The sheer pace at which the landscape of talent acquisition is changing is, in its own right, a challenge to begin with. Candidates are pickier and less patient, tapping talent pools through digital channels require a completely different approach, and trying to optimize recruitment strategy without clear data isn’t just inefficient but also frustrating.

If your team is trying to improve their talent attraction and recruitment operation but is facing one of the 5 common challenges below, just know that you’re in good company and that there are powerful, research-backed tools that will help you overcome these hurdles. 

1. The volume of applications is overwhelming your bandwidth

The advent of digital job boards and social media platforms skyrocketed the volume of job applications. A study by Glassdoor found that on average, each corporate job offer attracts 250 resumes, and the number is even higher for the entry-level positions. 

Manual screening of such a high volume is not only time-consuming but also increases the risk of overlooking qualified candidates.

The solution: Recruitment automation and AI-powered screening tools can efficiently parse through hundreds of applications, identifying the most promising candidates based on your hiring criteria. This not only speeds up the process but also ensures a fair and unbiased evaluation, instantly highlighting the top candidates for priority processing.

2. The recruiters struggle to engage and communicate with every single candidate

Timely and personalized communication is key to maintaining candidate engagement, yet 65% of job seekers say they rarely or never receive any communication about their application status from employers, according to a CareerBuilder survey. This lack of communication can lead to a negative candidate experience and diminish a company’s reputation in the job market.

Solution: AI assistants and chatbots can automate communication, providing instant responses to candidate inquiries and regular updates about their application status. This keeps candidates engaged and informed throughout the recruitment process, improving their experience and perception of the company. Some solutions, like Talkpush, take care of most repetitive communications and provide a direct line to a human recruiter when the candidate requires it.

3. You suspect that biased decisions are resulting in bad hires and high turnover

Unconscious bias in the recruitment process can significantly affect the quality of hire, limiting diversity and potentially overlooking the best candidates. According to a report by McKinsey, companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity outperform those in the fourth by 36% in profitability.

Solution: AI-driven recruitment tools are designed to assess candidates based on skills and experience, minimizing human biases and ensuring a more diverse and high-quality talent pool.

4. You take a long time to hire and it’s increasing recruitment costs

The longer it takes to fill a position, the higher the cost to the company, not only in terms of recruitment expenses but also in lost productivity. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates the average cost-per-hire in the US to be $4,129, with an average time-to-hire of 42 days.

Solution: By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as resume screening and initial candidate outreach, companies can significantly reduce their time-to-hire. Automated candidate journeys supported by AI-powered sourcing and document collection tools can help move candidates through the funnel faster and with less friction. AI can also help recruiters identify passive candidates more quickly, filling positions faster and reducing overall recruitment costs.

5. You experience a lack of clarity about which recruitment strategies and investments are producing which results

Not knowing where your best candidates are coming from, whether social media ads are working or not, or where the bottlenecks lie in your process are common problems caused by failing to collect and analyze relevant data. If this is your case, you’re in good company. The LinkedIn report on Global Recruiting Trends states that while 79% of talent acquisition professionals believe data is crucial to their work, only 55% regularly use data in their decision-making processes. 

Trying to optimize your recruitment strategies without using reliable data is like navigating without a compass. You will waste valuable resources in the process. 

Solution: Recruitment software with built-in analytics and reporting capabilities can automatically track key metrics such as source effectiveness, candidate engagement levels, and conversion rates. This enables teams to make informed decisions based on real-time data, continuously improving their talent attraction efforts.

The struggle is real, but solutions are at your disposal

Almost all of the high-volume hiring companies we've worked with have grappled with the same issues at some point in their journey. The great news is that all of them have transformed their processes and are now enjoying stellar success from their social media and digital recruitment efforts. 

If your goal is to compete for and win the best talent in your target region, then leveraging the latest in recruitment technology, automation, AI, data analytics and OCR is the way to go.

Talkpush is the leading automated recruiting solution that helps you engage, nurture and hire talents faster. Get a free demo and an exclusive reader discount here!