Successful recruiting depends on a proactive approach; and technology solutions can improve the experience for job candidates and recruiter. (Photo: Shutterstock)

More than half of businesses in a recent survey said they are planning to make major changes in their hiring practices in the next two years. The survey, which polled HR executives at 234 businesses, was conducted by Kronos, a workforce management company, and the Human Capital Institute (HCI).

Demand for workers creating new challenges

The report looked at how companies compete for talent in today's market, when the economy is booming and demand for workers is high. The researchers found that current-day conditions make recruitment very challenging for a wide range of companies.

Approximately half the organizations surveyed said their number of open positions has increased over the last two years—48 percent for hourly workers, and 53 percent of salaried positions.

The time it takes to fill those roles has also increased—36 percent for hourly workers, 38 percent for salaried workers. And the delays in hiring extract a price—cost-per-hire has increased 48 percent for hourly workers and 47 percent for salaried positions. To attract workers, companies are paying higher wages: 73 percent have increased starting pay for salaried workers, while 50 percent have raised starting pay for hourly workers over the past two years.

High-performing companies invest in marketing, technology

The study used an HCI metric to identify high-performing companies (HPOs), and noted that such companies have invested more in certain areas to recruit new talent.

For example, HPOs were more likely to seek out technology solutions to help with hiring: 21 percent of those companies used workforce data from human capital management suites, human resources information systems, or recruiting solutions to make hiring decisions, compared to just 5 percent of other organizations.

In addition, more HPOs also said they planned to invest in talent acquisition technology (59 percent) when compared with non-HPOs (37 percent). For these companies, marketing also has value: better employer brand/recruitment marketing was a top focus for 59 percent of HPOs, compared to just 40 percent of other companies.

These high-performing companies also reported using strategies such as strong internal lines of recruitment, rather than just relying on recruiting from outside the company. And they were more likely to offer comprehensive total reward packages and flexible work arrangements.

Taking a proactive approach

The study concluded that successful recruiting depends on a proactive approach; and that technology solutions can improve the experience for job candidates and recruiters alike.

“As the world evolves, so too must the ways that organizations attract, recruit, and retain top talent,” said Jenna N. Filipkowski, PhD., head of research at HCI. “High-performing organizations use technology to collect and analyze information, optimize processes, ease recruiter workloads, and customize communication to personalize the candidate experience. This approach allows them to focus on developing internal talent pipelines, hire for potential instead of skill, and create a high-performing team regardless of the job market.”

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