Less than one-tenth of organizations are highly satisfied with the recruiting process, according to Allegis Group’s state of recruiting report, released today. The report, “Staying in Front: An Inside Look at the Changing Dynamics of Talent Acquisition,” gauges the satisfaction of companies across key talent acquisition practice areas, as well as stakeholder views on major trends. It found only 7.7% of employers strongly agree their recruitment process enables them to fill open positions quickly, attract top-quality talent and optimize costs.

Although a large majority of employers reported less-than-optimal satisfaction with their recruitment process, the report also found many appear to be fueling their own talent shortages by creating a communication disconnect with talent acquisition professionals, as well as other shortfalls affecting employee hiring and retention.

Recruitment challenges highlighted in the report include:

• Mismatched expectations for “turnkey hires” driving qualified candidates away. Only 28% of hiring managers at companies expect a perfect match – candidates that arrive fully equipped with necessary skills and experience. Yet, 50% of the talent acquisition professionals they work with, and 53% of candidates, think full qualifications must be met.
• Sourcing channels fall short of expectations. The majority of talent organizations were, on average, 67% less likely than “most satisfied” employers to rate a sourcing channel as “very effective.” The top channels preferred — rating of “very effective” — by those “most satisfied” employers, include: referral programs at 71%, recruitment/staffing firms at 59%, and social media at 59%.
• Faulty screening process leaving companies behind. “Most satisfied” employers are 78% more likely than others to clearly communicate their top three skills requirements and have recruiters understand them.
• Digital assessment tools established, evolving. Candidates, hiring managers and talent acquisition professionals all agree that tests for culture fit, cognitive abilities and personality are effective. More recent developments, such as mobile matching systems and game-based assessments, both rated effective by 60% of hiring managers, are slightly lower on the list but are expected to rise as stakeholders gain more exposure.
• Poor onboarding sends new hires to the exits. Of surveyed candidates, 54% were “somewhat” or “very likely” to leave an organization based on a poor onboarding experience. When it comes to readiness for a new hire’s first day — encompassing introductions to teammates and key stakeholders, manager meetings, and facility tours — more than 70% of hiring managers say they “always” cover these activities, yet only 23% to 50% of candidates agree.
• Poor hiring experience causes adverse ripple effect. Fifty-six percent of candidates are “somewhat” or “very likely” to discourage others from applying if they had a poor hiring experience. On the other hand, 81% said they would encourage others if the process were a positive one.

The report also provided industry insight into the status of emerging trends.

• Artificial intelligence: Progress is being made in setting the right foundations for AI use; 25% of employers cited significant progress harnessing the power of data and analytics and 23% cited significant progress investing in innovation and R&D. However, only about 13% of employers are leveraging AI for talent acquisition and management, with 14% identifying roles and activities to automate using AI technology.
• Diversity and inclusion strategy: Forty-four percent of employers reported D&I as a top priority for the business. However, only 27% say they have a well-researched and understood strategy in place.
• Recruiting millennials: Only 31% of employers report significant progress in their approach to recruiting Millennials. Employers reporting they are “most satisfied” with the recruiting process are more than twice as likely to have identified Millennial recruitment as a top priority, with 28% more likely to have defined success for recruitment strategies.

“Based on our experience addressing talent needs for companies around the world, we know there is no such thing as ‘just good enough’ recruiting,” said Allegis Group President Andy Hilger. “The market has grown increasingly competitive across many skill sets, particularly in the professional and technical arenas. Best-in-class recruitment must be a priority.”

The survey included 1,497 employers and talent acquisition professionals, as well 5,333 candidates worldwide. It was conducted at the end of June and through July.