HR Tech Number of the Day: Talent acquisition investment

Spurred on by the Great Resignation and the growth of the internal talent marketplace, organizations are looking to invest more into their talent acquisition solutions. According to research conducted by Aptitude Research, 62% of companies are increasing their TA tech investment.

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What it means for HR leaders

Talent acquisition is a vibrant market that is seeing consolidation, along with new tools using innovations such as artificial intelligence, said Madeline Laurano, founder of Aptitude Research, at Wednesday’s HR Tech Conference. But there’s room for improvement in the solutions themselves, and how they’re being used, she said.

In her session titled “The State of Talent Acquisition Technology: The ATS Is Not Enough,” Laurano said that, DE&I focused TA tools are seeing a big upswing, including by employers focused on the use of ethical AI to make hiring efforts more equitable. However, many employers are complicating the TA process by using too many tools.

For instance, Laurano said, 51% of companies use three or more applicant-tracking systems concurrently. The need for newer and more responsive TA systems is apparent, she said. More than 60% of companies experience high-volume hiring needs and nearly half of all candidates drop out of their application phase. Furthermore, 65% of companies are unhappy with their ATS.

See also: Five trends revolutionizing the talent acquisition space

It’s not just the ATSes; hiring leaders are failing their applicants as well. In Aptitude’s research, 56% of job candidates said they never receive a response from the employer and half are not asked for feedback about the job application experience.

Still, organizations are eager to streamline the application experience. According to Laurano, major fast food restaurants are among those large employers looking to TA tech to make the job application experience as easy for applicants as ordering lunch from their car.

She said, “McDonald’s and Chick Fil A both asked for a process that is as fast and easy as going through a drive-through.”

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Phil Albinus
Phil Albinus
Phil Albinus is the former HR Tech Editor for HRE. He has been covering personal and business technology for 25 years and has served as editor and executive editor for a number of financial services, trading technology and employee benefits titles. He is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz and lives in the Hudson Valley with his audiologist wife and three adult children.