HR Technology Solution Review: Indeed Smart Sourcing

In the 20+ years we’ve been working in HR and with HR technology solutions, we’ve seen almost impossible to believe advances in technology capabilities, a revolution in software delivery methods, a seismic shift (for the good) in user experience and design, and the development of fully mobile, smartphone-driven solutions. Now, the next wave of innovation is underway with the application of new and exciting Artificial Intelligence technologies.

Compare the HR and recruiting technologies of 2024 with what was generally available in 2004 and you’d likely, and correctly, conclude that, quite literally, everything is better and more capable today. Today’s solutions have the potential to make hiring easier, and can help organizations address their most important “people” challenges in more efficient and effective ways than ever before.

However despite the millions of dollars invested in research and development of HR and recruiting technologies, organizations can still struggle with perhaps the most fundamental challenge – finding, attracting, and hiring the best candidates. After all, without the right people in place, no organization can deliver on its most critical initiatives, support its customers, and build a thriving organization for the long term.

Since the hiring process still presents such significant challenges, with recent data showing that it can take as long as 54 days to fill an open position. And according to Harris Poll Data, the majority (63%) of hiring managers have reached out to candidates who are not the right fit for reasons that could be avoided, such as location, salary, or experience level. With many jobs attracting hundreds of candidates for the organization to review, talent professionals need to continue to explore ways to identify qualified candidates and engage them more efficiently. But as we will see, new innovations in technology continue to adapt to help organizations with the challenge.

The H3 HR Advisors team recently met with leaders at Indeed, the world’s #1 job site and leading hiring platform, to review their latest innovations designed to help organizations find the best candidates faster and to help candidates get matched to opportunities that best fit their skills, experiences and interests. Indeed’s new Smart Sourcing solution is designed to address the two most fundamental complaints and pain points in hiring – that for organizations, hiring quality talent can be inefficient and slow, and for candidates, finding a job can be a difficult and frustrating experience. The Smart Sourcing solution represents a significant step forward for everyone involved – organizations, recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates.

How does Smart Sourcing deliver on the promise of making hiring better, faster, and more engaging?

Let’s look at how some of the key capabilities of the new solution make for a better, faster, and more efficient hiring process.

First, for employers, Smart Sourcing creates a dynamic list of matched, active candidates for their open roles, regardless of where they initially posted the job. The recruiter receives the top candidate matches automatically based on the job requirements, accelerating the process and eliminating much of the pain of sourcing/searching for potential candidates.

Second, Indeed makes it easier to review and evaluate matched candidates by providing new AI-powered candidate summaries explaining why a candidate is a suitable match for the role.

Third, Indeed Smart Messaging provides an AI-assisted outreach tool that helps generate custom messaging based on the candidate’s resume and the job description. This reduces the time and effort required to contact candidates and increases their likelihood of engaging in the hiring and communication process. Smart Sourcing also lets employers set up video and phone interviews directly through Indeed’s platform.

Lastly the combination of Smart Sourcing and enhancements to the Indeed Profile solves job seekers’ pain points with AI-powered matching technology. Job seekers will benefit from having their profiles recommended to employers for open roles that meet their experience, skills, qualifications, and preferences.

A Deeper Dive into Smart Sourcing

Breaking down these new capabilities in Indeed’s Smart Sourcing tool, several key benefits exist for employers and for job seekers. First, Smart Sourcing is built to leverage the vast Indeed data set. With access to nearly 300 million workers using resumes and profiles on Indeed, Smart Sourcing is uniquely positioned to help organizations surface candidates who are both qualified for the role and are actively engaged in the hiring process.

AI-powered Candidate Highlights

However having access to a vast set of candidate profiles can sometimes be challenging for employers and time-consuming for them to review. In fact, data shows that it takes hiring managers an average of 13 hours per role to source enough quality candidates to lead to a hire. Even after spending that much time sourcing, hiring managers are often pressed for time to begin the process of candidate outreach and messaging. Smart Sourcing helps with both issues. First, it automatically matches employers with quality candidates that fit the job requirements; AI-powered Candidate Highlights share a summary of the candidate’s qualifications, saving time for the recruiter or hiring manager on resume screening. Plus, hiring managers can invite matched candidates to apply for the role, which research shows makes candidates 17x more likely to apply than candidates who only see the open job via search.

Candidate Highlights can also surface candidates for consideration that traditional resume or profile reviews may have overlooked. For instance, if the job description asks for five years of related experience and the candidate only has four, it will share insight on why that one year may be negligible and the person should not be screened out.

Or, if the job description asks for a college degree, but the job can be performed by a candidate who does not have one, the summary will indicate why the candidate should still be considered based on their skills and experience.

Finally, Smart Sourcing helps hiring managers engage with candidates by providing AI-powered customizable outreach and messaging based on the job requirements and a candidate’s qualifications – making it more likely that “best-fit” candidates will be open to opportunities at the organization.

Summary: Improving Hiring for Employers and Candidates

All organizations should be motivated to improve an inefficient, inaccurate, impersonal, and non-inclusive hiring process.  Indeed is committed to making hiring faster, simpler, and more human for job seekers and employers, and the Smart Sourcing toolset is a new, innovative step towards that goal.

You can learn more about Indeed Smart Sourcing here.