Science and data to improve hiring outcomes in 2023: Survey

With a New Year ahead of us HR professionals are considering how best to tackle the issues that in many ways have lingered from the responses to the Great Resignation, quiet quitting and the pandemic itself. While dealing with those issues were reactionary, this year shows a renewed focus on issues relating back to quality of hiring techniques that will drive efficiency, effectiveness, engagement and ethical outcomes.

In a survey conducted on behalf of Modern Hire, Quality of Hire (QoH) is cited as a top technology investment priority. This trend will continue. While efficiency is still critical for companies looking to improve time to fill and recruiter productivity, there is a growing realization that a well-conducted, competency-based interview and a science-based pre-hire assessment still offer long-term return on investment.

In 2023, leading organizations are recognizing that QoH – and hiring right the first time – are a vital gateway to creating value in a well-run organization, says the report. Additionally, the skills and competencies needed for most jobs are more complex and more urgent than they were even a few years ago.

To slow attrition in 2023, organizations are prioritizing two complementary strategies. One is helping employees feel more valued, respected,

and connected to their organization. Large enterprises can focus on pay policies, offering more benefits that encourage employee wellbeing, and creating opportunities that help employees build interpersonal relationships at work.

Additionally, people want to advance. Seven out of 10 (70%) frontline workers surveyed say they applied to career advancement opportunities either with their current employers or with different companies. Employers can stem turnover by hiring frontline workers for fit, which makes it more likely new hires will stay during the critical first few months.

Even as companies turn to solutions such as AI to evaluate candidates for known competencies and predictors of success, HR pros admit that they are not always sure when their hiring technology actually uses AI for this purpose. In Modern Hire’s 2022 Aptitude Research Talent Acquisition Technology survey conducted by Aptitude Research, more than half of respondents indicated some level of confusion about the status of AI in their TA tech stack.

That will change, however. Modern Hire says AI has an important place in the ideal hiring practice, but HR leaders must be prepared to carefully manage it to prevent potentially harmful consequences and should also rely on vendors who know the difference.

Finally, employers should consider “next-level interviewing.” Modern Hire says that the candidate experience should play an important role in the process with an ability to change and reschedule interview times, for example. Also, accessibility is a major issue where candidates should expect a reasonable accommodation in the hiring process. Companies should not, intentionally or otherwise, screen out disabled candidates who could perform the job with that accommodation.

Related: Using data to better understand employees’ benefits priorities

Overall, the use of embedded hiring science and automation to drive data-informed outcomes, ensure fairness and improve experiences will improve the QoH of employers and ultimately aid with attraction and retention of skilled workers.