For the first time in years, there’s a fundamental shift coming to talent acquisition and it’s driven by AI and automation.”

Gen AI helps streamline recruiting tasks and boost productivity

Among recruiting pros who are using Gen AI, the biggest benefit they cite is the ability to write job descriptions faster and more easily. By automating some of these more mundane tasks, AI tools are also freeing up recruiters’ time for more fulfilling work, boosting their productivity, and allowing them to engage and communicate more easily with candidates.

Talent leaders expect adoption to accelerate in the coming year and beyond as recruiting teams gain a better understanding of how Gen AI can be leveraged in multiple ways, from sourcing candidates, to personalizing outreach, to matching internal candidates with open positions.

“AI is poised to revolutionize how we innovate, operate, and work,” says Jude James, head of talent acquisition and contingent workforce strategies, Americas and Europe at UST.

Staffing company Randstad has launched training programs to teach its recruiters how to use Gen AI effectively, says Michael Smith, chief executive of Randstad Enterprise. “We’re trying to upskill our people to move thoughtfully and experiment,” Michael says. “We want to be in a place where a significant base of our people understand and are excited about the disruptive potential of partnering with AI.”

Human skills set great recruiters apart.

But even as Gen AI automates many recruiting tasks, the human touch will still be critical. Recruiters will distinguish themselves by doing things that AI can’t do, such as forging strong ties to candidates and offering positive candidate experiences. As a result, soft skills will be even more important.

“The best recruiters must be great at building relationships and creating high touch candidate experiences that will help them rise above the bots,” says John Vlastelica, CEO of Recruiting Toolbox.

In fact, the top three recruiter skills cited by hiring pros in the LinkedIn survey were human skills: communication, relationship-building, and adaptability. Being adaptable and open to learning new things will be especially important for recruiters harnessing AI-powered recruitment tools.

Advancing diversity through skills-based hiring

While adopting a skills-based approach to talent after years of prioritizing degrees may require challenging the status quo for many organizations, the talent leaders we spoke with see big advantages.

Not only does skills-based hiring help companies identify the most qualified talent, it can also open the door to individuals from historically marginalized groups who may not have a degree, and create a more diverse talent pipeline. In fact, LinkedIn data shows that focusing on skills can increase talent pools by 10x. With 80% of surveyed recruiting pros saying their organizations are committed to creating a more diverse workforce, skills-based hiring is set to gain traction in the years ahead.

Many companies are taking a step towards skills-based hiring by simply removing degree requirements from their job descriptions. In fact, the number of jobs listed on the LinkedIn platform that omit degree requirements jumped 36% between 2019 and 2022.

We have to help leaders expand the way they think about talent. Yes, education is valued. But there is no longer a ‘best’ or ‘ideal’ candidate based on pedigree. Brilliance is everywhere and it’s about tapping into knowledge, skills, and potential.”

Tackling skills shortages by upskilling workers

Employers are increasingly concerned about filling skills gaps, especially in areas like AI. Nearly half of recruiting pros say their organizations are assessing the talent and skills needed to keep pace with the rise of AI. By offering workers upskilling opportunities, employers can fill critical skills gaps and boost retention.

“The talent pool for AI skills is very small,” says Erin Scruggs, VP, head of global talent acquisition at LinkedIn. “So we have to work closely with our leaders on this build versus buy strategy and how we can get internal talent to pivot, learn new skills and become AI experts, versus only going after a handful of people who have the right skills in the external market.”

TA leaders will need to serve as talent advisors, partnering with learning and development (L&D) to ensure that their organizations have the right upskilling and internal mobility programs in place to meet talent needs. Accenture, for instance, made a pledge to double its AI workforce to 80,000 professionals through a mix of hiring, acquisitions, and training. Achieving this goal requires a “huge collaboration” between TA and L&D, Gregory Karanastasis says. “We work together every single day thinking about what skills gaps look like and how do we close that gap,” he says.

With hiring around the world still in decline, employers will be increasingly vigilant about making sure every hire is the right one.

“If you’re not going to be growing as much in the coming year, you want to have a degree of comfort that you have the right people,” says Amy Schultz, global head of talent acquisition at Canva. In fact, recruiting pros say sourcing high quality candidates is the No. 1 objective in 2024.

For years, TA has been focused on metrics like time-to-fill and acceptance rates. But today, leadership is asking us about the quality of our hires and how we are measuring that.”

The talent leaders and professionals we spoke with and surveyed made one thing very clear: Recruiting teams want to do a better job helping organizations anticipate labor market ups and downs and ensure that they’re able to pivot quickly.

One goal is to avoid the talent shortages that plagued companies in 2021. “We’ve seen huge swings in demand in the last five years that have required us to be nimble and stay ahead of changing market conditions,” says Troy Victor, general manager, talent acquisition at Delta Air Lines.

Every recruiter needs to be able to be flexible and deploy into hotspots versus specializing in specific domains. We didn’t do that a year ago, two years ago, or three years ago. But it’s critical for staying agile.”

Recruiters are increasingly cross-functional

Increasingly, TA pros can be expected to be “full-stack” recruiters who can work seamlessly across different functions and stages of the hiring process. In fact, LinkedIn data reveals how recruiters are extending their skills and moving beyond the silos that previously separated them.

The top skills for different recruiting roles used to be fairly unique — but now that roles have become more cross-functional, there’s significantly more overlap between skills. That means it’s easier for recruiters to pivot from one functional area to another as needed.

Demand for flexible work is here to stay

Flexible work as an employee value proposition (EVP) has seen an increase in importance over the past few years — especially for Gen Z. According to LinkedIn data, the importance of flexible work as an EVP grew by 10% among all job seekers and 14% among Gen Z job seekers from 2021 to 2023.

This is reflected in candidate behavior on LinkedIn. Employers who are considered to have flexible work policies enjoy a sizable hiring advantage: they are 16% more likely to have candidates accept their InMails and 29% more likely to receive an application from a candidate who viewed one of their jobs.

In addition, Linkedin data shows job seekers’ interest in remote roles continues to be high, despite a decrease in the number of fully remote roles.

Workers have grown accustomed to flexible work arrangements, and they’re unwilling to give it up. “Top talent wants to innovate, work alongside smart teams, and have their work impact customers,” says Bryan Mayo of Atlassion. “But, they no longer want achievement to require sacrificing flexibility, family time, and personal aspirations.”

TA’s job is to show business stakeholders how the talent pool shrinks when we don’t think about flexibility. There’s going to be some goodwill built up for companies that have been consistent with flex policies.”

Employers are upping employer branding investments

Given the hurdles TA faces in connecting with Gen Z, it’s no wonder that employer branding will remain a critical priority in the year ahead: For the second year in a row, employer branding is the recruitment function that’s expected to receive the greatest increase in spend, with 57% of recruiting pros predicting their investment in employer branding will increase in the coming year.

To succeed in attracting and retaining Gen Z, TA will need to gain a strong handle on Gen Z’s unique set of attributes. Having come of age during a global pandemic, social justice movements, and the climate crisis, Gen Z cares deeply about working for companies that share their values. “Gen Z won’t compromise their principles for a job,” says Stacey Gordon, inclusive workplace culture consultant at Rework Work.

Gen Z isn’t interested in snazzy marketing collateral. Employer branding efforts need to go away from post-production towards revealing employees’ work and experience at the company to a wider audience.”