January: a perfect time to reflect, analyse, and decide what direction you want to go in the year ahead.
Well it would be, if you weren’t already buried under an overflowing inbox and a mountain of Q1 hiring plans that need to be started — yesterday.
Lucky for you, we peered into our crystal ball (and by crystal ball, we mean we chatted with eight experts in talent acquisition who were recently nominated for IHR’s “Best In-House Recruiter” award) and put together a cheat sheet of the four biggest talent acquisition trends for 2025.
Keep reading to find out:
- Why a focus on DEI will pay off (pun intended) for pay gaps and candidate experience
- Why you should level up your employer brand
- How your TA function can move away from a service role into a strategic partnership
- How we predict AI will shape TA in 2025 (hint: it might not be what you think)
Trend: Taking Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) further
Out: Using lukewarm DEI initiatives to make your company look better on brochures
In: Meaningful DEI that solves a specific problem and builds on success
It feels a bit odd to be calling DEI a 2025 trend, when it’s been a huge business priority for years. But in 2025 it looks to be more important than ever. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s proven to be great for both businesses and their bottom lines.
It’s looking to be so important to TA that even the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) proposed new measures to help boost DEI across UK financial services. And, according to research from Teamspirit, 71% of HR leaders in the UK said that DEI would become more important to prospective employees within two to three years.
So how do we level up on DEI in 2025? Hayley Wright, InHealth, told us that she was excited about the growing emphasis on integrating it into the whole hiring process; “I’m really looking forward to looking at our processes from start to finish,” she said. “It’s a huge focus for the business. For me, it’s understanding how we can incorporate [DEI] into the recruitment process.”
James Chambers, Realise Learning & Employment, noted that while the gender pay gap is widely recognised and reported on, there’s a lot of data that doesn't get as much attention, especially pay gap information for some protected characteristics, like disability.
“Capturing the data [for protected characteristics] is one of the big challenges,” said James. “You want people to feel comfortable to disclose that, and we’re obviously not going to pressure them.” This year, he’s passionate about making sure his company is “one of the most diverse and inclusive” employers in their space.
To go further with DEI in 2025, try:
- Examining your hiring process. Where might people with protected characteristics run into roadblocks?
- Build a business case for leaders when it comes to focusing on DEI. Can it help build your applicant pipeline, reduce turnover, or improve onboarding?
- Look at the work you’ve already done, and figure out how to build on it, whether that’s digging deeper into the data, surveying new joiners, or communicating results across the business.
Trend: Employer branding that’s really for employees
Out: Cookie cutter employer branding that jobseekers don’t care about
In: Listening and understanding what jobseekers are looking for
Gone are the days when candidates just cared about salary, title, and getting the corner office.
“What’s really interesting is the seismic shift towards how people want to feel within an organisation,” said Paris Alderman, Softcat. “People look for companies they truly resonate with, whether that’s their values or communities. I think we have a responsibility as recruiters to understand candidates and what their true drivers are. I know a lot of people, women especially, are looking for things such as more flexibility in the workplace, whilst still feeling empowered to perform their role to a really high standard.”
Your employer brand is a chance to attract talented candidates that aren’t just there for the paycheck, they want to be part of something bigger.
It’s also a chance to beat your competitors to top talent. “We’re going to go where the candidates are,” said Flynn Hall, LV= (Hudson RPO), “as opposed to trying to bring them to us.” Flynn’s team capitalises on their brand, as well as opportunities like pride month and mental health awareness month to signal to jobseekers about what their work environment is like.
And with the rise of Gen Z workers, “we need to actually understand more about how we’re going to start engaging with them,” said Cheryl Stobo, Ofgem. “For me, that’s a lot of social interactions. That’s not new, but a big thing for me is going to be the power of influencers.”
To build a unique employer brand in 2025, try:
- Shouting about what makes your company different. Is it a focus on family-friendly policies like leave and flexible working? Is it an award-winning DEI team? Finding meaningful stories to tell helps you build connections with talent faster.
- Figure out how you communicate culture during the hiring process, either through the information you share or by making time for frank conversations.
- Find new channels to tell your company story, whether it’s in-person events, social media, partnerships, or somewhere else your audience is.
Trend: HR as a strategic partner
Out: Being the last to know about your company’s growth plans
In: Being in the room and shaping hiring plans for 2025 and beyond
Picture this: A hiring manager comes to you with a job description pre-written and a start date already in mind. You source, they do the interviews, a decision gets made, and the process ends.
Not in 2025.
“One of the biggest trends that’s moving the industry is the need for talent to no longer be a service, but a strategic business partner,” said Cheryl. TA has the opportunity to shape what a company looks like years in advance through the people it recruits and the roles that it focuses on.
Moving away from the traditional model of sourcing and recruitment can mean a lot of different things, including:
- Getting a view on what the business can afford to hire financially
- Working back from growth targets to build a hiring plan years in advance
- Being side by side with hiring managers to equip them with skills
Talent teams are best equipped to see changes coming and make recommendations about what roles to hire, when — whether that’s a month, a year, or five years in the future.
To build TA as a strategic partner in 2025, try:
- Setting up time with hiring managers to understand their priorities, and building workshops that help them hire better.
- Looking at growth plans from a leadership perspective and making a proactive talent plan.
- Building informal relationships across your organisation to make sure that you’re first to know when the question of hiring comes up.
Trend: Artificial Intelligence for everyone
Out: Marvelling at the power of chatGPT to write your candidate emails for you
In: Thinking strategically about AI at all stages of the candidate funnel
It wouldn’t be a 2025 predictions blog if we didn’t say something about AI. Almost every single one of the talent professionals that we interviewed cited it as the biggest trend for next year — but you might be surprised by what they had to say about it.
What AI can do
Most of the experts we talked to focused on how AI can help you do your job better, while still preserving that human touch. “I think it’s important to capitalise on AI but not rely on it,” said Olivia Adams, Tandem Bank.
Our experts used it to:
- Gather learnings from large data sets about applications, interviews and retention
- Research and prepare before hiring manager meetings
- Make sure job adverts were using inclusive language
- Automate tedious admin that takes up time
- Identify new ways they can source candidates
“It would be silly to automate too much or take away the human element,” said Eddie Marshall, Urenco (Morson Group), “but we can find ways that streamline work so you’ve got more time to humanise interactions — that’s how you build relationships that make people want to join your business.”
What AI can’t do
The good news? AI can’t do your job.
“AI is obviously a big game changer, but we need to be mindful,” said Daniel Brace, Onward. “Some form of AI would be a massive help to us but we need to make sure it’s fair and transparent.”
“There’s a real stigma within the industry with people believing their CV doesn’t reach a real person,” said Paris. “Personally, I review every single person who applies for the roles I recruit for. No ‘AI net’ stops people. AI is really nice to have, but it should enhance and not replace the process.”
She pointed out that only a talent professional can look at a CV and see where they might fit in the future, or apply a creative approach to what other roles they’d be suited for.
AI as a future skill
There’s been a lot of talk about how AI will impact talent teams, and how new tools can make work easier.
But what about for candidates?
Cheryl pointed out that AI is a part of life now, and it’s a skill you might need to hire for. Instead of penalising candidates that use AI to apply for jobs, think critically about what skills you need and how you’re evaluating them. “Being able to use AI is a future skillset that we’re going to need,” said Cheryl.
To use AI effectively in 2025, try:
- Thinking about how AI will impact the roles you’re hiring for in 6 months, a year or even five years. What will you do differently today to prepare?
- Find ways to integrate AI with your existing HR tools, whether that’s automating interview invitations, helping you write job descriptions, or just save time on admin.
- Don’t over-index on AI and lose the human touch in your hiring process. Use it to work more effectively and bring back time for 1:1 touchpoints with candidates.
Final thoughts: 2025 talent acquisition trends
At the end of the day, it’s impossible to predict the future (that’s not going to stop us from trying, though).
What you can do is use all the knowledge you’ve built up over the years and apply it to the challenges coming in 2025 — whether that’s building meaningful DEI initiatives, figuring out how AI fits into your team’s workflow, or making the case to get your team in the room for workforce planning.
Talk to other team members, industry peers, and colleagues to find out what they’re most excited about. When you’re all fired up about the future, who knows what you can accomplish together.
Want to read more about how you can level up your career in 2025? Check out our interview with the IHR awards finalists who contributed to this blog.
This year, level up your background checks. Zinc helps you deliver an exceptional employee experience from the moment they sign — and it's fast, leaving you with more time to tackle the opportunities that 2025 brings. Talk to our team today about getting started.
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