In-house talent teams are seeking to improve candidate experience throughout the recruitment process and exploring the potential of automation and AI in recruitment, according to new research.
The 9th Annual UK Candidate Attraction Report from talent acquisition platform Eploy, based on feedback from over 700 recruitment professionals, provides insight into the UK’s hiring trends – which sourcing methods deliver the best results and what challenges employers are expecting in 2025.
The study evaluates a range of sourcing channels including career sites, professional and generalist job boards, employee referrals, CV databases, job aggregators, social media and programmatic advertising.
Career sites continue to play a central role in attracting candidates. High-performing sites are more likely to offer candidate-focused features such as interview tips, FAQs, chatbots and diversity information. These tools help candidates make more informed decisions and support a positive impression of the employer’s brand.
Candidate scarcity remains the top challenge for recruiters for the ninth year, though it has declined from 61 percent in 2024 to 53 percent. Building a diverse and inclusive workforce was cited by 33 percent of respondents as a challenge, followed by recruitment forecasting and demand planning (30%).
Candidate experience leads hiring trends
Candidate experience was the greatest priority for in-house recruitment teams, named by 60 percent of respondents. Companies are striving to streamline application processes, improve communication and create engaging employer branding throughout the hiring journey.
The report also identifies what makes a peak-performing digital candidate experience. Features such as automated application submission through the ATS, job alerts, the ability to update personal information and manage privacy settings all contribute to stronger engagement. These elements help reduce friction and increase application completion rates.
Career sites offering structured, accessible information tend to perform better. This includes clearly presenting diversity commitments, application tips and the overall recruitment process. The findings show that sites with this type of content are significantly more likely to perform well compared to those lacking it.
Recruitment automation and AI adoption gain ground
Interest in recruitment automation and AI has grown, with 23 percent of organisations citing it as a sourcing priority in 2025. Among larger companies with more than 1,000 employees, that figure rises to 30 percent. This signals a steady trend towards using technology to streamline sourcing, reduce administrative load and improve candidate matching.
Despite growing interest in AI, many organisations remain cautious about investment. A general decline was recorded in the number of employers expecting to grow hiring in the year ahead. Just 33 percent of respondents expect hiring to increase, down from 38 percent in 2024. Recruitment marketing budgets are also expected to remain unchanged for many employers, reflecting a more restrained approach to future planning.
Diversity, equity and inclusion remains a significant area of focus, particularly for certain sectors. Among Charity and Not-for-Profit organisations, 59 percent reported DE&I as their top recruitment challenge. However, across all sectors, the number of organisations naming DEI targets as their biggest priority fell by 13 percent compared to the previous year.
Chris Bogh, Chief Executive Officer at Eploy, told HR Review, “We received over 700 responses from the talent acquisition community across all industries and company sizes, which gave us a good understanding of the differences between the various demographics.
“Since its inception, the report has provided detailed insight into hiring challenges and the ways various sectors approach talent acquisition. We offer the report as a free resource knowing that the research provides valuable insight into candidate attraction and talent acquisition trends in the UK.”
