During our recent webinar with industry experts Ani Sapru from Gem, Allison Slater Rasch from Growth by Design Talent, and Nicole Hirsch from Lattice, we explored the survey results from 200+ TA Leaders featured in our recent “The state of Talent Acquisition in 2025: The efficiency report” and how teams navigate new tech and operational challenges in the current state of recruiting.
Bridging the gap between growth plans and team capacity
The data reveals a disconnect in today's hiring environment. While 87% of companies plan to grow headcount this year, 39% of recruiting teams expect to stay flat or shrink. This "efficiency imperative" is forcing teams to rethink their operations.
“Hiring demand is starting to go up, But the resources, the headcount that is required sometimes to do that hiring isn't necessarily growing at the same pace.” - Ani Sapru, Gem
The solution’s clear: building flexibility into recruiting operations through outsourcing, contractors, and most importantly, more innovative use of technology and AI.
“Flat teams can actually be really successful if you build in some flexible resourcing, whether that's outsourcing, contractors, building a strong bench of external partners. You need the ability to flex up and down with the business, and I think that's really being put to the test in this environment.” - Allison Slater Rasch, Growth by Design Talent
The AI opportunity hiding in plain sight
Despite years of technological advancement, recruiting teams are plagued by time-consuming manual tasks and admin work. This challenge is closely followed by the struggle to build qualified talent pipelines and manage limited team capacity.
Teams are actively seeking solutions. Our report shows that 70% of TA teams rank AI & automation as their top priority first and 63% of TA leaders focus on upgrading their technology stack this year.
However, implementation remains challenging. Poor integrations between tools and technical complexity are creating friction, with many teams struggling to move beyond basic use cases like writing job descriptions and personalizing outreach messages.
The evolution of the recruiting role
One of the most thought-provoking discussions centered around team resistance to AI adoption. While teams reported some hesitancy from recruiters, the panelists emphasized that this represents an evolution rather than a threat.
"This is the evolution of the role of the recruiter. When you take off all of these manual tasks, it's gonna free you up to be a more strategic leader... you get to be focused on the things that humans do really well, which is making decisions, thinking about the candidate experience, building strong relationships with your hiring managers." - Allison Slater Rasch
Nicole shared a practical approach her team at Lattice has taken, creating rotational programs that allow recruiters to develop skills across different business areas while maintaining team flexibility during hiring fluctuations.
Starting small with AI implementation
Both experts emphasized a "crawl, walk, run" approach to AI adoption. Rather than attempting to transform entire workflows overnight, successful teams identify one to three key pain points and address them systematically.
"You know as an excellent recruiter that part of your ability to get good outcomes and go really fast is to have a really good kickoff... Now AI is the same thing, and I think that we have to go slow to go fast." - Nicole Hirsch, Lattice
The human-in-the-loop approach
While automation offers significant benefits, the discussion highlighted the continued importance of human judgment in recruiting processes. Nicole used a compelling analogy of car manufacturing exoskeletons that augment human capabilities rather than replacing them entirely.
While AI can handle scheduling coordination, application screening, and note-taking, this approach recognizes that strategic thinking, relationship building, and candidate experience still require human expertise.
“I think the thing that's missing as as companies are are thinking about this in general is the human in the loop because the human in the loop is what creates that really great experience for candidates. Right? They feel taken care of.” - Nicole Hirsch, Lattice
Building for the future of TA
The state of talent acquisition in 2025 is defined by the need to do more with less while maintaining quality outcomes. Teams that succeed will thoughtfully integrate AI and automation while investing in the fundamentals - structured interviewing, transparent processes, and strong hiring manager partnerships.
The technology landscape will continue evolving rapidly, but the core principle remains: choose solutions that solve your biggest pain points and enhance rather than complicate your existing workflows.
Ready to explore more of these insights? Watch the full on-demand recording of our “2025 TA trends revealed: How teams are navigating the efficiency mandate” webinar to hear more strategies from industry experts and view the research findings.
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