Reactive Hiring Isn’t Enough
consider their TA approach world-class
Did you know?
Finding the Right Candidates
say lack of candidates with critical skills is a top challenge
AI in TA
say AI will be used to write job descriptions
HR Research Institute Research Report and Infographic - April 2025
HR.com's Future of Talent Acquisition 2025
Optimize your talent acquisition strategy for greater efficiency and success
Taken as a whole, talent acquisition strategies continue to advance, yet most organizations still lag behind the state of the art. In fact, about half (51%) still depend on reactive, just-in-time hiring—missing opportunities to plan ahead and recruit top talent. Only 5% rate their TA function as world-class, revealing a major gap between aspiration and execution. Download the full report to know more about the state of TA today.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary Transforming and Advancing Hiring Strategy Turning Talent Strategy into Action Talent Acquisition Challenges and Strategic Alignment Key Metrics for Talent Acquisition Success Maximizing Technology Adoption in Talent Acquisition Key Trends in Talent Acquisition Technology Key Takeaways
HR.com’s Future of Talent Acquisition 2025
Executive Summary
Taken as a whole, talent acquisition strategies continue to advance, yet most organizations still lag behind the state of the art. In fact, about half (51%) still depend on reactive, just-in-time hiring—missing opportunities to plan ahead and recruit top talent. Only 5% rate their TA function as world-class, revealing a major gap between aspiration and execution.
Despite this, talent acquisition remains a key priority for HR, with 46% of organizations ranking it among their top three priorities. Goals such as building a strong talent pipeline (63%) and improving employer branding (55%) are central to these efforts. However, 53% of organizations struggle with a lack of skilled candidates, and 51% continue to face the challenges of reactive hiring. A mismatch between hiring needs and available resources further complicates matters, with only 30% planning to increase their TA budget.
Organizations predominantly rely on a few TA tools, with 73% using applicant tracking systems (ATS) and 70% using job boards. However, AI and predictive analytics are expected to play a transformative role in the coming years, with 58% of organizations anticipating AI’s utility in writing job descriptions and 53% planning to use chatbots for candidate engagement. Despite some interest in new tools, 54% of organizations plan to buy no new TA technologies in the next year.
This research report, based on a longitudinal and in-depth examination of talent acquisition, aims to help readers better understand these challenges by examining:
- Differences between TA leaders and laggards in strategic alignment and tool integration, highlighting how leading organizations outperform laggards in improving talent acquisition practices
- Challenges in talent acquisition and workforce planning
- Prioritization of talent acquisition in HR functions
- Use of talent acquisition technologies and metrics
- Impact of AI and predictive analytics on talent acquisition
- Consolidation and adoption of new TA tools
To offer you a succinct overview of the report's contents, we have distilled the key findings below.
Our Major Research Findings
1. Most organizations rely on reactive hiring, with few achieving world-class talent acquisition.
- 51% of organizations rely on a just-in-time hiring approach, reflecting a reactive strategy rather than proactive workforce planning.
- 37% describe their TA function as advanced, indicating structured processes but with room for improvement.
- Only 5% consider their TA approach world-class, highlighting a gap in strategic, forward-thinking hiring practices.
- However, when compared to competitors, a majority (42%) of organizations believe their TA capabilities are above average, while 10% rate them as top-notch.
2. Nearly half of organizations rank talent acquisition among their top HR priorities.
- A quarter (26%) of organizations place talent acquisition in their top three HR priorities, while 20% consider it the most important HR-related priority.
- A strong talent pipeline is a key goal for 63% of organizations, followed by employer branding (55%) and candidate experience (49%).
3. The lack of candidates with the required skills or experience is the top challenge in talent acquisition.
- The top challenges to TA are:
- Lack of candidates with required skills or experience (53%)
- Just-in-time, reactive hiring approach (51%)
- Compensation, total rewards below market rate (42%)
- Further, there is a mismatch between the anticipated increase in hiring needs (56%) and the associated increase in budget (30%) and TA headcount (24%).
Transforming and Advancing Hiring Strategy
Finding: Just-in-time hiring dominates talent acquisition strategies
We asked respondents where they would place their organization’s TA function on the HR Research Institute’s TA maturity model (shown below). About half of organizations (51%) rely on a just-in-time talent acquisition approach, reflecting a reactive hiring strategy rather than proactive workforce planning. Another 37% describe their talent function as advanced, indicating structured processes with room for improvement. Only 5% consider their approach world-class, highlighting a gap in strategic, forward-thinking hiring practices.
Meanwhile, another 5% experience chaotic recruitment, and 2% report a nonexistent talent acquisition function, signaling significant challenges in attracting and retaining talent. Strengthening workforce planning, leveraging technology, and addressing inefficiencies can help organizations transition toward a more strategic and effective hiring approach.
HRRI Talent Acquisition Maturity Model
- Nonexistent: No dedicated hiring processes and/or technologies
- Chaotic: Poorly defined and unstandardized hiring processes and/or technologies
- Just-in-time: Defined but basic, reactive and tactical hiring processes and/or technologies
- Advanced: Strategically aligned and effective hiring processes and technologies
- World-class: Hiring processes and technologies are highly refined, proactive, and directly contribute to business success
Talent Acquisition cohort classification
To understand what differentiates organizations with more mature TA functions from others, we divided the respondents into two cohorts:
- TA leader organizations (TA leaders) are those who answered the question “Which of the following statements best describe the talent acquisition function within your organization?” as “advanced” or “world-class.”
- TA laggard organizations (TA laggards) are those who answered the same question as “non-existent,” “chaotic,” or “just-in-time.”
Throughout the report, we note significant differences between TA leaders and laggards. Of course, correlation is not the same as causation. We cannot say with certainty that a particular practice will result in better performance. The data, however, reveals interesting patterns about possible best practices.
Finding: There has been a dramatic improvement in TA maturity over the last year
We asked a version of this question in our talent acquisition survey since 2021. The number of respondents who said their TA function is at a higher aHowever, it is encouraging to see a major improvement in the maturity level of TA over the last year. This sharp increase suggests that organizations are investing in improving their recruitment processes, possibly through better technology adoption, workforce planning, or talent management strategies. It is also possible that the use of AI in recruitment has automated a lot of administrative tasks freeing up time for strategic initiatives.
Finding: About half of respondents believe their TA capabilities are above average or top-notch in comparison to their direct competitors
A majority of organizations perceive their talent acquisition capabilities as either above average (42%) or average (39%) compared to direct competitors, suggesting a general confidence in hiring processes. Only 10% consider their talent acquisition top-notch, indicating room for improvement in reaching an elite level.
Meanwhile, 6% rate their capabilities as below average, and 2% as well below average, highlighting a small but important segment struggling to compete for talent. Organizations aiming for a competitive edge may need to refine their recruitment strategies, invest in technology, and enhance employer branding to move from average to top-tier hiring performance.
Differences based on organization size
Large (51%) and midsize (52%) organizations are more likely than small organizations (43%) to rate their TA capabilities as top-notch or above average. This could be due to a greater need in midsize and larger organizations to hire more people than in smaller organizations.
For the purpose of this report, large organizations have 1,000 or more employees, midsized organizations have 100 to 999 employees, and small organizations have 99 or fewer employees.
HRRI Strategic Recommendations
Based on our research, please consider these suggestions:
- Adopt proactive hiring: Focus on long-term workforce planning instead of just-in-time hiring.
- Leverage technology: Use AI and automation to streamline recruitment processes.
- Enhance employer branding: Promote a positive company culture to attract top talent.
- Refine recruitment strategies: Continuously assess and improve hiring practices.
- Invest in team development: Provide regular training to keep the talent acquisition team up-to-date.
Meet Our Expert Advisory Board Members
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