Today’s tools empower businesses to optimize their recruitment programs and do more with less than ever before—provided they develop their strategies intelligently. The importance of deploying a thoughtful and carefully considered talent acquisitions approach cannot be overstated, which is why companies like PandoLogic have invested considerable time and effort to help companies reach a fully optimized programmatic job advertising model, regardless of where they currently are on the maturity spectrum.

What does this mean? In talent acquisition, every company is at a different stage in its advertising and recruitment marketing journey. Some companies are just getting started and still making reactionary decisions based on short-term demands for talent, while others are strategically looking at better options and more visibility into their spend. Although companies using programmatic job advertising are increasing their investment, most businesses would benefit from leveraging the resources and expertise of an AI recruitment specialist like PandoLogic to progress towards full maturity while evolving their programmatic model as they progress.

Aptitude Research developed a maturity model to help companies understand their own process thinking regarding programmatic job advertising. This maturity model includes five stages: Manual, In Progress, Hybrid, Strategic, and Optimized. PandoLogic makes some key recommendations for companies at each stage to optimize performance, along with strategies for moving forward.

Stage 0: Manual Advertising Phase

Companies in the Manual Phase are still reliant on high-touch processes for recruitment and advertising. They typically devote the bulk of their investment to expensive and tedious advertising and the added time and effort it takes to manage it all means less time spent on other essential activities. Their advertising is also prone to human errors, and with limited analytics they have little visibility into what’s actually working. The truth is, companies in this phase are often clinging to familiar and outdated approaches out of fear of change, resulting in wasted time, energy, and money. In order to move forward, companies should invest in new avenues of research to discover how they can leverage programmatic options more effectively.

Stage 1: In Progress Phase

Companies in the In-Progress Phase are actively exploring programmatic job advertising and automation and are evaluating their options in preparation for moving away from a traditional job advertising model. They likely have felt the winds of change sweeping across their industry and are eager to streamline their efforts while reducing costs in the process—a real win-win strategy. Some companies at this stage may also be looking to target different audiences including more diverse hires, alumni, or entry-level jobs. These companies are not yet ready to move to a fully programmatic model, but are ready to consider new and innovative options. In order to move forward from this phase, companies should continue researching programmatic job advertising options. They should also explore new marketing partnerships to better understand how to adopt and leverage a programmatic model.

Stage 2: Hybrid Phase

During the Hybrid Phase, companies are actively using some combination of automation and traditional advertising and have yet to implement a fully programmatic approach. These companies are looking to centralize their advertising strategies and will consider options to streamline their approaches and reduce their spends . . . but are not yet ready to relinquish manual control of the process. To progress to the next phase, companies should consider their objectives and build actionable business cases to better understand the potential of programmatic job advertising adoption in anticipation of moving forward.

Stage 3: Strategic Programmatic Phase

In the Strategic Programmatic Phase, companies are moving closer toward embracing a fully realized strategic programmatic model to take their recruitment programs to the next level. These companies are realizing the value of programmatic job advertising and are interested in a more efficient and effective advertising process. They have done the research and evaluated market providers—and are committed to targeting the right candidates and improving their overall efficiency and effectiveness. To progress to the final phase of the maturity model, companies should start to evaluate providers in the market, determine requirements, and look for partners in an effort to implement full programmatic adoption.

Stage 4: Optimized Programmatic Phase

When companies finally reach the Optimized Programmatic Phase, they have successfully adopted a fully programmatic model, have automated their job advertising spend and are effectively using AI software or machine learning tools to predict performance and make better decisions. Companies at this stage are ideally utilizing an all-in-one platform to manage and track all of their efforts (ultimately saving time and money in the process) and have a quantifiable advantage over their competition.

Here’s the bottom line: When it comes to the journey toward fully programmatic talent acquisitions optimization, all companies are different. Some will progress slowly through the phases of the maturity model and others will make bold leaps forward. What approach should your business take? It largely depends on your risk and investment tolerance, analysis of available economic conditions and industry forecasting data, and what your individual goals are. Despite bleak economic conditions pervading the entire business world, the good news is that with the right tools and information at your company’s fingertips, you can develop an effective talent acquisitions strategy for every step of the journey and forge your own successful path forward!