New report finds most sourcing teams are still reliant on passive hiring
Most recruiters remain reliant on passive hiring despite recognising active sourcing is essential in talent acquisition, according to a new report.
A survey by TestGorilla among 1,000 US hiring and recruiting leaders revealed that only 27% are actively sourcing more than half of their hires.
Active sourcing, according to TestGorilla, refers to a talent acquisition approach that involves actively identifying, contacting, and engaging with candidates for a job opening instead of waiting for them to apply.
The report found that 77% of the respondents consider the approach as very important or essential in their talent acquisition strategy.
"Our research shows that while nearly eight in ten leaders say active sourcing is vital, most still rely on passive hires because of these barriers," said Wouter Durville, CEO and co-founder of TestGorilla, in a statement.
According to the report, 51% of sourcing teams find it difficult to source qualified candidates for open roles. The top reasons for these challenges are:
- Struggling to determine if candidates have the skills they say they do (58%)
- Finding it hard to identify candidates who are aligned with their culture (47%)
- The lack of skilled candidates in the market (43%)
- High competition for talent from other companies (35%)
- Poor quality of candidates from existing sources (20%)
"Sourcing teams are under more pressure than ever. They're expected to deliver quality hires in a market where AI is rapidly reshaping talent acquisition, skills are harder to verify, and outdated tools can't keep up," Durville said.
Impact of AI
AI is seen as the biggest factor that can significantly impact talent sourcing in the next few years, according to 46% of the respondents. Other factors include:
- Advanced data and analytics (43%)
- Skills scarcity (33%)
- Economic volatility (28%)
- Changing candidate expectations (27%)
However, only 37% of the respondents said their organisation is well or extremely prepared for these future trends, with another 27% saying they have started preparing.
"Overall, this tells us two things. Firstly, teams know that the way we source top talent is changing," the report read. "Secondly, they're starting to get prepared. Although the minority feel ready at this stage, three in five will invest in new sourcing tech in the year to come."
