Sixty Percent of Businesses Worry They’ve Hired the Wrong Person Despite Spiralling Recruitment Spending, Smartrecruiters Survey Finds

By GlobeNewswire On Dec 3, 2024

Inefficient talent acquisition strategies are hindering business growth according to a new Talent Acquisition report by SmartRecruiters, a leading provider of enterprise hiring software. The survey of 500 companies across the UK, North America and Australia reveals that 60% of business leaders are concerned they’ve hired the wrong person despite increased costs and time being spent on talent acquisition.

In fact, 45% of business leaders report spending more than half their working hours on talent acquisition tasks, diverting crucial resources away from core business operations. This inefficiency is not only driving up costs but also impacting brand reputation, profitability, and overall business growth.

Inefficient hiring processes harm business growth

The negative impacts of ineffective hiring include slower business growth (28%), damaged brand reputation (30%), reduced service quality (28%), and weaker sales performance (29%). 62% of business leaders agree that their businesses would be more profitable if their talent acquisition strategies were more effective.

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Low confidence in hiring decisions

The survey also reveals a lack of confidence in hiring outcomes. Six months post-hire, 60% of business leaders have confidence in less than half of their hires. Furthermore, 34% of respondents said they are unsure if they’ve made the right hiring decision, exposing flaws in current talent acquisition processes.

The growing challenge of talent acquisition

As the global workforce becomes more distributed, hiring is becoming increasingly difficult. The survey finds that 56% of business leaders believe talent acquisition has grown more complex in recent years. The rapid rise of digital nomads, remote workers, and international employees is reshaping the way companies approach recruitment, with business leaders expecting these professionals to become more important within their talent acquisition strategies over the next 2 years.

“Our research highlights the need for businesses to rethink their talent acquisition strategies. In a rapidly evolving, distributed workforce, traditional hiring processes are no longer sufficient,” said Rebecca Carr, CEO of SmartRecruiters.

“Leveraging advanced technologies like AI can revolutionize the way companies identify and engage top talent. AI-driven platforms not only streamline recruitment but also provide data-driven insights that help businesses make smarter, faster hiring decisions. These technologies allow companies to adapt to the complexities of remote work, digital nomads, and global teams – ultimately improving the quality of hires and driving better business outcomes in an increasingly competitive market.”

SmartRecruiters’ ‘Unlocking Profitability with AI-driven Talent Acquisition’ report can be downloaded here.

SmartRecruiters enables Superhuman Hiring™ by freeing talent acquisition teams from legacy applicant tracking software and empowering them with next-gen AI functionality. SmartRecruiters’ next-generation platform serves as the hiring operating system for 4,000 customers, including Bosch, LinkedIn, and Visa. Companies with business-critical hiring needs turn to SmartRecruiters for best-of-breed functionality, world-class support, and a robust ecosystem of third-party applications and service providers.

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