Can tech fix India’s hiring challenges?

The hiring scenario in India is facing more challenges than one. Technology solutions are being increasingly used to overcome these challenges. These challenges notwithstanding, there is a positive trajectory for diversity and inclusion in Indian hiring.

If a recent study by foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), India’s leading talent platform with over 7000 customers, is anything to go by, as high as 71.5 per cent of organisations are prioritizing diversity hiring. While gender diversity takes precedence, with 78 per cent of organizations setting goals, there’s a need for improvement in racial diversity (17per cent), LGBTQIA+ representation (12 per cent), and disability inclusion (10 per cent). In terms of recruitment methods, the survey indicates that third-party recruitment is the dominant method in India, constituting 49 per cent of all hiring. In comparison, direct recruitment stands at 39 per cent, and indirect methods like advertising make up 6 per cent.

There is actually a clear picture of the evolving recruitment landscape in India. Recruiters are using various tools and resources they need to succeed. Various cutting-edge technology solutions, anchored in four fundamental pillars - access to talent on and off the market, candidate profiles with Smart Insights, AI-powered Magic Search, and personalized solutions - are empowering recruiters with unparalleled agility and efficiency, ensuring superior hiring outcomes.

Now what are the key challenges, recruiters are facing? The main one, obviously, is finding the right candidate. Nearly 52.30 per cent of recruiters are facing this problem. This shows the ongoing difficulty in finding highly qualified individuals for job positions. Additionally, 40.23 per cent of recruiters face the challenge of managing competing job offers, indicating that the job market is highly competitive. Another concern for 33.33 per cent of recruiters is finding cost-effective ways to recruit, underlining the importance of using resources efficiently. While candidate engagement is not currently seen as a big challenge, there is an expected shift in focus for 2024, with concerns like insufficient workforce, time to hire, and cost of hire coming to the forefront.

When it comes to sourcing of candidates, 43.41 per cent of recruiters find it challenging to handle various sourcing platforms, emphasizing the complexity of managing diverse channels. Similarly, an equivalent percentage faces issues with irrelevant search results and in identifying candidates actively seeking employment, underscoring the need for a more efficient process. Besides, 42.31 per cent struggle with the impact of competing offers, reflecting the intensely competitive job market. Whereas 28.02 per cent of recruiters feel capturing candidate interest is a challenge, and 21.98 per cent feel candidate engagement is another challenge.

Then there are other challenges as well. For instance, in case of shortlisting of candidates, incorrect contact information and inadequate educational and professional details are top challenges. Shortlisting across platforms, filtering by skillset, and the time-consuming nature rank as additional hurdles. Similarly, in candidate engagement, the top challenge is managing communication across multiple platforms, underscoring the need for streamlined communication channels. Interestingly, recruiters and organisations need to be more technologically enabled to take up and overcome all these challenges, albeit with a personal touch and human face.