Digitalization of Talent Acquisition: Understanding Human Resource Management Professionals’ Experiences and Practices

Human capital is arguably a key asset for organizations. Successful talent acquisition is critical for both organizational success and individuals’ pursuit of meaningful work. Today’s ongoing digitalization is transforming the way in which Human Resource Management (HRM) professionals attract, assess, and select talent for organizations. Digital tools such as applicant tracking systems (ATSs), sourcing tools, chatbots, and interviewing tools enhance professionals’ reach, consistency, and cost-efficiency. However, research has raised concerns, among other things, related to digital ethics, user experience, and reluctance to use advanced digital tools. It has been argued that advanced digital tools have not yet delivered on their promised benefits to organizations.

This thesis investigates the digitalization of talent acquisition by exploring HRM professionals’ experiences, work practices, and related processes. While success in talent acquisition increasingly depends on professionals’ interactions with digital tools, prior research is scarce. Digital tools also evolve constantly, creating a need to explore current experiences and practices.

The thesis comprises four original publications: three empirical interview studies, and a secondary analysis of their data. The research employs the constructivistoriented grounded theory method to analyze 47 interviews with mostly recruiters and HR managers. The thesis contributes socio-technical insights into professionals’ experiences, practices, and processes to the fields of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).

Key contributions include descriptions of professionals’ experienced challenges, emerging work practices, and early experiences with a new digital tool. In addition, the research identifies opportunities and threats related to the introduction and design of digital tools. The publications provide design considerations to address professionals’ decision-making challenges, and to support practices related to assembling innovation teams and utilizing recruitment chatbots. They also identify potential pitfalls and tensions, including counterproductive user interfaces, and requesting detailed data versus respecting privacy. Critically, solutionism tends to drive the market but can backfire for organizations as they may not receive what they need or have to restructure practices. This underscores the importance of understanding the sociotechnical and processual consequences in addition to issues related to individual tasks or digital tools.