Future of recruiting

The 5 Tech Tools That Will Have the Biggest Impact on the Future of Recruiting

Back in 2017, the Pew Research Center surveyed U.S. adults about the biggest improvements to life over the past 50 years. Unsurprisingly, the number one answer was technology

And those improvements are only going to continue — in day-to-day life and in the workplace. According to the findings in LinkedIn’s new report, The Future of Recruiting, investing in new recruiting tools and technology will be the number one way to boost your team’s performance over the next five years, with 68% of respondents agreeing that this strategy will be highly effective.

Screenshot of bar graph from Future of Recruiting report:  Title: Top ways to boost recruiter performance in the future Subtitle: Percent of recruiting pros who say these would be among the most effective ways to boost recruiter performance over the next 5 years:  Better recruiting tools and technology: 68% More flexible work options: 59% More training and development opportunities: 51%

Of course, investing in just any old tools isn’t the answer. That’s why we asked the nearly 3,000 global talent professionals surveyed to weigh in on which recruiting technologies will become even more important in future. The table below reveals their top answers — along with the percentage of respondents who currently use these tools.

Screenshot of bar graph from Future of Recruiting report:  Title: Most impactful recruiting technologies Subtitle: Percent of recruiting pros who currently use these technologies and believe they will have meaningful impact over the next 5 years.  1. Tools to find and engage candidates 68% say will make meaningful impact in the future 58% say they currently use  2. Soft skills assessment 60% say will make meaningful impact in the future 57% say they currently use  3. Tools to analyze talent market 54% say will make meaningful impact in the future 21% say they currently use (Largest gap between current use and future impact)  4. Video interviewing 53% say will make meaningful impact in the future 40% say they currently use  5. CRMs (candidate databases) 51% say will make meaningful impact in the future 43% say they currently use

To help you secure buy-in from your leaders and determine which tools your team needs, here are the five recruiting technologies predicted to have the most meaningful impact.

1. Tools to find and engage candidates

Around 70% of candidates aren’t actively looking for a new job, so it’s no surprise that tools to find and engage candidates will remain very important. With many in-demand skills in short supply, relying on applications is no longer enough. You have to go out and find the right candidates for your open roles — and once you’ve found them, you have to grab and hold their attention

In fact, when we asked our respondents about the skills that will become even more important for recruiters over the next five years, engaging passive candidates came out on top. And that skill is easier to develop when you have powerful tools at your disposal that allow you to quickly narrow down your search, establish a strong connection, and bring candidates into your pipeline

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While more than half (58%) of our respondents said their organizations currently use these tools, 68% predict they’ll continue to make a meaningful impact in hiring, so adoption is likely to keep rising. 

If you’re not already using tools to find and engage candidates, this technology can also increase your team’s productivity and overall success. LinkedIn Recruiter, for example, allows you to tap into the world’s largest professional network and zero in on the candidates best suited for your role. You can even see at a glance if they’re open to new job opportunities, helping you to prioritize and tailor your outreach. 

2. Soft skills assessments

A whopping 92% of talent professionals agree that soft skills matter as much or even more than a candidate’s technical skills — and 91% believe they’re very important to the future of recruiting. This can include skills like empathy, collaboration, and problem-solving, which are growing increasingly important as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation replace more routine, hard skills-based jobs

But soft skills are notoriously difficult to assess — which explains why 60% of our respondents said soft skills assessments will have a big impact in years to come. This includes tools like Pymetrics, which uses neuroscience-based games to measure candidates’ cognitive and emotional traits, and Koru, which uses a series of questions to score candidates on core soft skills. 

The majority (57%) of the talent acquisition professionals we surveyed are already using soft skills assessments. But since these tools are only going to get more powerful (and useful) over time, it’s worth exploring your options if you haven’t already. 

3. Tools to analyze the talent market

Among the top tools identified in the report, those that analyze the talent market may see a particularly rapid surge in adoption over the next few years. These tools had the largest gap between current use and future impact, with 54% of respondents saying they’ll make a meaningful impact compared to just 21% who use them now. 

This coincides with a growing trend toward more data-driven recruiting. When asked about their recruiting teams’ top priorities over the next five years, 43% of respondents said that leveraging data effectively will be a priority. And 84% believe that analyzing talent data to drive decisions is becoming an increasingly important skill for recruiters to master. 

Tools like LinkedIn Talent Insights can make it easy to analyze talent data and use it to shape your recruiting strategy. With Talent Insights, for instance, you can quickly see how many candidates match your job requirements in your geographic area. This might reveal that your talent pool is too limited. And with this data in hand, you can advise your hiring manager about how to cast a wider net — ensuring a more productive search and a stronger working relationship. 

4. Video interviewing 

With recruiting predicted to become even more strategic and advisory in the coming years, it will be important to reduce the amount of busywork on your team’s plate if you want to secure your seat at the table. And video interviewing tools may play a role in achieving just that. 

Not only can these tools help you easily connect with candidates all over the world — some can even help you screen candidates around the clock. One-way video interviewing tools allow candidates to record answers to questions set by you at a time that works for them, using their own computer or smartphone. You can then review them at your leisure to decide which candidates can move to the next step. 

And if you’re using a tool with AI built in, it may even be able to help you determine a candidate’s fit, providing deeper insights based on things like their speech patterns and body language.

Today, 40% of our respondents currently use video interviewing tools. But this number may soon go up, with 53% saying these tools will have a meaningful impact in the next five years. 

5. Candidate databases

If a candidate applies for one role at your company and doesn’t get the job, that doesn’t have to be the end of their relationship with you. If they weren’t the right fit in the past, they may have gained new skills and experience in the intervening years. And even if they received an offer but turned it down, it’s possible they’d still be open to hearing about future roles. 

By using a candidate database, such as a candidate relationship management system (CRM), you can keep track of every candidate that enters your pipeline — making it easier to fill future reqs. Half (51%) of the recruiting professionals we surveyed said these tools would have a big impact in the future, while 43% are currently using them. 

Keep in mind that some applicant tracking systems (ATSs) include this functionality. With LinkedIn Talent Hub, for example, you can see a candidate’s history with your company, including whether they’ve applied for a role before or whether one of the recruiters on your team has previously reached out to them. 

Final thoughts: Don’t rush into a new tech relationship

While technology can help you unleash your team’s full potential, that can only happen if you take a thoughtful approach in choosing and implementing new tools. Take the time to speak to your recruiters about the tools they’d find most useful, as their answers may be very different from what you’d expect. Since they’ll be the ones using the tech on a day-to-day basis, it’s crucial that they feel they have a voice in the discussion.

Once you’ve settled on your tools, the team can also help you implement them. Try running a pilot program first to work out any kinks before you roll the tech out at scale, and ask early adopters to help train and encourage others. When everyone takes ownership, the implementation can go a lot smoother — ensuring everyone benefits from the tools much faster. 

For more tips about using technology to unleash your team’s full potential — plus more predictions about how your role will change — download The Future of Recruiting report today.

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