- 65% of companies are downsizing their recruiting teams, resulting in increased workload and burnout.
- Employers feel caught between the need to meet workforce requirements and prepare for the ever-changing future of work.
- AI has the potential to streamline the hiring process and improve efficiency for employers and job seekers.
Today's recruiting environment is undoubtedly challenging: According to a Harris Poll study commissioned by Indeed, 65% of companies are downsizing their recruiting teams despite a continuing influx of qualified professionals into the market.
This has put a huge strain on the remaining recruiting teams, forcing them to manage an overwhelming workload.As AI adoption increases, there is a real opportunity to not only streamline the recruiting process, but also enhance the human element of recruiting (ironically, through technology).
There has been concern that AI will take over jobs, but Indeed is using the power of AI to help employers hire more effectively and efficiently, which actually helps more people get jobs and improve their lives. AI is not meant to replace humans, it's meant to support humans.
For employers, awareness of the challenges recruiting teams are grappling with and the innovative solutions available to them will ultimately improve the recruiting process for all involved. This awareness is especially important for solving immediate staffing needs and providing an agile response to the ever-evolving future of work.
The reality of hiring for recruiters
According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings is declining, dropping by 325,000 to 8.488 million as of March 31, 2024, the lowest since February 2021. With a steady stream of new graduates entering the workforce, the job market is tight, increasing competition for vacancies and making it difficult for recruiters to narrow down quality candidates.
Today, recruiting teams are working in a climate of economic uncertainty, with companies hesitant to make long-term hiring decisions. Additionally, issues like the rise of remote work, wages that don't keep up with inflation, and the difficulty of offering competitive benefits are hindering your team and your ability to attract top talent.
Recruiting teams are also under pressure to prepare for the future of work and stay on top of new technologies like AI. Overburdened teams are struggling to juggle competing priorities and manage overwhelming workloads while still meeting staffing requirements.
Additional hurdles faced by job seekers and recruiters:
It's no wonder recruiting teams are hungry for change: A February 2024 Harris Poll survey commissioned by Indeed found that 92% of employers are eager for a more efficient recruiting platform, and 88% of hiring managers say manual candidate searches are inefficient, with managers typically needing up to 13 hours per role to find enough quality candidates to fill.
AI can make recruiting more efficient and human
Indeed CEO Chris Hyams is optimistic about what AI can do for the hiring process by blending its capabilities with human judgement.
“We're not trying to build recruiting robots to replace humans,” Hyams says. “What we're really trying to do is build Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, where recruiters can fly.” Hyams' vision is backed by five years of multi-phase research, and he suggests that the secret to using AI effectively is to recognize that it's not a plug-and-play solution: AI is dependent on the people who train it, manage it, and use it.
“You can’t build big machines without the training, the back-up systems and all the other things that make it safe to use,” Hyams says, “so our argument is to understand what the challenges are. [with AI in hiring] Then we can think about how to stay as safe as possible.”
How Indeed uses AI responsibly
Indeed's Smart Sourcing platform is a great example of using AI responsibly to support, rather than replace, human decision-making in the hiring process.
For recruiters and recruiting teams, it speeds up time-consuming administrative tasks like qualifying top candidates and crafting messaging, and the platform simplifies team collaboration, making it easier to connect with the right candidates for the job.
Smart Sourcing uses instant job-based matching candidates and AI-generated candidate qualification summaries* that highlight skill overlaps. Rather than fixating on network connections and superficial metrics, this approach highlights what a candidate brings to the table and why they may be a good fit for your job.
In a fast-changing recruitment market where speed and satisfaction are key, an AI-powered recruiting platform like Smart Sourcing is extremely valuable for employers. Combining AI with human insight has the potential to revolutionize the hiring process by making it faster, fairer, and focused on the talent that really matters.
Learn how Indeed makes hiring simpler, faster and more human. Join thought leaders and celebrity speakers at FutureWorks, Indeed's premier conference for HR leaders.
This post was created by Insider Studios and Indeed.
*Smart Sourcing features may vary by market
