Our survey finds hiring is easier, better, faster, stronger with AI
Workable's AI in Hiring & Work survey finds that 89.6% of hiring team members have a faster time to fill when using AI in the hiring process, and another 77.9% say it's made the process cheaper as well. This is an excerpt from our AI in Hiring and Work survey report, based on responses from 950 hiring managers in the US and UK. Visit here to download the report in full.
We know how AI tools are being used in hiring (in short: it’s a lot, but rather concentrated in talent identification) and how much human involvement there is (in short: the machines are far from taking over).
Now, let’s look at the benefits of introducing new tools, technologies, and tactics into the recruitment process.
According to our survey on AI in hiring, there are three distinct benefits that come to mind when looking at ways to optimize the hiring process:
- the time it takes to fill a role
- the time invested by the hiring team in doing so
- and finally, the actual cost of the process itself.
We separated those out into three questions in our survey. Let’s look at the results for each now.
The time to fill
First, the speed of the actual hiring process – the Time to Fill – is one of the most common metrics in the recruitment playbook.
The data is resounding – 89.6% say AI has either significantly or somewhat sped up the time from a job being posted to the signing of a job offer.
Only 7.7% say it didn’t make a difference whatsoever.
A mere 1.6% say it actually slowed down the process.
The time invested in hiring
As for time invested by the hiring team in the process, the response is again resoundingly positive, with 85.3% saying it did increase it by a lot or a little.
One in nine (10.8%), however, say it made no change.
Again, a very small amount (2.7%) say AI led to teams spending more time on hiring.
The cost of the hiring process
In terms of cost, one in three (32.7%) say there are significant cost savings with the integration of AI in hiring.
Another 45.2% say there are moderate cost savings. Put together, this totals 77.9% of all respondents saying AI helped them save money in the process.
Another 15.4% say there is minimal or no change in cost savings.
The industry lens: the time to fill
Now let’s look at how the numbers differ by industry – in this case, we have seven major industries who responded to our survey.
Those in Construction (60%) and Retail (58.2%) say their Time to Fill was sped up significantly – much higher than the overall 44.2%.
IT / Technology / SaaS is tops among the seven industries when combining the “significant” or “somewhat” acceleration in Time to Fill (91.3%), just a touch higher than the overall baseline of 89.6%.
The industry lens: the time invested in hiring
In terms of reducing the time invested in the recruitment process, Construction (56%, 14 points higher than the overall) is by and far the leader in seeing significant benefit in this area.
When combining “significant” and “somewhat” answers, Construction again leads with 90.7% vs. the overall 85.3%, while Education (88.4%) and IT / Technology / SaaS (87.3%) are second and third.
Healthcare is most likely to say there’s no change (14.7%, vs. 10.8% overall), and even considering the small percentage who say they’re spending more time on hiring, 4.5% of those in Retail significantly exceeds the overall of 2.7%.
The industry lens: the cost of hiring
Regarding cost savings – again, the trend continues with 48% of Construction seeing significant savings with AI in hiring compared with 32.7% overall.
IT / Technology / SaaS also see either moderate or significant cost savings at 85.4% compared with 77.9% overall.
Education (26% compared with 15.4% overall) and Manufacturing (20.8%) see only minimal or no cost savings when using AI in hiring.
Frequently asked questions
- How does AI impact the time it takes to fill a position?
- AI significantly accelerates the hiring process, with 89.6% of respondents noting a reduction in time from job posting to acceptance.
- Does AI reduce the workload for hiring teams?
- Yes, 85.3% of professionals observed AI increasing efficiency, allowing teams to invest less time in the hiring process.
- Can AI lead to cost savings in recruitment?
- Indeed, 77.9% of users reported cost reductions due to AI integration, highlighting its financial benefits in talent acquisition.
- Do industries experience different benefits from AI in hiring?
- Yes, sectors like Construction and IT notably benefit more in terms of quicker hiring times and cost savings compared to others.
- Is there any negative feedback on AI's role in hiring?
- A minimal number of respondents indicated no change or a slowdown in processes due to AI, underscoring its overwhelmingly positive impact.
