Tom Leeper from Sevenstep opened with a keynote on various issues including the struggles of gender pay gaps, demanding return-to-work policies, the invalidation of non-compete clauses, and the impact AI is already having on TA. He noted many tech layoffs were concentrated in a few companies and predicted the upcoming election might temporarily slow hiring.
Diversity and inclusion discussions highlighted that increasing overall hiring is the simplest way to boost diversity. With decreased hiring volumes, organizations must pivot D&I strategies. Discussions focused on designing a Talent Acquisition dashboard. Crucial features included hiring challenge heat maps, market sentiment insights, and visibility into internal talent pools and hiring priorities.
Kevin Poll from WorkLLama underscored the growing trend of candidate ghosting, highlighting the importance of fostering talent communities over simply maintaining candidate pools. Participants advocated for improved job descriptions, pay transparency, and clear communication of benefits to enhance the application and onboarding experience.
The concluding panel predicted that AI and automation will continue to reshape the recruitment landscape. They emphasized the importance of strong talent acquisition functions and expressed optimism about its evolving role in organizations.
