The 2017 State of Sourcing Survey went beyond recruiters and sourcers and surveyed leadership. Over 27.5 percent of this year’s survey respondents (more than double the participants from 2016) were in a sourcing leadership (manager or above) position. We thought it was important to include candidate experience in this category. The majority of survey respondents found that it is our responsibility as sourcers to provide a superior candidate experience.
This survey also took a look at the metrics that are used to track a sourcer’s performance. There was little change from 2016. Number of placements/hires (68 percent) led the pack, followed by number of qualified candidates submitted to the business (59 percent) and candidates interviewed by hiring managers (57 percent). Email conversation rates (24 percent) was the least tracked and measured metric by leadership, again this was similar to our 2016 results.
This year, we asked leadership, what keeps them up at night. Tight deadlines and unrealistic expectations, followed by the lack time for your team to source candidates is keeping leadership up and night. We asked the same question to sourcers and recruiters. Tight deadlines and unrealistic expectations are the leading issues for practitioners, followed closely by that aging requisition. In a distant third, was the lack time for your team to source candidates.
The survey closed with a general employment satisfaction check. Overall, the majority of sourcers are currently happy with their job. Also noted in the survey, was the increasing trust in artificial intelligence and robotics. While full automation and intelligence still rank low (don’t worry, leadership is not looking to replace anyone soon), a happy medium between AI and sourcing ranked slightly higher than the belief that humans will do always do it better. The majority of leaders also indicated that they plan on investing the most in AI in 2018, followed by talent community solutions.
