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What do you see as the biggest challenge for 2025?

To attract and retain talent in an organization, employers must face many issues. On one hand, we hear signals about layoffs and many available candidates, while on the other hand, companies report difficulties in filling positions. What are the reasons for this?

1. Changing requirements for hard skills and increasing importance of soft skills. The current times are described as VUCA/BANI, meaning they are volatile, uncertain, and less predictable. This means organizations are focusing on employees who are more flexible, willing to learn, and adapt to changes, including technological changes and AI. Lesson & Learn has shown that soft skills and so-called future skills, rather than just hard skills, provide a competitive advantage to companies, affecting performance and turnover. Therefore, organizations identify such talents within the organization and develop them, ensuring their retention. At the recruitment level, this means a greater focus on verifying future skills, attitudes, and values.
2. Another challenge is the competition for the same talents between recruiting companies and employers wanting to retain talents in the company. Candidates, feeling uncertain in the job market where layoffs occur even in companies considered "developing and stable sectors" like global IT firms and automotive companies, as well as stabilized salaries not offering visible salary increase and back to office request, make candidates less willing to engage in recruitment processes.
3. Generations and their different requirements. Older generations increasingly have the option to remain in the organization even after retirement, while younger generations are starting work while combining it with studies. This results in a large diversity of generations in the job market and working in the same organization. It differentiates communication methods, benefit needs, and expectations of employers and future employers.
4. All of the above influences a shift from a quantitative to a qualitative approach to recruitment. It may force the verification of previously established recruitment process evaluation indicators, and even correlate them with other indicators used in HR.
5. Challenges for companies are also connected with the need of EU ESG regulations and need of implementation salary transparency regulations by 2026. Salary gaps, salary ranges, way of reporting to the proper office is the topic in EU.

Where do recruitment organisations need to improve on the corporate side?

1. Technology and tools – the focus should be on technology and automation of processes, including AI. Investment in technology is crucial for making the recruitment process efficient. ATS systems that only track steps and secure data are not enough. Having tools that support Talent Acquisition teams in their daily tasks and free up their time for more strategic topics, such as engaging with candidates who may then be more involved in the process, and building relationships with stakeholders and hiring managers, is the key to success in the fight for talent.
2. People Analytics - Examine what we measure and whether it truly reflects the specifics of our organization and provides the knowledge we need. Evaluate whether our HR metrics, including recruitment metrics, are well set. In current times, the quantity of applications for a job offer might be a less important metric compared to assessing the quality of recruitment through the use of a recruitment funnel and verifying the quality of the process by correlating it with other HR metrics such as performance, retention, and training effectiveness.
3. Competency Mapping and Internal Recruitment/Mobility Programs- Creating a competency map of existing employees allows for a better understanding of the skills available within the organization and leveraging them before initiating external recruitment. This involves looking beyond the roles employees currently perform. Consider competencies they may not use at work but possess, such as organizational or leadership skills gained through volunteer work, previous experience with other technologies (e.g., working on AWS cloud but having experience with other solutions), or foreign languages not required in their daily tasks. Additionally, identify where an employee shows potential, what skills could be successfully developed, and what soft skills they have. Understand their motivations and willingness to grow. A competency map can be used for internal recruitment. For instance, LinkedIn allows searching for candidates not only from external companies but also suggests potential candidates within the organization. Internal competency map could provide more comprehensive information. This approach is not about fostering uncontrolled internal competition but about retaining talent within the organization and effectively managing internal potential before seeking external candidates. It helps maintain vacancies and acquire only those skills from the external market that are genuinely lacking. The role of Talent Acquisition teams in this process is crucial and essential.
4. Programs Supporting Recruitment - I have often heard during recruitment, a candidate mentions that they have seen the offer on the job board or company's website and found it interesting, but decided to apply after receiving a recommendation from company's employee. This could be recommendation from friend working at the company or employees who share insights about the company from their personal perspective. Employee advocacy programs and internal referral programs are currently invaluable.

What should recruiters focus on in 2025?

1. Talent acquisition teams should focus on how to attract and select candidates who are the best fit for the company, including in terms of culture fit and future competencies, as well as soft skills. More focus on soft skills, future skills using selection technics like but not limited to behavioral based interviews and recruitment tasks.
2. Additionally, reshaping the interview agenda to make sure all aspects has been verified without adding additional hours of interviews and without excessively lengthening or complicating it, as candidates may drop out of the process.
3. Wider group of candidates, more proactive approach - another focus area is reaching candidates who have not always been present in recruitment, such as juniors, candidates aged 50+, individuals requiring relocation, and internal candidates.
4. A new approach requires collaboration and education of hiring managers. Giving them insights about trends and challenges and also ideas how to face challenges influence their commitment and impact the success of recruiting.
5. Next bullet on Talent Acquisition teams`s agenda is to focus what and how to measure recruitment effectiveness and optimize the process. Verifying existing metrics, drop and establish new if required. Pressure on recruitment efficiency and spending recruitment budget in the way it brings measurable value to the business (investment return).
6. Acquiring knowledge in AI, learning to use AI, and enhancing competencies in this area are crucial. Practicing skills, including soft skills, constant learning and being up to date with trends.
7. Very important is to take care of personal well-being to prevent burnout, which is becoming more common in Talent Acquisition teams.

What is your opinion on AI? Is it taking away from recruiters' jobs? Where can you add value in recruitment selection?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic nowadays, frequently discussed not only in webinars and conferences but also during chats in offices. The number of job postings related to AI shows that companies have decided to use it and are seeing business results. AI is now part of our reality, including in recruitment. I don't believe AI will take jobs away from Talent Acquisition departments. Rather, it serves as a tool that assists with daily tasks. AI is effective in handling simple, repetitive parts of processes—areas that recruiters are happy to delegate because they require manual, monotonous work. This frees up time for what's important: engaging with candidates and focusing on more strategic activities. AI-powered platforms and ATS systems can help recruiters search through vast amounts of CVs and assess candidates based on specific criteria defined by humans, supporting analytics and trend analysis. However, humans will still oversee the process, ensuring ethical and legal compliance. AI can aid in communication with candidates, creating engaging content, and speeding up responses. Analytics will also be easier thanks to AI. At this stage, issues of ethics, data security, and numerous errors remain to be addressed. Humans are still better at typical "human skills" and handling uncertain situations. Human contact will remain crucial in recruitment, especially for building relationships and trust. Nonetheless, Talent Acquisition specialists will need to embrace AI as part of their work, viewing it as an ally that helps streamline processes and make better decisions. The key will be finding the right balance between automation and the personal touch that candidates appreciate, as well as learning and developing AI-related skills within Talent Acquisition teams.

What economic outlook do you see for 2025? What are your expectations for the intellectual labour market?

Everyone is waiting for stabilization or even rapid growth in the European market after years of layoffs and budget cuts. This would be great however in my opinion a more realistic approach is that economic uncertainty will continue. Companies will be verified if they adapt and learned from the past. Winners have learned, and be prepared by recruiting the right candidates, focusing on future skills, learning and adapting skills, using technology, and understanding that challenges are part of our lives. Not forgetting about candidates and their needs, preparing proper offer for attracting talented candidates to make them interested in the brand. We can expect continuing layoffs in some industries but also growth and new openings in others. Costs, budgets, and return on investments—these words will be heard daily, and decision-making will need to be data-driven and focused on return on investment, including the human aspect. New generations are questioning formal education and existing ways of working. Working part-time, workations, sabbatical holidays, and more flexibility in career paths will become more common. On the other hand, this can be an opportunity for companies that adapt and change in the areas of recruitment, development, and management of people in their organizations. The intellectual labor market will focus on those who are curious, gaining new skills, improving soft skills, cooperating, sharing ideas and knowledge throughout the organization, and communicating clearly and effectively. For many managers, the next few years will be more demanding due to increased diversity in their teams and the need to change their role, becoming more leaders than managers dispatching tasks and cultivating a hierarchical way of working.

Thank you for the answers Karolina Czemerys, the Recruitment Manager of Raiffeisen Tech!