92% of HR Leaders Will Increase Use of Artificial Intelligence as Solution for Rising Talent Challenges

Survey results indicate organizations are embracing AI to make critical talent decisions at scale and align workforce strategies with shifting business priorities

Eightfold AI, the leader in AI-powered talent intelligence, announced the findings from Eightfold’s 2022 Talent Survey, The Future of Work: Intelligent by Design. The report details a plan to deploy artificial intelligence to adapt to the demands of the modern talent space, based on responses from more than 250 HR executives and nearly 1,000 employees.

In fact, 92% of HR executives are planning on increasing their use of AI in at least one area of HR. By uncovering new challenges and priorities from HR leaders and employees, the report from Eightfold examines opportunities to overcome the ongoing talent shortage and record-high turnover by creating solutions that are intelligent by design.

“As HR leaders recognize the need for sophisticated technology to solve an urgent and growing list of priorities, it is critical that they know the best practices as they scale their talent operations,” said Ashutosh Garg, Founder and CEO of Eightfold AI. “Talent intelligence has the power to reshape how leaders face greatest challenges. By infusing data and insights into decision making, they can take a comprehensive approach to manage all talent and architect a future-ready workforce.”

By surveying employees, the report unveiled how post-pandemic expectations and priorities have shifted to value transparency, flexibility, and above all, growth opportunities. Key findings in talent management include:

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• Employees crave increased visibility into skills gaps. 76% of HR leaders believe understanding skills and capabilities across their workforce is vital to long-term organizational success. Employees are in agreement, with 64% saying it’s important to have increased visibility into their skills gaps or the organization’s future skills needs. To successfully compete for and retain top talent, there is an opportunity to double down on understanding what people are capable of now and what skills they need to succeed, today and tomorrow.
• Employees demand transparency in the promotion process. 69% of employees consider a transparent promotion and career development process to be important, but only 41% of employers offer transparent career development opportunities to all talent. HR leaders must rethink their approaches to adapt to post-pandemic employee preferences.
• Organizations have an opportunity to democratize employee experience offerings. When asked about the extent to which employee experiences, programs, and opportunities are offered, less than 50% of HR leaders offer any single benefit to everyone. In fact, only 35% of employers offer opportunities to pivot into new roles within the company to all talent within the organization. Democratizing succession planning and internal mobility translate into talent retention and less time spent headhunting.

In order to keep pace with current demands and simplify the sourcing process, the report suggests HR leaders need to transform their current approaches to attracting and acquiring new talent. As employers report finding talent in a shortage as the top challenge, there is an opportunity to remove the barriers candidates face in the application process and expand the criteria to attract alternative candidates. Key findings in talent acquisition include:

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• Recruiters are burnt out. 95% of HR leaders are struggling with recruiting. Not surprisingly, one in five HR leaders reported their recruiters were overwhelmed. Equipping recruiters with data and intelligence around candidate capabilities enables them to go high-touch with applicants.
• Job seekers face barriers in the application process. 74% of employee respondents said they have considered applying for a job in the past 12-18 months. However, a perceived mismatch between their past experience and the job description was the top reason they did not submit an application. Improving the applicant experience and inviting more qualified candidates to apply requires organizations to rethink the role of job descriptions.
• Expanding candidate criteria widens the talent pool. 40% of HR leaders want candidates to have previous experience in the industry. Rather than taking a “box-checking” approach to hiring, widening the criteria to consider adjacent skillsets and upskilling potential expands the pool of available candidates.
• Mitigating bias brings in more diverse talent. A notable 95% of HR leaders are using AI for DEI efforts. However, only 26% of respondents use AI for masked resume reviews. Removing names and demographic information is an effective way to remove conscious or unconscious bias and support marginalized communities.

Eightfold administered its 2022 talent survey in two sections to a statistically significant group of qualified respondents: business leaders and employees in the U.S. Fielded between March 23, 2022 and April 4, 2022, the business leader survey included more than 250 HR professionals at the director level and above from companies with over 100 employees who had direct influence over HR decisions. In addition, nearly 1,000 employees over the age of 18 employed part-time or full-time were surveyed between March 31, 2022 and April 4, 2022

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