace. (Gartner)

Takeaway: Companies that invest in solutions that consolidate functionality are ahead of the game.

Automation & AI

• 60% of companies have increased investment in automation technologies in the past year. (Aptitude Research) 
• 68% of hiring professionals surveyed in February 2023 said they were “very hopeful” or “cautiously optimistic” about the impact of generative AI on recruiting. (LinkedIn)

Takeaway: Automation and AI are the future, and companies that invest in them will have a leg up on competitors.

Linking employer brand, candidate experience, and ROI

• 60% of in-house recruiting pros predict their employer branding investments will increase this year. (LinkedIn)
• More than half of large organizations are using approaches to recruitment marketing that include multi-channel touch points like InMail, email, and SMS  (57%), employment branding campaigns (57%), recruitment events (57%), and social media recruitment (54%). (Gem)

Takeaway: Employer branding and recruitment marketing are no longer nice-to-haves but must-haves. Those who aren’t investing in these talent attraction strategies will be left behind.

• Only 41% of large organizations and just 28% of smaller organizations assess recruitment marketing ROI/attribution. (Gem)
• 61% of organizations surveyed reported they are only rarely or sometimes able to define and measure the ROI of HR Technology systems. (Aptitude Research) 

Takeaway: Despite investing in recruitment marketing and new HR technologies, companies need help determining ROI. They need systems that can help them do so.

Data-driven hiring

• More than two-thirds of large organizations track metrics like time to hire, source of hire, and offer acceptance rates. 
• Less than half track new hire retention, passthrough/conversion rates, top-of-funnel activity, or time in stage. 
• Less a third track cost per hire, quality of hire, and hiring manager satisfaction. (Gem)

Takeaway: While businesses are good at tracking operational metrics, there is an opportunity to track business-centric metrics to demonstrate the value of TA.

Trust at work

• 77% of workers trust their employer to do what is right. (Edelman)
• 77% of global workers feel a company’s values and purpose (including sustainability, diversity, and transparency) are important when selecting an employer. (Randstad)
• More than half of companies list Services and Customer Service (over Product Capabilities and Price) as key criteria for selecting talent acquisition systems.  (Aptitude Research)

Takeaway: Trust is important in both candidate relationships and company-vendor relationships. 

Enterprise digital transformation

The wave of business transformation over the last several years has included an increase in digital investments that yielded positive effects.

• A KPMG survey found that 99% of executives report a positive return on digital investments.  (KPMG)
• Accenture research found that by activating the growth combination of data, technology and people, companies stand to gain a premium of up to 11% on top-line productivity—the ultimate driver of profitability and revenue growth. (Accenture)

Takeaway: Making investments in digital solutions generates ROI and improves productivity.

Learn the trends backing up the data

Undoubtedly, technology is helping companies adapt to this new world of recruiting. Key challenges in the coming years will be deciding which technologies to deploy, which ones to sunset, and how to keep people using them in ways that truly deliver business value. If you’re intrigued by what you read here, there’s more. 

These stats are just snippets from our latest eBook, Global Hiring Trends 2023: How Talent Acquisition Can Adapt and Thrive in 2023 and Beyond.

Download it today to learn more about six key trends with insights from 14 hiring experts. You’ll also receive five checklists to help you make better technology decisions.

Hiring Without Boundaries is about breaking free of limitations. And sometimes that limitation is in your mind: it can be a knowledge gap, an outdated mindset, or just an inclination that you know something else is possible but are not sure where to find it.  

According to Elizabeth Panska, Director, Customer Community & Advocacy at SmartRecruiters, “‘What are other customers doing? How do I compare?’ are some of the most common questions we get in our customer-facing roles.” That’s the seed from which the SmartRecruiters Customer Community was born. Launched in September 2022, the community has quickly become a trusted resource for SmartRecruiters customers globally. In just eight months, the community has hosted more than 6,000 customers and nearly 300 discussions that show what’s possible on the SmartRecruiters platform. 

“From the community perspective, hiring without boundaries means expanding the realm of possibility by learning more about the product and about what their peers are doing,” Elizabeth said. The SmartRecruiters community gives customers access to resources and connections that expand their thinking about how to leverage SmartRecruiters to drive Hiring Success®. In the community, they can share best practices, submit ideas and feedback, and grow their knowledge of the SmartRecruiters platform. Here’s the lowdown on what customers can do inside the community:

1. Start a discussion

In the fast-changing world of talent acquisition, new challenges constantly arise. In the community, customers can introduce themselves and ask questions of their peers about technical, high-level, and day-to-day challenges.

2. Help peers

By engaging in discussions and answering questions, customers can share their experiences. A few members have grown in their leadership skills through their frequent contributions. Some have even presented to SmartRecruiters employees in our quarterly Customer First event.

3. Keep up with quarterly product releases

Every quarter, SmartRecruiters releases dozens of delightful enhancements and product updates. In the community, customers get updates on what’s coming and details on the new features. Once a quarter, we host a live Quarterly Release webinar where our product team shows what’s new and answers questions.

4. Connect live with peers

The Customer Connect & Exchange event occurs monthly in several time zones. Via Zoom, customers discuss current topics of note in their hiring organization and learn best practices from one another.

5. Attend training webinars

The SmartRecruiters training team delivers several product-oriented webinars per month that cover a range of recruiting topics. Attendees have the opportunity to ask questions in a live setting. Webinars are recorded. Recent webinar titles include:

• Strong Command of Data and Priorities: Analytics and Dashboard
• Ease of Connecting with Candidates: Email Templates
• Good Governance Guides Good Practice: System Roles and Permissions

6. Submit SmartIdeas

From a link in the community, SmartRecruiters customers have the ability to submit product ideas. Other customers can view the ideas and upvote them. Many of our product enhancements are sourced directly from these requests.

7. Participate in the Design Lab

The Design Lab is a collaborative space where customers engage in creative sessions to discuss insights about Hiring Success and SmartRecruiters’ products. Design Lab members are able to join conversations and shape innovative solutions that have already benefited thousands of customers.

8. Earn badges

Some customers enjoy collecting cool badges that show how much they’ve shared and helped people. As always, the SmartRecruiters Community moderators are committed to maintaining a safe and helpful place for all customers.

Choose your recruiting community adventure

With so many options for participation, “Customers get to determine their own journey,” Elizabeth said. “They choose their own adventure.” Some recent discussions around DEI have helped customers understand variations in hiring and compliance across different countries. They can also offer support and celebrate each others’ wins. “That’s what I’m most excited about,” said Elizabeth. “It’s wonderful to see the relationships build and grow.”

SmartRecruiters customers can click the image below to start growing their expertise in the community.

To learn how our vision of Hiring Without Boundaries can facilitate your path to Hiring Success, sign up for a demo today.

How do you think about the future of talent acquisition—and gather the resources to future-proof your organization? While we truly don’t know what’s coming, we can read the signals of what’s happening now and make predictions about what might happen next. That’s exactly what the following group of hiring experts did in a recent webinar with ERE: Talent Acquisition in the Face of Uncertainty: Future-Proofing Your TA Function. 

• Allyn Bailey, Executive Director, Hiring Success, SmartRecruiters
• Brian Ferguson, Senior Director, Global Talent Acquisition at Omnicell
• Leslie Thomas, Director of Recruiting, Reality Labs SWE, Meta
• Shaina Semiatin, Head of Talent Acquisition, Grindr

Moderated by Allyn Bailey, the session opened with a reflection on where we are now: rapid change in the last few years, with the pace picking up; untested generative AI coming at us fast; and internal pressure to get it right. “We’re in a volatile world where we all need to look at who we are, what we do, what our value is,” Allyn said, “and then consider how we move forward.”

The panelists each offered wisdom on how to move forward in the midst of great change and shared their predictions on what might occur. We highly recommend watching the webinar on ERE Pro. In the meantime, read these highlights.

Brian Ferguson: Be curious

“People are adapting to new technology quicker than ever,” said Brian Ferguson. “They’re learning how to infuse it with their particular skill set to get the most out of their job.” An area to be curious about now and into the future is how to use new technology to connect talent acquisition data across the HR function. “Maybe it will give us the true picture of the holy grail of quality of hire,” he said, reminding us of the myriad ways companies have used to measure the quality of hire.

“Curiosity has always been an important skillset for recruiting,” Brian said, mentioning the ongoing quest to move at higher volume, build better candidate pipelines, and provide better candidate experiences. “Now it’s about taking your curiosity and learning something new.” For those more hesitant than willing, Brian added, “Don’t be afraid of failure. If you’re not failing, you’re not learning. If you’re not learning, you’re not growing.”

Brian’s predictions 

1. The coordinator role will evolve into a “candidate concierge” who ensures white-glove service. 
2. Sourcers will become talent intelligence experts who understand hiring, market, and employee data to define candidate pools more effectively.

Leslie Thomas: Future-proof yourself by upskilling

“If you want to remain in this profession, you have to lean in, or you will get passed over,” said Leslie Thomas. She sees the availability of new tools as positive evolution that will allow talent acquisition to maintain its advisory role. “I’m excited about how technology will change us and help us make more informed decisions.”

Leslie recommends experimenting and developing skill sets outside your comfort zone. For example, “If you’re not a very strategic or analytical person,” she said, “what can you do to grow in that space so you can work with the tools and information and understand what to do with it?”

Leslie’s predictions

1. Recruiters will be working with hiring managers to define new roles that they’ve never recruited for before.
2. Technology will free recruiting teams up to spend time being thoughtful and giving candidates a white-glove experience.

Shaina Semiatin: Take risks and be kind

At an organization like LBGTQ dating app Grindr, inclusion reigns. While taking a cautious approach to AI is needed to evaluate tools for bias, Shaina Semiatin sees uses for generative AI throughout the hiring funnel as a positive development. “AI solutions are slowly becoming more intuitive and more humanly empathetic, which allows us to do our jobs better,” she said. “We should celebrate it as an awakening for the talent acquisition function.” 

Shaina emphasized the importance of taking risks with new technology but also reminded us, “Be kind. Be kind to yourself, be kind to your team, be kind to your candidates. Remember that we’re in this because we care about people,” she said. “We can’t lose sight of the heart of our work.”

Shaina’s prediction

For growing organizations utilizing new AI tools, there could be a new need for something akin to a “TA Optimization Lead,” whose purpose is spot-checking across the broader TA organization to make sure everyone is utilizing generative technology most effectively, from white glove service for candidates to deeper and more accurate data and people insights. This person could also steer the tooling to ensure that process and technology mitigate bias while working across the HR function to connect systems.

Allyn Bailey: Take a thoughtful approach 

One of the advantages of generative AI is that it allows us to create a new relationship with technology. “We used to expect the technology to come in and free us up to do the human things,” Allyn Bailey said. “Now we can leverage the technology to allow us to do these human things at scale through the technology.”

Summarizing the view of the other speakers, Allyn emphasized that a thoughtful approach will allow teams to move forward in an age where debiasing processes and ensuring compliance is paramount. “We need to ensure that we’re consistently thinking about technology, processes, and people,” Allyn said. “The intersection of those three things allows us to take a holistic approach to help us achieve success in the long term.”

Allyn’s predictions 

1. Teams that thrive will have an in-house “experimenter” who tests and evaluates the impact of new strategies.
2. Prompt engineering will become an additional skill set or role. These individuals will help teams utilize generative AI to elicit the most effective results.
3. The resume will evolve: Technology will be leveraged to collect skills-based information from candidates in a new way.

Future-proofing talent acquisition starts today

These four speakers showed us that it’s easy to be uneasy about the future, but it’s more exciting to be bold. Their excitement echoes the SmartRecruiters’ vision of Hiring Without Boundaries. To help organizations break free from traditional hiring barriers, we empower TA teams to create more inclusive and efficient processes, leverage data and insights, and prioritize the candidate experience. Click the link below to learn more.

How do you navigate hiring amidst constant uncertainty? Talent acquisition has seen it all in the last few years, from mass layoffs to talent shortages. Thankfully, companies like Aptitude Research invest in surveys that uncover trends in how companies are adapting and offer insights on what they can do to improve. 

Aptitude founder and chief analyst Madeline Laurano recently shared a data-packed webinar with HR Executive called, “Why Talent Acquisition Should be One of Your Key Business Initiatives.” There’s no substitute for watching the whole webinar, but those short on time can read our highlights below.

1. Companies are increasing their spending on TA tech

If you’re looking at new talent acquisition solutions, you’re not alone: 73% of companies are increasing their spending on TA technology in the next year. Aptitude Research found that the key drivers of spending are to improve efficiency (72%), improve quality of hire (70%), and improve the candidate experience (64%). 

Efficiency: In a time when many TA teams are stretched thin, companies are asking, “‘How do we make sure that we are getting the most out of the solutions that we’re using?’” said Madeline. “They’re thinking about how to improve time-to-fill and recruiter productivity.” It’s well-known that inefficient systems slow down the hiring process and keep recruiters busy with administrative work when they could be building relationships with candidates. Improving efficiency is a business imperative, and 72% of companies agree.

Quality of hire is another business imperative during a talent shortage, and it’s encouraging to know that 70% of companies seek to address it. Companies grow for the long term when they become better at getting the right talent in the door through technology that supports intelligent sourcing strategies and collaborative hiring. 

Candidate experience: The majority (64%) of companies seeking to improve the candidate experience know they’re competing against other companies doing the same. Technology that supports quick application processes, timely candidate feedback, and interview self-scheduling contribute to memorable candidate experiences.

2. The TA landscape is becoming more complex

What some IT departments forget, according to Madeline, is that “TA has its own framework and deserves its own conversation because it has many different components.” She presented the framework shown in the recently released 2023 Talent Acquisition Technology Buyer’s Guide. 

The core talent acquisition systems should include CRM, applicant tracking, onboarding, and internal mobility. The ecosystem of solutions surrounding the core stack includes background screening, digital interviewing, assessments, AI matching, conversational AI, and referrals. The foundational layer underneath the solutions includes integration, data management, and automation/AI. 

“The foundational layer is where a lot of organizations get lost,” said Madeline. “They don’t think about integrations and data management until it’s too late.” She mentioned an Aptitude survey showing that one in three companies forget to include integration strategy in their vendor evaluation criteria. 

The increase in spending on solutions brings an increase in responsibility for connecting them. Otherwise, the solutions will not fulfill their operational objective of improving efficiency. 

3. AI is here to stay

The latest Aptitude Research found that 63% of companies plan to invest in AI compared to only 42% in 2020. AI solutions now touch every part of the talent lifecycle, including debiasing job descriptions, sourcing tools, AI matching, chatbots, programmatic job advertising, assessments,  interviews, and generative AI solutions. 

Though some AI and machine learning solutions have existed for years, companies are still hesitant. For those not currently using AI, 44% say they don’t know enough about it. 

“The risk that we see right now is that so many providers are coming into the market,” Madeline said. “Companies need to define their approach to evaluating providers so they can be sure they’re using AI responsibly.”

Companies using AI are seeing many benefits. Aptitude’s research revealed that 55% say AI improves efficiency, and 48% say it improves quality of hire. One day, AI in talent acquisition will be as invisible and seamless as the AI that impacts our personal lives, such as maps, weather predictions, digital assistants, and grammar tools.

4. Companies are taking a recruiter-centric view of tech

The recruiter role is constantly changing, and most of today’s recruiters are responsible for more than just finding and screening applicants. “They’re also responsible for internal mobility, workforce planning, and DEI,” Madeline said. “If they’re spending all their time on administrative tasks, they’re not able to focus on strategic initiatives.”

Aptitude Research uncovered a disconnect between what recruiters need and what HR leaders think they need. “Leaders are giving recruiters systems that don’t necessarily allow them to engage with candidates more effectively,” Madeline said. By understanding recruiters’ work, leaders can better evaluate systems and chose ones that provide user-friendly, efficient experiences.

What, exactly, takes up most of recruiters’ time? According to Aptitude, it’s reviewing applicants (64%), finding applicants (55%), and scheduling interviews (49%). With 51% of recruiters saying they need better tools to automate processes, “There is a shift happening with systems focusing on the recruiter experience side,” Madeline said.

At SmartRecruiters, we’ve taken a holistic approach to user experience by seeking to provide a boundless experience for all users: candidates, recruiters, hiring managers, and admins. Companies can achieve Hiring Without Boundaries when they connect to an integrated ecosystem of solutions from a flexible core system. Want to learn more? Click the link below.

The global talent shortage is at an all-time high: 77% of employers globally report difficulty finding the skilled talent they need in 2023, versus 35% a decade earlier. To attract more candidates, companies are not just investing in strategic job advertising; they’re investing in every aspect of the candidate experience, including all the steps leading to filling out an application.

LinkedIn research shows that 64% of global talent professionals predict that the future of recruiting will be more favorable to candidates and employees (as opposed to employers) over the next five years. In this post, we’ll explore ways that companies can offer a great experience to candidates on their journey prior to clicking the “apply” button.

A Candidate-Centric Career Site

A career site is more than PR; it should provide information that helps candidates learn about what it’s like to work at your company and what they can expect after they apply. A strong career site brings your employer value proposition to life with relevant visuals and strong company branding. It lists your mission and values and indicates how they play out in daily work. 

• 77% of global workers feel a company’s values and purpose (including sustainability, diversity, and transparency) are important when selecting an employer.
• 60% of in-house recruiting pros predict their employer branding investments will increase this year.

By letting candidates explore written, visual, and video content, you enable them to self-select. The goal is not to convince all candidates to apply, but the right candidates, the ones who can see themselves working for your company long-term. The site can also help candidates know what to expect by listing answers to frequently asked questions about the application and interview process.

On a technical level, a candidate-centric career site shows up in Google search results for queries related to your company and topics relevant to your roles. It makes it easy to find and filter jobs, remembers repeat visitors, and delivers personalized, contextually relevant content. It’s mobile-friendly. Essentially, it’s taken everything into account that a candidate needs when they’re searching for jobs and applies technology to meet those needs.

Candidate-Friendly Job Descriptions

Job descriptions have the potential to turn candidates off if they use unnecessary jargon,  non-inclusive terminology, or meaningless metaphors (e.g., “young and energetic” or “rockstar”). The job description should accurately represent the company, the duties of the role, and the required skills and qualifications. A skills-based job description is a good framework to use because it emphasizes the skills actually needed by the candidate to do the job.

Even if pay transparency is not required in your location, it’s a good idea to include it in job descriptions. You will win over candidates who are looking for a salary in the advertised range, and enable those who want to earn more to look elsewhere. Just be realistic; a statement like “The overall market range for roles in this area of the company is typically $100,000 – $700,000” is not necessarily helpful to candidates.

Don’t forget to list the role’s expected hours and location. If there are shift options, say so. If there is flexibility, indicate how much. If it is hybrid, delineate the current on-site expectations. Many candidates need to balance school or caregiving responsibilities with work, and clearly written information will help them decide if the role is right for them.

Build Relationships with Candidates

In an era of record-low unemployment rates, recruiters recognize that their main competition is the candidate’s current employer. Inviting candidates to join a talent community helps companies develop relationships over time and takes the pressure off the application process. Relationships with candidates can be initiated in several ways:

• Offline. Recruiting events, career fairs, and print/outdoor advertising are common ways to engage with candidates. Using QR codes that open on a unique, trackable URL that invites them to an application or a recruiting CRM helps candidates indicate their interest without even picking up a pen.
• Social media: Some companies host social media channels dedicated to employment, or regularly use social media to talk about what it’s like to work at their company. They also celebrate company wins, recent innovations, and philanthropic activity. All of this information adds up to keep the company relevant in the mind of the candidate.
• CRM. Both offline advertising and social media can be used to direct potential candidates to a CRM. Candidates can also join the CRM from the website—a perfect solution for those who are interested in the company but don’t see a current open role that fits. From the CRM, companies can deliver news via email about recent activities and innovations, further building the candidate relationship. 

Remember that relationships are built over time, and need trust to grow. The career site, candidate-friendly job descriptions, and relationship-building activities delivered through a CRM all add up to building trust by giving candidates the information they need to apply when the time is right.

If talent acquisition teams were unleashed from what holds them back, what could happen? The UNLEASH conference is where they go to find out. At UNLEASH America 2023, SmartRecruiters showed up with all ears open to understand what Talent Acquisition (TA) teams need in today’s tumultuous talent landscape. Hiring Without Boundaries  is the relentless obsession with breaking down the barriers to Hiring Success®.  Read on for our top 10 takeaways from the two days we spent listening to customers, partners, and industry experts.

1. Recruitment automation is still a struggle

TA teams know they can find greater efficiency in automation, but expressed many questions about where to deploy solutions, and which ones to choose. With so many vendors automating different parts of the recruitment tech stack, piecing them together is difficult.

“The marketplace is big, and the flexibility to connect is small,” said Allyn Bailey, Executive Director of Hiring Success Services at SmartRecruiters. “To hire without boundaries, you need to be able to plug and play new options.” 

2. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to hiring

At the Executive Roundtable “Talent Acquisition: Hiring the Best of the Best,” Allyn gained a new understanding of how to frame the challenges of TA through different organizational lenses: 

• Fully centralized, with corporate-led guidelines and procedures
• Decentralized, with high-level guidelines, and each region or brand using different processes and tools
• Fully dispersed, with each region or office completely independent in how they chose to recruit.

Wherever you sit on this spectrum, it’s helpful to know that leaders at all levels are struggling in their quest to align around a common set of expectations and quality standards. Being able to define your organization’s unique operating model for talent acquisition will help you seek out solutions that fit your needs, rather than trying to retrofit your processes to match a solution. Technology, after all, is only as effective as the processes behind it and the people who enable it. 

3. TA teams weigh the perils and the promise of Generative AI

The wave of generative AI solutions shown at UNLEASH largely entailed additions to existing products rather than net new solutions. At the same time, there is confusion around what’s truly useful,  and uncertainty around bias in light of New York City’s new AI rules. 

SmartRecruiters is optimistic about AI, with tried and true AI-based products like the matching tool SmartAssistant and chatbot SmartPal. In a session called “Remaining Agile and Resilient in an Era of Change” Jim Milton, our SVP of Strategy, presented a sourcing tool built on OpenAI that could generate a skills-based Boolean search string and LinkedIn InMail message based on the input of a job title. It also shared a  link to an employee video in partnership with JobPixel. The tool serves as an example of how easy it is to create custom application software experiences that align with your hiring strategy. AI tools that can connect to a core platform with open APIs will enable countless creative solutions in the years to come. 

4. TA transformation never stops

Our conversation with SmartRecruitiers customer Rob Dunderdale, Head of Talent Attraction and People Analytics at KPMG Australia, touched upon the process of driving transformational change. His journey with reinventing talent attraction at KMPG has been an iterative one; it kicked off nearly two years ago with the launch of the TARR (Talent Attraction & Recruitment Reimagined) program. TA  shows its real value when connected to people analytics, which Rob spoke about in his session “Rethinking Talent Intelligence.” Rob’s efforts to elevate KPMG’s talent acquisition strategy to new heights are an inspiration to all.

5. TA transformation gets real

We sat down with Kyle Lagunas, Head of Strategy & Principal Analyst at Aptitude Research. Also the host of the podcast Transformation Realness, Kyle thinks that TA is leading the way in HR transformation and that to succeed, they need vendors who can add value beyond the technology by understanding the true needs of hiring teams and candidates. We couldn’t agree more and recommend adding Kyle’s podcast to your playlist. Find it here on Spotify.

6. Future-proofing is recruiting’s future

In today’s fast-changing world, agility is necessary for talent acquisition to achieve Hiring Success. Matt Alder, the host of the Recruiting Future podcast, has made it his mission to move the industry forward by demonstrating what successful evolution looks like. Our conversation with Matt reminded us of the importance of keeping our sights on the possibilities for a future where companies “future-proof” their organizations by having the flexibility to change and adapt as new needs continue to arise.

7. Doing it alone isn’t the right path for every company

Talent acquisition has become so complex that many companies are choosing to engage with services for their recruiting needs, whether that’s enlisting the services offered by technology vendors, solution providers, or full-scale RPO. To support them, we launched the Hiring Success Consultancy and a partnership with multiple providers who can deliver Hiring Success consultation through certified consulting agencies, including AMS, Cielo, DTC, Talent International, TQ Solutions, WilsonHCG, and many others.

In support of launching the Hiring Success® Consultancy partner service offering, SmartRecruiters CEO Mike DeSimone met with leaders from our key customer and partner Cielo. This is an exciting time for our strategic partnership as we expand our relationship beyond Cielo TalentCloud as a strategic implementation partner. Mike is enthusiastic about working with all our talent partners to build on SmartRecruiters’ reputation as an innovator with a culture of excellence. 

8. Education is more important than ever

This goes without saying at a conference that’s jam-packed with educational sessions, but in these fast-evolving times, it’s even more critical that they have a grounding in the basics of Hiring Success. We’ve heard recruiters and TA leaders loud and clear: a solid people, process, and technology strategy helps teams hire more effectively.

To support them, we launched a Hiring Success Certification on the SocialTalent platform that offers both theory of what is required to drive TA transformation and practical components like tools and templates. People who have taken our previous Hiring Success course will be pleased to know that the new course with Social Talent offers a much greater level of detail and everything a practitioner needs to start achieving Hiring Success no matter what tools they have in their TA tech stack.

9. Meet people where they are

If you were a hiring manager attending a conference, would you want to open your ATS app to move candidates along? Probably not. A boundless user experience breaks down barriers between solutions and meets users where they are. Our team demonstrated a Slack integration that allows hiring managers to create jobs, get interview reminders, and fill out candidate feedback, all without leaving Slack. Currently in pilot with a SmartRecruiters customer, this innovation is just one example of how Hiring Without Boundaries can reduce friction and increase hiring velocity.

10. Laughter makes work more fun

What we like most about conferences is the breakdown of virtual barriers: instead of meeting screen to screen, we can connect in real life, have a laugh while trying on giant hats, and raise a glass to Hiring Success. At UNLEASH America 2023, the playful antics of our mascot Winston and Noggin Boss SmartRecruiters hats ensured that everyone kept a light heart about the complexities of talent acquisition today. We hope that what happened in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas, so we’re sharing these photo highlights from our many interactions at UNLEASH.

With the Winston suit and big hats back in storage, we’re back to our desks helping customers and innovating our next product release. We’d love to listen to your hiring concerns and show you how to remove the barriers to Hiring Success at your company. 

Hiring Without Boundaries is in your sight: just sign up for a demo by clicking the link below.

SmartRecruiters community,

As the new CEO of SmartRecruiters, I can’t overstate how excited I am about the future of our company. As we embark on this new chapter together, I’m honored to join an amazingly talented team that’s committed to revolutionizing the hiring landscape and empowering talent acquisition teams to achieve their goals.

In my career,  I’ve had the privilege of leading teams through transformative growth, driving innovation, and navigating complex and shifting market dynamics. I’m incredibly excited to bring that experience and leadership to SmartRecruiters as we continue to break down barriers and redefine what it means to achieve Hiring Success®.

As we look ahead, we’re more committed than ever to our mission of making hiring easier and helping people find jobs they love. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce our new vision: “Hiring Without Boundaries.” This game-changing approach is designed to help organizations break free from traditional hiring barriers, create more inclusive and efficient processes, and prioritize the candidate experience.

At SmartRecruiters, we are obsessed with breaking down barriers to Hiring Success. 

Our vision of Hiring Without Boundaries is built on the following pillars:

• Inclusivity: We’re passionate about fostering diverse, skilled workforces that drive innovation and fuel growth while identifying and mitigating unconscious biases in the hiring process.
• Technology: We harness the power of cutting-edge technology to streamline the hiring process and dramatically improve the quality of hires.
• Data-Driven Insights: We champion data-driven decision-making, empowering organizations to make more informed, objective, and strategic hiring choices.
• Candidate Experience: We prioritize candidate experience, building strong employer brands that help attract and retain top talent.
• Continuous Improvement: We cultivate a culture of learning and adaptation, ensuring our customers stay ahead of industry trends and best practices.

It’s clear that Hiring Without Boundaries is the future of talent acquisition, in fact, it’s one of the core reasons I decided to join SmartRecruiters. By embracing this vision and bringing it to life, we will enable organizations to attract the best talent, drive innovation, and remain competitive in today’s rapidly changing business landscape.

As we move forward, I’d like to thank Jeremy Johnson, SmartRecruiters’ CFO, for his amazing job as Interim CEO,  leading the company through change and delivering our most successful year yet. I’m grateful to our founder as well, Jerome Ternynck, who transitioned to the role of Chairman of the Board and continues to provide invaluable guidance and leadership.

Together, we’re setting our sights on the future of hiring. I look forward to working closely with our incredible team, customers, and partners as we break new ground, redefine Hiring Success, and bring our vision of Hiring Without Boundaries to life.

Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and transform the world of HR and talent acquisition with you!

Warm regards,

Michael DeSimone

CEO, SmartRecruiters

The global trend of high inflation and low unemployment has been particularly acute in Germany.  Impacts from the war in Ukraine include supply chain disruptions and high energy costs. Research shows that Germany ranks second among global countries, with 86% of employers reporting a talent shortage in 2023. As talent acquisition leaders seek to win over scarce talent, they’ve been thinking more creatively about improving the candidate experience and using technology to streamline recruiting.

To better understand German hiring trends, I sat down with Dennis Böcker, Vice President of DACH at SmartRecruiters. As the regional lead for SmartRecruiters, he is responsible for 60+ employees living in Germany and he actively engages with the local talent acquisition community by participating in both intimate executive roundtables and large-scale events like Zukunft Personal.

Building relationships improves the candidate experience 

“Right now, companies understand that proactively building candidate relationships is an important piece in the whole recruiting lifecycle,” Dennis said. In Germany, hiring timelines are longer than many other nations due to employment contracts and Works Council (Betriebsrat) approvals. In more optimistic times, people were eager to change jobs, but the current economic climate has made people more risk-averse. “Potential candidates might not be ready to leave for a few years,” Dennis said. “When companies stay in touch by updating them with valuable information that makes the company more interesting, they build relationships for the future.”

Globally recognized name brands like Metro, Continental and Sixt are finding it harder to attract talent. “Big brands are getting creative,” Dennis said. “They can no longer rely on candidates to come to them.” Offline advertising with QR codes is one approach; another approach is using a CRM to communicate with candidates. “The CRM is where marketing, sales, and recruiting come together,” said Dennis. “In challenging times, people need trust, and trust is built through relationships. A relationship is built on communication.” When the CRM is linked with the ATS, every interaction is trackable, helping companies justify the ROI of recruitment marketing activities and optimize their spending over time.

Optimizing systems for the current market

Setting up the technology to accommodate the new market demands has become a new focus for companies. “Mature companies have made a clear cut between internal HR systems and external recruiting,” Dennis said. “Endless recruiting add-ons to an HR suite do not provide a strong foundation for the future.” 

Among all generations, there is a growing expectation that business technology should be as easy to use as consumer technology. “Recruiters don’t want to jump between five different solutions and copy and paste candidate data all the time,” Dennis said. After all that extra administrative work, he said, “they can still end up without any numbers for useful analytics.” 

German businesses with a global presence face the challenge of implementing consistent processes across regions, many of which require different tools. PACCOR, a global packaging manufacturer based in Germany, implemented SmartRecruiters in 17 countries and saw the benefits of using an integrated recruiting system almost immediately. Marcel Rütten, their former Global Director of Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding, said in a customer story, “we can view the process from the time someone visits a job ad or our career site. We know 99% of our source of hire, the performance of every team member, and can see the bottlenecks per job family or location.”

An open mindset for the future of recruiting

I wanted to know what German companies that choose SmartRecruiters have in common. “They have an open mindset,” Dennis said. “There is an openness to building relationships, taking a creative approach, doing more than just administrative recruiting. They are open to change because they recognize the need to do something different than they are currently doing.”

German SmartRecruiters customer Axel Springer National Media & Tech GmbH is a great example of acting with an open mindset. Their Talent Attraction team worked closely with IT to integrate SmartRecruiters with SAP, Works Council requirements, SSO, and Tableau. After a huge reduction in administrative upkeep thanks to these integrations, Claudia Model, Manager, Talent Attraction, National Media & Tech at Axel Springer SE said in our customer story, “It’s fun to work on new solutions and integrations with IT, HR, and hiring managers.”

If you’ve ever met Dennis—or anyone on the SmartRecruiters team—in person, you’ll understand that it’s possible to have fun taking on technical challenges when you work with the right people. Dennis likes to keep in touch with customers after they sign on with SmartRecruiters. “Every single time, they will tell me, ‘the people made the difference,’” he said. “This is something we can be proud of.” 

It’s not only candidates that companies need to build relationships with, but also their technology partners. Dennis added, “In the end, everything is about relationships.” 

Dennis is just one of 14 hiring experts quoted in our latest eBook, Global Hiring Trends 2023: How Talent Acquisition Can Adapt and Thrive in 2023 and Beyond. Download it today to learn more about six key trends impacting hiring leaders around th world. You’ll also receive five checklists to help you make better technology decisions.

The contagious global uncertainty of the last several years has a unique flavor in the United States: political polarization, a reckoning around race, rampant layoffs in tech, and bank failures. At the same time, unemployment is low and some industries are experiencing a talent shortage. Economic fears mean that many talent acquisition leaders are being asked to do more with less – and justify everything through metrics, which they may or may not have.

Against this backdrop, I wanted to get a fresh take on what’s going on in the recruitment tech landscape in the United States. It turns out that sales leaders have a strong line of sight into what’s not working; companies seek a new solution when things become untenable with the old one. One surprising finding of my conversations with SmartRecruiters’ two North American sales leaders, Armando Villa, Vice President, Commercial Enterprise Sales, and Patrick Harris, Vice President, Enterprise Sales, is that early-stage sales conversations can be like therapy sessions.

Armando, who happens to be the son of a therapist, said, “before getting into the tech evaluation, people need to talk about their challenges. What makes them happy, what makes them frustrated? Once we’ve built trust, we can find a common thread to work together.”

The crisis of trust

In these times of polarization, there’s no more important word than trust. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, “business is the sole institution seen as competent and ethical; by contrast, Government is viewed as unethical and incompetent.”

• Business is a stunning 53 points ahead of Government on perception of competence and 29 points ahead on ethics. 

When it comes to enterprise technology decisions, the search for trust takes many forms and comes with many risks. Companies may get sold a great story on a new solution and find the implementation or post-sales support lacking. That’s why buyers tend to rely on ratings or analyst reviews from TrustRadius and IDC, and look for customer references and case studies that prove that the experience on the inside is as good as the view from the outside.

Systems contribute to mistrust

TA leaders are looking for new solutions for good reason. “Companies run into limitations with their applicant tracking system,” said Patrick Harris. “Often it’s over-customized, or people in different places are using different systems. There’s no standardization and it’s hard to get good reporting.” That reporting is critical to enabling leaders to get that elusive seat at the table and justify the cost of their investments to the C-Suite. “When everyone is doing things differently, there’s no way to benchmark or find data that you could leverage to make better decisions,” Patrick continued.

The Hiring Success Business Assessment is one tool companies can use to get a take on where they sit on the continuum of talent acquisition maturity. “It comes down to people, process, and technology,” Armando explained. “Do they have the right people in place? Can the people do the jobs they’re being asked to do? Are their processes the most efficient for where they are today? And is the technology stack in front of them doing what it needs to do?” Too often, he sees companies with hiring processes that exist “because we’ve always done it that way,” without any current thinking behind them.

Applying technology to problems without adjusting the people and processes is a danger zone. And even when they get the people and processes right, it can be hard to manage the tech. As recruitment tech stacks have burgeoned, there’s a new desire to consolidate systems. “It’s not that they don’t need or get value out of their systems,” Patrick said. “It’s that it’s too expensive and time-consuming to connect all of them.”

Connected systems build trust

In today’s complex TA landscape, new solutions pop up all the time to solve old and new problems. “Companies truly believe they need multiple systems to get what they need, from talent attraction to post-onboarding,” Armando said. “There is no one size fits all. I’m a firm believer that there’s more than one way to get to the right answer.”

SmartRecruiters approaches this reality by offering a core recruitment system that comes with pre-configured integrations to a marketplace of solutions like sourcing, assessments, and background checks. “When you bring everything under one roof,” Patrick said, “you have a single source of truth.” Reporting that covers the whole recruiting funnel allows companies to diagnose roadblocks and adjust budgets and processes when needed. “When everyone’s working in the same system, you’re looking through the same lens,” Patrick said. “Nothing gets lost in translation. You can make better decisions.”

A baseline of data facilitates the transparency that builds trust and creates a foundation for experimentation. In today’s fast-changing market, moving from reactivity to proactivity is a key component to achieving hiring success. “SmartRecruiters provides you the opportunity to pivot and change and adapt more quickly to take advantage of whatever’s happening in the market,” Patrick said. “A flexible system allows you to get in front of trends.” 

The business opportunity to lead with trust

As we navigate through future challenges, the need for greater trust and transparency isn’t going to go away. “Business must lead [in trust] and continue to do so,” say the experts at the Edelman Trust Barometer. How does a business lead in trust? By offering candidates a streamlined process, by fostering transparency among their teams, analyzing accurate data, and building relationships with partners they can trust.

It turns out that the talent acquisition “therapy session” Armando mentioned helps break down the barriers needed for strong business partnerships—on both sides. “Trust is best built through vulnerability and honesty,” said Armando. “It’s a two-way street. I encourage companies that are evaluating vendors to ask us tough questions. Everyone needs to sleep at night knowing they made the best decision for their company.”

Patrick and Armando are just two of the hiring experts quoted in our latest eBook, Global Hiring Trends 2023: How Talent Acquisition Can Adapt and Thrive in 2023 and Beyond. Inside, you’ll find a detailed framework for understanding how trust operates among candidates, hiring teams, and vendors in talent acquisition. Plus, you’ll receive five checklists to help you make better technology decisions.

Those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere have a unique fascination with countries in the Southern Hemisphere: their seasons are reversed and storms flow in the opposite direction. But are the people and their economic concerns any different just because their summer solstice is in December? To get a take on hiring trends in the Australia-New Zealand region, I sat down with Rich Lewis-Jones, Regional Vice President, APAC at SmartRecruiters. Rich and I share the same December birthday, but he gets to celebrate it in the sunshine while I suffer in the cold and dark.

It turns out the current Australian economy isn’t all sunshine and cuddly koalas: similar to Northern countries, Australia has been hit with high inflation rates, unemployment, and a labor shortage. However, the underlying factors differ: during tight COVID lockdowns and layoffs, the borders closed and immigration stalled. “Lots of people had no choice but to leave because they were on sponsored visas,” Rich said, mentioning talent shortages in industries like manufacturing, hospitality, engineering, and healthcare that depend on foreign labor. “Now hiring is hyper-competitive and Brand Australia is making an effort to encourage people to move here again,” he said.

Talent attraction amidst a talent shortage

The effort to attract talent starts with top-of-funnel recruitment marketing activities. “The labor shortage accelerated the need for companies to get creative on where they are attracting talent from,” Rich said. “It’s no longer just about going to transactional places like agencies or job boards. Businesses are working harder on their employer value proposition (EVP) and building intelligent career sites that offer personalized content to increase conversions. They’re connecting candidates to relevant content posted on blogs and sites like GitHub and Reddit. They’re building talent communities through a CRM. Offline, they’re using QR codes.” 

This burst of creativity is facilitated by the connected ecosystem of technologies that make sourcing attribution possible. “In SmartRecruiters, you can track your whole top of funnel,” Rich said. “We act as a single source of truth.” That means candidate data from job boards can be compared against readers of a GitHub post by the CTO or visitors to a recruiting event. Companies get an immediate sense of what’s working and what’s not, a theme echoed by SmartRecruiters Australian customer Kincare. By setting up custom sources and tracking IDs with SmartRecruiters open APIs, KinCare can easily see which job boards net the most hires. The insights on what channels work best and where allow them to optimize sourcing channels, reallocate budget in real time, and spend more efficiently.

A hiring ecosystem drives value

The efficiency gains from a connected technology ecosystem go beyond spending. “Recruiters don’t have to leave our system,” Rich said, “but can continue to plug in best-of-breed solutions as new challenges happen and new categories emerge.” Productivity gains on top of non-existent integration fees make SmartRecruiters a compelling choice for increasingly cost-conscious Australian businesses.

“The average company is using between 5-10 integrations,” Rich said. “If they’re using an HCM recruiting module, they have integration activation costs, annual integration maintenance costs, on-going configuration costs, and the cost of a full-time consultant. A talent acquisition suite like SmartRecruiters can significantly lower their OPEX (operating expenses) by eliminating those fees.”

Rich is a big fan of justifying technology expenditures against core hiring success metrics and their contribution to OPEX. In one recent winning pitch, he built a case that showed the value back to the business if the company increased hiring velocity, net hiring score, and budget. Both a minor adjustment and the best-case scenario yielded substantial cost savings by getting the right people in the door faster.

“Businesses learned the hard way that talent acquisition teams are the core of a business,” Rich said, echoing SmartRecruiters’ founder Jerome Ternynck’s perspective in his book Hiring Success: How Visionary CEOs Compete for the Best Talent. “TA teams keep people coming in, help hire quality talent, and help retain talent.” Technology that helps them do their jobs better helps the business overall by providing a great experience. 

“Experience is key for everybody,” Rich said. “It’s not just candidates and recruiters. It’s about employees getting a good experience on internal mobility, it’s about managers being prompted to be able to do their job in the most effective way. Most hiring managers don’t like hiring. When we make it as easy for them as possible to get people in the door, we impact the bottom line.” 

The friendliest people in the world sitting at TA’s table

As it turns out, making it easy for people is core to the Australian ethos. “We’re some of the friendliest people in the world down here,” Rich said. “But we have very high expectations on communication. It’s a culture of high touch.” When companies use technology to create a high-touch recruiting experience by nurturing candidates with automated processes that communicate next steps in the hiring journey, they’re embracing the Australian way. 

The emphasis on relationships extends to the TA community and its events and meetups across the major cities. Talentpalooza and the Internal Talent Awards are a few of the places you’ll find Rich and other folks from SmartRecruiters. “Everybody knows everybody,” Rich said. “They all talk to each other. When there’s something positive, it’s like a pinball machine with all the good balls going off.” 

The good balls right now include hiring teams getting their due. “I just love to see talent acquisition teams having more of a voice and not just a seat at the table, but maybe their own table where CEOs want to come and sit,” Rich said. With a core recruiting system that gives them actionable data that offers real business value, Rich said, “More and more, the C-suite is not just coming to sit, but saying, ‘how can I help you out? How much do you need?'”

Rich is just one of 14 hiring experts quoted in our latest eBook, Global Hiring Trends 2023: How Talent Acquisition Can Adapt and Thrive in 2023 and Beyond.

Download it today to learn more about six key trends impacting hiring today. You’ll also receive five checklists to help you make better technology decisions.