Technology & Talent: A Match Made for the Future

The connection and interplay between technology and talent has dominated many of my conversations following the launch of LinkedIn’s Future of Recruiting last year. What is clear is that recruitment and management, just like every other business, is ripe for transformation by the advent of artificial intelligence tools and other data-driven insights, and those that can embrace it and harness its potential will gain significant advantage.?In the latest installment of our #TalentVoices series, releasing next week, I had the privilege of engaging in an insightful conversation with Bettina Schaller , President of the World Employment Confederation ; Lorna Conn CDir , CEO at Cpl ; and Jo-Ann Feely , Global Managing Director for Innovation at AMS , to discuss their perspectives on the evolving role of technological change in our industry.?

Navigating a Data-Driven Future in Recruitment??

In the Future of Recruiting report, 87% of professionals stated that their function has become more strategic over the past year, and we see our industry increasingly called upon to provide the data-driven insights that will help clients navigate economic uncertainty and respond to changing jobseeker priorities. ?

The Evolving Role of Recruiters in a Tech-Centric World?

As tech innovations continue to redefine landscapes, the role of the recruiter is clearly set to evolve. Lorna summed this up, saying: “In a competitive market such as this one, recruiters need to dig deep and make sure the talent they are putting forward really matches the client needs. Clients expect much more in terms of high-quality data insights to help them fill their gaps and make key decisions.”?

Hiring managers are at the forefront of a rapidly shifting talent environment, as big agenda items like skills-first hiring and diversity, equity and inclusion challenge historic ways of thinking and operating. Key to accompanying them on that journey will be recruiters that can use data to evidence and explain the backdrop of both skills deficits and skills availability, and to show the advantages and routes to success opened up by reaching out to untapped potential.??

Lorna pointed out: “This is going to require investment by a lot of companies, because the maturity of data collection, insights and management is not there yet. We are on that data journey ourselves and it takes time. We have a young workforce that is tech curious, so we have found the uptake and use of AI and chatbots has been much faster than anticipated.”?

Generative AI: The New Frontier in Recruitment??

With the unveiling of tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing, everyone is talking about how generative AI will change the world of work. At LinkedIn, our latest Future of Work report highlights how we’ve seen on average a 75% increase each month in 2023 in members worldwide adding terms like GAI, ChatGPT and Prompt Engineering to their profiles.???

In Future of Recruiting, we found that 68% of hirers surveyed were either ‘very hopeful’ or ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the impact of generative AI on recruiting and how it can save them time.??

Jo-Ann Feely explained: “This is going to revolutionise talent acquisition. Areas that we have been talking about for a long time, like skills-based hiring, are going to become much more realisable using AI technologies. Providers are coming out with so many offerings that serve up invaluable information to recruiters.”?

Working with AI is going to require new skills of talent professionals. Jo-Ann emphasised “Recruiters will need to become trusted advisers, able to take the data and explain the detail and insights to hiring managers in order to help them navigate hiring or compensation challenges,”. “They will also need to be able to tell stories and talk to the core values of the clients they are representing in order to differentiate those opportunities.”?

Human-centred skills will come to the fore, with technology not replacing recruiters but amplifying their ability to provide insights, empathy and emotional intelligence. Those that can harness that synergy will gain a competitive advantage.?

Lorna Conn CDir commented: “The technology is there to enhance the process and improve the candidate experience with efficiency. It will make us more productive, freeing up time and capacity for us to focus on the human side of matching the right candidate to the right role.”?

Preparing for Regulatory Changes and Future Challenges?

In 2023, the World Employment Confederation published its guidelines on the application of AI in recruitment , highlighting an essential insight from Bettina Schaller : numerous companies are still in the early stages of adapting to these advancements “Those that are still behind need to fasten their seatbelts and get there quickly, because there is no way of getting around this,”. There are a series of directives at European level that will soon impose human capital reporting obligations on companies as regulators seek more visibility on workforces, which will further drive the need for data investment across the talent space.?

Moving forward, we see recruiters embracing technology to play a far greater role in helping clients build business cases, justify their hiring decisions and interpret data insights to explore untapped potential.??

Please keep an eye out for the full version of the discussion, available next week, to dive deeper into these insights. I'm eager to hear your thoughts on how the acceleration of technology is influencing your recruitment strategies in 2024 and beyond.??