Once dominated by high-volume, fast-paced hiring—especially in sectors like IT, BPO, and retail—the focus is now squarely on quality over quantity.
A new wave of AI-powered tools is enabling recruiters to prioritize skills, cultural fit, and long-term value over mere speed, marking a pivotal transformation in how talent is sourced and evaluated.
According to LinkedIn’s India Hiring ROI report, 75% of Indian recruiters now allocate up to 70% of their hiring budgets to AI and recruitment tech.
This strategic pivot is not just about efficiency—it’s about building a workforce that drives sustainable business outcomes.
AI Takes Center Stage in Hiring Strategy
The adoption of AI in recruitment has accelerated dramatically over the past three years.
Tools now automate everything from resume screening and interview scheduling to skill assessments and candidate engagement.
This has freed up recruiters to focus on strategic decision-making, stakeholder alignment, and enhancing the candidate experience.
Key findings from LinkedIn’s report include:
- 69% of recruiters use data analytics to inform hiring decisions.
- 63% deploy AI tools to improve speed and accuracy.
- 45% say AI enhances productivity, while 42% say it frees time for high-value tasks2.
Quality of Hire Becomes the New Gold Standard
While time-to-hire remains important, 72% of recruiters now rank “quality of hire” as their top success metric, surpassing traditional KPIs like time-to-hire (60%) and revenue per employee (59%).
This shift reflects a deeper understanding that hiring the right person—not just the fastest—yields better long-term returns.
Recruiters are now prioritizing:
- Transferable skills (57%)
- Smarter hiring technologies (52%)
- Proving hiring ROI to leadership (46%)
Challenges Persist in Hiring: Balancing Speed, Skills, and Fit
Despite the tech upgrades, recruiters still face hurdles:
- 64% struggle to balance soft and technical skills
- 58% feel pressure to hire quickly
- 54% cite difficulty ensuring cultural fit
Delays in hiring have tangible costs. Recruiters report:
- Losing top candidates to faster competitors (58%)
- Increased workload on existing teams (64%)
- Declining morale and productivity (63%)
Recruiters Evolve into Strategic Advisors
AI is not just transforming processes—it’s reshaping roles.
A striking 90% of Indian recruiters now see themselves as “career advisors”, while 92% plan to use personalized content and data insights to build stronger candidate relationships.
Sunil Chemmankotil, MD of Adecco India, notes, “We’re witnessing a fundamental transformation—not just in talent, but in job roles themselves.”
He added, “With tools like LinkedIn Recruiter 2024, we can decode job requirements into core skills, opening doors for adjacent talent that might have previously been missed.”
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