2025 Hiring Insights Report

Section Two

Winning top talent in 2025

93%

of companies plan to invest in additional technology to boost hiring efficiency in 2025

93%

of companies plan to invest in additional technology to boost hiring efficiency in 2025

2025 Hiring Insights Report

Winning top talent in 2025

Table of Contents

2025’s top challenges
and changes

As TA teams look ahead to 2025, familiar challenges are expected to persist, while new dynamics add further complexity to the hiring landscape. Retaining top talent remains the most cited concern, with 30% of leaders identifying it as a key issue, showing the continued pressure to not only attract but also hold onto skilled employees in a competitive market.

Candidate-related concerns, such as skills mismatches (28%), multiple offers (25%), and process dropouts (25%), illustrate the need for faster, more efficient hiring workflows to secure in-demand talent.

As hiring teams look ahead, recruitment team turnover (51%) and increased competition for talent (42%) are expected to be the most disruptive factors shaping the hiring landscape in the next 12 months. Leaders also anticipate greater complexity in managing candidate pipelines, with 41% highlighting both the need to connect with candidates faster and expand the number of candidates in the funnel to meet hiring demands.

To succeed in this evolving landscape, talent acquisition teams will need to focus on building stronger candidate relationships (40%) and improving communication throughout the hiring process (39%). Addressing these challenges effectively will require the adoption of innovative solutions like AI, automation, and streamlined processes to balance speed with personalization and secure top talent in a highly competitive market.

AI and automation: The cornerstone of 2025’s hiring strategies

As talent acquisition teams navigate increasing complexity, AI and automation are emerging as indispensable tools in their hiring strategies. Nearly 40% of TA leaders are prioritizing improved efficiency in their hiring processes over the next year, while 34% specifically aim to leverage AI to make hiring more efficient. These goals reflect a growing recognition that technology is no longer a “nice to have” but a critical enabler of success.

The focus on upgrading hiring technology (38%) and standardizing processes (33%) further underscores this shift toward creating scalable, tech-driven workflows. By automating time-intensive tasks like scheduling, resume screening, and reporting, teams can redirect their efforts toward strategic priorities, like building relationships with candidates and improving the overall hiring experience.

Sector

Top focus area for 2025

Retail

Upgrading hiring technology

Healthcare

Improving overall efficiency

Manufacturing

Improving overall efficiency

Technology

Upgrading hiring technology

Financial Services

Using AI to make hiring more efficient

This momentum is shown in leaders’ investment plans: a combined 93% of companies say they are “likely” or “very likely” to invest in additional technology to boost hiring efficiency in 2025. AI’s ability to personalize and accelerate the hiring process makes it a key driver of both efficiency and candidate satisfaction—which are both critical in a competitive talent market.

For TA leaders, embracing AI and automation goes beyond solving immediate challenges; it’s about building a future-ready hiring strategy that aligns with evolving candidate expectations while maximizing team bandwidth.

Talent acquisition team transformation and the evolving role of recruiting coordinators

As we highlighted earlier, while 64% of talent teams grew headcount to meet rising hiring demands, others focused on reorganizing existing roles (21%) or reducing team size (12%) to adapt to changing priorities.

One role undergoing significant evolution is the recruiting coordinator. Traditionally focused on scheduling and logistics, this position is shifting toward higher-value responsibilities.

In the next 3–5 years, 66% of leaders expect the role to shift focus towards candidate engagement and experience, while 60% see them taking on strategic tasks like data analysis and process optimization. Automation is enabling this shift by streamlining routine workflows, allowing coordinators to focus on creating personalized and impactful candidate experiences.

To thrive, organizations must invest in upskilling recruiting coordinators to align with the evolving demands of the current talent market. Rather than being phased out, RCs are becoming key drivers of modern talent acquisition strategies, shifting from primarily logistical tasks to balancing technological proficiency with interpersonal expertise. As automation streamlines repetitive tasks, recruiting coordinators will play a critical role in creating personalized and impactful candidate experiences, bridging technology and human connection to deliver competitive results.

"I foresee talent acquisition really uplifting, so they're not going to be recruiters, sourcers, and coordinators, but more of like talent advisors. Everyone's going to be saying, ‘hey, here's how to hire, here's the strategy, here's what we need to do, here's how we do it’ versus ‘Great, hiring manager, I will go find this for you.’"

Megan Hennessy

Former Global Senior Talent Leader | Meta

Improving candidate and interviewer experience
through automation

Candidate experience remains a critical focus for talent acquisition teams in 2025, as is shown in many of the responses throughout this report. Transparency, efficiency, and speed are essential for organizations competing to attract and retain top talent.

With speed a shared priority for hiring teams and candidates—and interview cancellations and reschedules cited as a leading bottleneck—automation in scheduling has become indispensable. By automating and streamlining scheduling workflows, organizations can meet candidate expectations for a fast and seamless process—gaining a critical edge in the race for top talent.

"When you’re hiring candidates, speed is critical. Really good candidates often have multiple offers, so we have to be quick. Reducing time-to-schedule ensures we’re able to hire the candidates that we really want and stay competitive."

Bastian Müller

Global Head of Talent Acquisition | OLX

GoodTime’s Candidate Portal and Interviewer Portal help forward-thinking talent teams orchestrate better hiring experiences for everyone.

Learn more

The hiring metrics that
matter most

As talent acquisition leaders refine their strategies for 2025, a clear emphasis has emerged on metrics that balance quality with efficiency. Topping the list of metrics measured by companies is “quality of hire,” cited by 46% of respondents as a key focus area. Not only does this metric provide a direct measure of the success of a hire, but it also aligns with broader organizational goals around performance and retention.

Efficiency-focused metrics like time-to-hire (42%) and offer acceptance rate (40%) also ranked highly, underscoring the need for streamlined processes that balance speed with precision. These metrics capture the dual priorities facing today’s talent acquisition teams: securing top candidates quickly while maintaining rigorous standards for quality and fit.

Closely linked to quality, candidate interview experience ranked second for most important metrics, reflecting the growing recognition that a seamless and positive hiring process directly influences hiring outcomes. From reducing drop-off rates to improving offer acceptance, prioritizing interview experience is no longer just a nice-to-have—it’s a competitive necessity. As explored earlier in this section, strategies like efficient scheduling, transparent communication, and personalized touchpoints are critical levers for success.

Looking ahead, the challenge for TA teams will be finding ways to integrate these metrics into actionable insights. With technology and AI continuing to shape the hiring landscape, teams must leverage these tools to measure and optimize their efforts in real-time, ensuring they stay ahead in the race for talent.

"Knowledge is powerful. Do you know how many interviews you schedule in a week or a month, how high your decline rates are, and how that compares to other business lanes in your company?

Knowing these things is the first step to helping your team work more efficiently."

Jennifer Walker

Global Recruiting Coordination Manager | Hubspot

How do you measure quality of hire?

While “quality of hire” topped the list of metrics measured by talent acquisition leaders, many organizations still face challenges in standardizing how to assess this critical success indicator. Measuring quality of hire requires a multifaceted approach, as it reflects both short-term performance and long-term employee impact.

Common ways companies measure quality of hire include:

New hire performance evaluations:

Regular assessments at 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year.

Retention rates:

Tracking the percentage of new hires who remain with the company beyond their first year.

Hiring manager satisfaction scores:

Collecting feedback from hiring managers on new hire effectiveness and readiness.

Candidate experience surveys:

Evaluating the new hire’s perspective on the recruitment process and how well the role matches expectations.

Cultural fit assessments:

Measuring how well new hires align with company values and culture.

By adopting a blended scorecard approach that evaluates multiple post-hire outcomes, organizations can gain a more comprehensive and data-driven understanding of hiring success. This shift toward quality metrics ensures a stronger alignment between hiring decisions and long-term business performance.

Introduction & executive summary

2024’s hiring challenges and lessons learned

Winning top talent in 2025

What top-performing TA teams do differently

Enterprise in focus

Sectors in focus

Final thoughts & appendix

Winning top talent in 2025

2025’s top challengesand changes

AI and automation: The cornerstone of 2025’s hiring strategies

Sector

Top focus area for 2025

Talent acquisition team transformation and the evolving role of recruiting coordinators

Improving candidate and interviewer experiencethrough automation

The hiring metrics that matter most

How do you measure quality of hire?

Table of Contents

2025’s top challenges
and changes

Improving candidate and interviewer experience
through automation

The hiring metrics that
matter most