From the Editor

According to a recent McKinsey & Company report (in the news links below), “Almost all companies invest in AI, but just 1 percent believe they are at maturity. Our research finds the biggest barrier to scaling is not employees—who are ready—but leaders, who are not steering fast enough.”

That may be true, since only 20% of 2024 CandE Benchmark Research employers told us they’re utilizing some AI recruiting technologies, primarily around candidate communications and interview scheduling. There are also compliance concerns and more that are keeping anything to do with “selection” functionality at arm’s length.

The McKinsey report also states, “Over the next three years, 92% of companies plan to increase their AI investments.” And since 2022, CandE employers have increased their AI recruiting tech utilization by 100%. More on this in the year ahead.

This week’s newsletter also features a piece by Dr. Chris Mullen titled What Businesses Often Overlook with Onboarding (and How to Fix It). Jason Pistulka shares The Hidden Challenges of Software Suite Integration: Why Architecture Matters. Ravi Subramanian writes about AI Solutions to Today’s Biggest Recruitment Challenges. Jim Stroud shares How To Find Talent Your Competition Has Overlooked (Part 5). And I share the first of a 2024 CandE Benchmark Research Case Study series — CandE Winner Arup.

There are also lots of new recruiting and hiring news links below — plus, current research, free webinars to register for, and our upcoming ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit.

Remember that the ERE Recruiting, SourceCon, CandE, and TLNT newsletters are now merged into one and will bring you all the latest news and insights on sourcing, recruiting, hiring, and the candidate experience.

Let me know if you’ve got any news to share. Thank you for reading!

—Kevin Grossman, VP of Research & Editorial

Email me: Editor

Featured Article

What Businesses Often Overlook with Onboarding (and How to Fix It)

This strategic approach empowers HR professionals to not just onboard, but onboard with a vision for growth and engagement.

More Recruiting and Sourcing Information

Recruiting

The Hidden Challenges of Software Suite Integration: Why Architecture Matters by Jason Pistulka

So, whether you are an enterprise purchasing software or a private equity company looking to invest in the HCM space, these details are critical.

AI Solutions to Today’s Biggest Recruitment Challenges by Ravi Subramanian

Technology exists to solve today's biggest recruitment challenges. The question is: which challenges will you address first?

Sourcing

How To Find Talent Your Competition Has Overlooked (Part 5) by Jim Stroud

Sometimes the very best talent is hiding in plain sight or, in this case, on X.

Candidate Experience

CandE Benchmark Research Case Study – Arup

Each year, the CandE Benchmark Research Program collects case studies from CandE Winners. This CandE Case Study was from Arup.

The 2025 CandE Benchmark Research Program Now Open

The annual CandE Benchmark Research Program helps you and your organization measure and understand your overall candidate experience ratings from pre-application to onboarding.

Employers big and small across industries are encouraged to participate. The CandE Benchmark Research Program will help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your recruiting process and your overall candidate experience with continuous candidate feedback.

Each year the CandE Benchmark Research Program recognizes those participating employers with the highest candidate experience ratings with our coveted CandE Awards.

Register today!

New CandE Reports from the 2024 CandE Benchmark Research are available (more coming soon!):

What Sets CandE Winners Apart is a special global report that highlights CandE Winner differentiators — those employers that participated in our annual research and have the highest candidate experience ratings overall.

The 2024 Business Impact of Candidate Experience research brief highlights the business impact of candidate experience and is based on the 2024 CandE benchmark research of over 240,000 global candidate responses.

Other Recruiting, Hiring, and Business News

• Whole Foods Workers Win First-Ever Union, Defying Amazon

• The Global AI Divide: How Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America Are Falling Behind the U.S. and Europe in the AI Revolution

• U.S. GDP Grew 2.5% in 2024

• Despite Political Firestorm, Diversity Investments Are Alive And Well

• ChatGPT vs. Claude vs. DeepSeek: The Battle to Be My AI Work Assistant

• Costco increases pay to over $30 for most store workers

• To help pay for Trump tax cuts, new taxes on worker benefits become GOP target

• Why You Should Be Wary of the Unlimited Vacation Perk

• Reneging On Offers – A Growing Recruiting Nightmare

• Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential

• 8 tips for employers hiring human resource candidates who are early in their careers

• Most TA efforts are failing. Why a ‘human-centric AI’ strategy can turn things around

Upcoming Webinars

Designing an Inclusive Hiring Program That Prioritizes Accessibility

February 6, 2025 | 2:00 PM EDT | 1 Hour

Discover actionable strategies to create an inclusive hiring program that empowers talent with disabilities and builds a stronger, more equitable workforce.

Boolean Unleashed: Smart Search Strategies in the Age of AI

March 18, 2025 | 2:00 PM EDT | 1 Hour

Master the art of blending advanced Boolean techniques with AI tools to streamline your talent sourcing and outpace the competition.

Conferences

ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit

April 29-30, 2025 in Las Vegas, NV

Have you heard who is coming to Recruiting Innovation Summit?

Here's your chance to see the full line-up of speakers and sessions we have in store! We've combined the best of ERE Recruiting Conference with SourceCon to bring you the most in-demand topics and strategies to boost your TA and sourcing career.

• Discover peer-driven insights and proven strategies that will shape the future.

• Transform your sourcing to find tomorrow’s talent today through peer-led learning and connections.

• Elevate recruiting and hiring efficiencies with the most innovative technologies on the current market, and connect with peers in dynamic group discussions.

• All of this and more when you attend RIS!