• Despite the high demand for talent and skills, Talent Acquisition teams are not getting the resources they need
• Talent Acquisition teams are being asked to concentrate on saving costs—not participate in important transformation and workforce planning projects
• The report is the result of the ongoing collaboration between The Josh Bersin Company and AMS

OAKLAND, Calif., April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Josh Bersin Company, the world's most trusted human capital advisory firm, working with global talent solutions business AMS, today published research that shows Talent Acquisition (TA) is at a crossroads. Despite being asked to focus on finding skilled workers, TA teams feel disconnected from helping address company strategy and are being forced to only advise on ways of reducing costs.The results emerge from a sentiment-based (as opposed to longitudinal) research project, the latest in the Bersin ongoing global Talent Climate research initiative, created in collaboration with AMS, which draws on half a million hire-related data points of global HR and recruitment records.

The main findings of the report, Talent Acquisition at a Crossroads, show that while skills shortages remain the top issue for TA leaders (60%), these leaders face tremendous pressure to improve the efficiency of recruiting processes (58%).  For example, TA practitioners feel they are perceived as "order-takers" and their contribution is insufficiently recognized. Despite 55% of companies viewing TA specialists as an integral part of the business, only 32% of TA leaders feel they serve as a truly strategic partner to their organization, the analysis shows.

The research finds a surprisingly low level of maturity in workforce planning. 42% of companies do not have a workforce plan and 40% of HR leaders state, "Our business is not ready to take a strategic approach to hiring."

Another critical topic, skills-based hiring, is beginning to lose its luster, with almost 70% of companies stating, "Skills-based hiring is too difficult for us to implement right now." The reason for this is not a lack of technologies, Josh Bersin Company researchers point out, but rather a lack of clarity in "how" to build a skills program. (Watch analyst Josh Bersin's video for an in-depth discussion.)

Talent Acquisition leaders also struggle with recruiting skills, with 42% admitting their recruiters need more training. As AI (artificial intelligence) expands throughout talent acquisition, The Josh Bersin Company is advising CHROs that the reskilling of recruiters is essential. This is a challenge as 45% of HR leaders were told to prioritize cost-cutting over strategic talent acquisition.

AI is a huge topic within HR, but it appears to have a long way to go until it becomes widely adopted in TA. Despite the well-documented positive impact of AI on the delivery of world-class TA programs through enhanced efficiency and agility, respondents ranked AI as less of a priority than increasing the efficiency of the TA team and reducing costs.

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