If our expectations for the year could be boiled down to one word, that one word would be “efficiency.” This is going to be the year of efficiency for recruiters. Companies are rapidly embracing operational efficiency as the economic outlook turns more towards beige and bloated pandemic-era hiring budgets run dry. However, companies will continue to face worker shortages in 2024, meaning they will have to learn how to do more with less.
What does that really mean for recruiters though? The pursuit of efficiency may sound like something to worry about (last year was tech’s age of efficiency, which ended in pain for many workers), but the push for efficiency actually coincides with some exciting opportunities to create more, well… efficiency! While budgets are shrinking, tech opportunities and our understanding of data and key metrics are growing. Recruiting’s year of efficiency could be quite beneficial – as long as we properly harness these new tools.
Here, we’ll dig into two of my favorite efficiency-enabling trends from our newest report, Top Recruiting Trends of 2024.
AI will Move from Hype to Reality
Forgive me for my unoriginality, but of course I’m starting with the technology that has the potential to upend work as we know it. In 2022, ChatGPT exploded with a bang, catalyzing thousands of conversations and opinions on its world-altering capabilities throughout the entirety of last year. The opinions flowed quickly and freely, but the changes were less immediate. Some have found ways to incorporate the new technology into their everyday lives, but the truth is that the artificial technology’s seismic activity was overstated.
The hype was real in 2023, but the reality of AI may actually set in in 2024. What will allow that reality to be felt? Simply, integration. Recruiters bouncing back and forth between AI apps and their recruiting platforms is not a recipe for efficiency. Baking the technologies into our everyday platforms, however, will allow for a much broader adoption of AI that truly transforms the way people work. Expect more embedded AI in your recruitment technology in the new year, from enterprise solutions to ATSs – and prepare for a new co-pilot.
The tech-savvy recruiters and leaders who embrace the efficiency gains will not only become better talent spotters but will also become champions of the movement. As with any technological advancement, there exist stumbling blocks within the cost and complexity of the implementation. It will fall to talent leaders to prove the business case, comparing the costs of implementing the AI solution with the potential benefits, especially as budgets tighten.
Interested in exploring the impact of AI on the labor market and recruiting? Check out a recent article from Recruitonomics, The Impact of AI and Automation on Recruitment Dynamics, and stay tuned for more AI coverage on the site!
Data takes the stage as an efficiency enabler
Here at Appcast, we like to think we have contributed to the scripture of the importance of data in recruiting. In 2024, we expect the industry to double down on the importance of data in decision-making. As budgetary decisions get surgical, it will be more important than ever for them to be justified with key efficiency metrics.
For example, time-to-hire is a valuable metric in that it measures how efficient your recruiting team is. However, it can be difficult to benchmark. Optimizing workflows will require recruiting leaders to reevaluate their metrics and perhaps even shift to some that are more universal and easier to measure, such as time-to-contact, -to-response, or -to-interview. Breaking down the process even further will create understanding of your recruiting team’s weaknesses and strengths, leading to better outcomes.
As economic uncertainty grows in 2024, budgeting-as-usual isn’t going to cut it. The strange “will it or won’t it” period that could precede a hiring cooldown (or indeed, a hiring pickup) makes it almost impossible for talent acquisition leaders to plan for a full year. When budgets are flatlining to meet the same hiring goals, recruiting teams are going to have to be surgical about where they invest their money to attract the right talent in the right volume, using real-time data and predictive models to help guide decisions on a month-to-month basis.
Prepping for the year ahead
A new year always brings new anxieties, especially a year like 2024, in which the outlook is frighteningly uncertain. Our trends report not only gives insights on what to expect from the year ahead, but also actionable advice so you can win this year of efficiency. Download today to discover what lies ahead, and how you can prepare.
