How AI redefines recruiting excellence

AI is reshaping hiring from the ground up, transforming the role of recruiters along the way. By automating time-consuming recruiting tasks, generative AI (GAI) is speeding up the hiring process, allowing recruiters to spend more time on strategic activities like building relationships, improving candidate experience, and advising hiring managers. Organizations are getting the message. 

Adoption among recruiting teams is growing, with 37% of organizations now “actively integrating” or “experimenting” with Gen AI tools, up from 27% a year ago. 

What advantages does AI provide hiring teams? Efficiency is the top benefit by far; in fact, among those experimenting or integrating GAI in hiring, the average amount of time saved is about 20% of their work week — a full workday saved weekly. 

of TA pros agree that AI will change the way organizations hire.

These benefits come with added responsibilities, and TA teams aren’t shying away from them. Recruiters themselves are recognizing that they need to bulk up on AI skills to keep up with the changes. 

Jackye Clayton
VP of Talent and DEIB at Textio

But recruiters won’t just need AI skills — they’ll need human skills too. Those who want to stand out from the crowd will need to master skills that can’t be easily replicated by GAI, such as relationship building, communication, and reasoning. 

The best recruiters, says John Vlastelica, founder and CEO of Recruiting Toolbox, will become talent advisors who work with candidates who need the human touch to guide them on major career decisions. “They will be much more of a career coach, working with candidates who have more complicated situations,” John says. “They will be providing more of an executive recruiter kind of experience.” 

With AI set to take over mundane tasks, employers are increasingly looking for recruiters who can take on more strategic roles. Demand for recruiters who have relationship-building skills, for instance, has surged. Compared to the year before, employers were a stunning 54x more likely to list “relationship development” as a required skill for recruiters on a paid job post over the past year. 

But GAI also presents challenges and risks that TA leaders will have to address, including concerns about data privacy, legal compliance, and even uncertainty about how to get going using AI tools. 

Hung Lee
Curator at Recruiting Brainfood

Glen Cathey
SVP, Consulting Principal, Talent Advisory and Digital Strategy at Randstad

Hiring the best person for the job has always been a central goal of recruiting, but it’s becoming even more important now. Volatile business conditions are amping up demand for quality hires who can adapt to rapid change. “Maintaining a laser focus on the quality of our hiring process has become more vital than ever,” said Jude James, vice president of business operations at UST. “High-quality talent can navigate uncertainty, make informed decisions swiftly, and adapt to new technologies or processes.”

Today’s urgency around quality of hire is also a course correction. During the Great Reshuffle of 2021 and 2022, many employers over-indexed on speed, prioritizing quick fills over thoughtful decisions. With hiring slowing, the pendulum is swinging back toward quality. Every hire must count — and that means prioritizing long-term value over short-term efficiency.

It’s not surprising then, that as many as 89% of TA pros agree it will become increasingly important to measure quality of hire. By continuously assessing the value of recent hires, employers can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their recruitment process and make necessary adjustments.

For now, measuring quality of hire remains notoriously difficult, with only 25% reporting they feel highly confident in their organization’s ability to do so effectively. But AI is poised to help in measuring the elusive metric with tools that can analyze employee performance data, identify trends, and predict long-term success. In fact, six out of ten (61%) TA pros believe AI can improve how they measure quality of hire.

Organizations are likewise optimistic about AI’s potential to improve their ability to source and hire the best candidates. Siemens, for instance, is using AI tools to gain more accurate assessments of candidates’ skills and potential. “AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of data to identify candidates with the highest likelihood of success, offering predictive insights that go beyond resumes and conventional interviews,” said Salma Rashad, global executive vice president of talent acquisition at Siemens. 

LinkedIn data reveals that companies whose recruiters use AI-Assisted Messaging are +9% more likely to make a quality hire, compared to those who use it the least. The platform insights in this report measure quality of hire as a combination of demand, retention, and mobility — but as we’ll see, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula.

What are some other ways organizations can boost quality of hire? LinkedIn’s new research underscores the crucial role of employer branding. Companies that are known for delivering on certain candidate priorities — like the opportunity to work with talented people — are more likely to make a quality hire.

of TA pros believe AI can improve how they measure quality of hire. 

Fabien Desmangles
Talent Acquisition Manager at Dassault Systemes 

The takeaway is clear: employer branding isn’t just about attracting talent. It’s a proven means to attracting quality hires. Focusing on things that matter to candidates, key talent drivers like flexibility and innovation, can give organizations a measurable edge in hiring.

Ana Recio
Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition at Uber 

Skills-based hiring — the practice of hiring based on candidates’ skills, rather than their degrees or their job history — is becoming an increasingly important priority in a rapidly shifting economy. As employers strive to keep up with advances in technology, they’re seeking employees who have certain skills — including AI skills — to fill skills gaps. 

In fact, over nine out of ten TA pros believe accurately assessing a candidate’s skills is crucial for improving quality of hire. And indeed, LinkedIn data shows that companies with the most skills-based searches are +12% more likely to make a quality hire.

Skills-based hiring can be challenging and time-consuming — but AI is poised to change that. AI tools can help recruiters analyze resumes to uncover skills, automate skills assessments, remove bias from the hiring process and more.

At the same time, as AI automates basic recruitment tasks, recruiters will have more time to focus on skills-based hiring. Among TA pros already integrating or experimenting with GAI, 35% say the time saved by GAI goes towards candidate screening, while 26% say they use the time saved to focus on skill assessments.

By focusing on what candidates can do — not just where they’ve been — skills-based hiring unlocks untapped potential. Not only does this approach expand access to talent, it drives better alignment between candidates and roles, translating into more quality hires and long-term success. It’s no wonder that employers are increasingly dropping degree requirements: In 2023, 26% of paid job posts on LinkedIn didn’t require a degree, compared to 22% in 2020 — a difference of 4 percentage points that translates into a +16% increase.

of TA pros believe accurately assessing a candidate’s skills is crucial for improving quality of hire. 

Eric Dozier
Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Diversity at Eli Lilly

But while organizations are increasingly focused on skills-based hiring, implementing this approach effectively requires more than just good intentions. Employers will need a well-thought-out strategy that includes identifying skills, assessing candidates, and structuring the hiring process.

Noel Brown
Global Head of Talent Acquisition at HSBC