Good morning!
Hiring has been slowing recently, as the total number of job openings in April fell to 8.06 million, the lowest rate in three years, according to government data released earlier this week.
In the past, that would have spelled trouble for recruiters, whose job safety was largely dependent on the whims of their company’s hiring cadence. During times of growth, HR teams bulk up on recruiting personnel, and when things slow down, those same recruiters are among the first employees to get laid off.
But HR leaders now say they’re reenvisioning the role of the recruiter, according to a survey of more than 2,000 CHROs and chief people officers based in the U.S., U.K., and France from iCIMS, an HR and recruiting software company. Around 90% of CHROs surveyed see the role of the recruiter morphing into a strategic talent advisor to the business. Around half of respondents say this transition is already happening, while another 44% say they believe it will happen in the future.
In many ways, recruiters' essential roles are already building blocks for higher-level work, says Laura Coccaro, chief people officer at iCIMS. They have to be very familiar with the job market and understand what candidates are looking for and what skills current job seekers possess. They also need to understand the inner workings of the business and what hiring managers are looking for. And they must make sure both the candidate and company’s experience during the hiring process goes smoothly.
“The role [of the recruiter] itself now demands just a different, well-rounded view of what's happening in the market,” says Coccaro.
Those skills make it easy for recruiters to transition into the talent strategy role, which involves keeping up with the ever-changing hiring landscape, focusing on internal mobility, and reskilling or upskilling workers for AI. Around 56% of CHROs spend more time focused on talent acquisition today than they did two years ago, and 86% say internal mobility is a top priority for their organization this year.
“We're in this sort of post-COVID world, and post Great Resignation,” says Coccaro. “[Recruiters] need to be the outside-in perspective, in terms of talent, availability, skill sets that are required, reskilling, upskilling, [and] using AI in terms of looking at it as a way to do their functions and jobs, and as a strategic investment.”
Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion
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Today's edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.
