By: Daria Trubina
In today’s competitive job market, organizations are increasingly moving beyond traditional recruitment to embrace comprehensive talent acquisition program management. We sat down with Anastasiia Kostiuk, a respected expert in recruitment technology and talent acquisition management, to discuss how modern companies can build effective talent programs that tend to deliver results.
Q. How has talent acquisition evolved from what most people think of as “just hiring”?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: What we’re seeing is more of a paradigm shift. Traditional recruitment was often purely reactive—someone quits, you post a job, you fill the seat. But talent acquisition program management operates differently.
Today’s leading organizations treat talent acquisition like a strategic business function. SHRM’s latest research suggests companies with strategic talent acquisition programs tend to report up to 3.5 times higher revenue growth and around 2.3 times higher profit margins compared to those relying primarily on the old “post and pray” model. Harvard Business Review data indicates that companies investing in comprehensive talent acquisition strategies often achieve up to 40% lower turnover rates and may be 58% more likely to attract top performers.
Q. What does talent acquisition program management actually mean?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: Talent acquisition program management is the strategic orchestration of all talent-related initiatives across an organization. It’s not just about filling individual roles—it’s about building systems designed to support long-term business objectives.
Based on my experience, I’ve launched global programs that encompass multiple interconnected components: global talent acquisition strategy and analytics programs that help forecast hiring needs 12-18 months in advance, emerging talent and university recruiting programs that contribute to leadership pipelines, and new market expansion strategies requiring workforce mapping across different countries.
Critical components include comprehensive GDPR compliance programs and well-developed Diversity & Inclusion initiatives with bias-free frameworks, diverse interview panels, and targeted sourcing strategies. But what makes it truly program management is integration, encouraging cross-functional collaboration with hiring managers, marketing, legal, finance, and IT departments to help ensure all elements work together effectively.
Q. What does this strategic approach look like in practice?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: It starts with integration. McKinsey’s research indicates organizations with integrated talent acquisition programs are often 67% more likely to achieve business objectives. Your talent acquisition program should ideally connect directly to workforce planning, business strategy, and growth projections. While 83% of executives consider talent acquisition to be important to organizational success, recognizing its importance and executing it strategically don’t always align.
Q. What metrics should companies be tracking?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: Many organizations track vanity metrics instead of business impact metrics. LinkedIn’s research shows that data-driven talent acquisition approaches can lead to 70% faster time-to-hire and approximately 35% higher quality of hire ratings.
Quality of hire is one of the most important metrics. Gartner’s research suggests that organizations measuring quality of hire often see 24% higher new-hire performance ratings and around 18% lower turnover in the first year. Time-to-fill matters, but context is key—SHRM reports averages of 36 days across all positions, with strategic roles averaging 58 days. Segmenting this data by role type, department, and seniority level can provide actionable insights.
Candidate experience can serve as a competitive differentiator. Glassdoor’s research finds organizations with positive candidate experiences often experience 70% improvement in quality of hire and roughly 35% reduction in cost-per-hire.
Q. How is technology transforming this space?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: AI and automation are playing significant roles, but not by replacing human judgment, rather by supporting it and reducing mundane tasks. From my observations implementing recruiting automation across IT, logistics, and beauty industries, I’ve seen how the right technology stack can improve results. At one organization, we managed to increase the workforce by nearly 50% in one year while reducing time-to-hire by 7.3%.
I work with integrated automation ecosystems starting with cloud-based ATS systems, then layering specialized tools like Codility for technical assessments, HireEZ and JuiceBox AI for candidate sourcing, and Amazon QuickSight for real-time analytics visualization.
IBM’s research indicates AI-powered talent acquisition programs may reduce time-to-hire by 30% and improve quality of hire by 25%. Accenture reports that 88% of organizations see improved efficiency with AI implementation. MIT’s research shows that properly implemented AI screening tools can help reduce bias by up to 35%.
Q. What practical challenges do companies face in implementing these programs?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: Three converging pressures create notable implementation challenges. The transition to skills-based hiring has exposed some capability gaps, with 62% of HR professionals struggling with skill validation. Simultaneously, AI’s rapid advancement creates growing reskilling demands—92% of technology roles are evolving, requiring an estimated $34 billion annual investment globally.
Complicating these initiatives, return-to-office mandates introduce unanticipated resource drains, with many companies reporting office space for only 50% of the required staff. These combined challenges create a resource allocation paradox: companies must balance transforming hiring methodologies, reskilling workforces, and managing office transitions within constrained budgets.
Q. What should companies be doing differently to stay competitive?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: Forward-thinking organizations are focusing on four strategic imperatives. The talent market has shifted increasingly toward non-monetary value, with 76% of job seekers prioritizing flexibility over salary increases. Companies should consider developing meaningful flexibility frameworks to position themselves as employers of choice.
Reskilling has evolved from a training initiative to a core business priority. Organizations would benefit from establishing systematic learning architectures that account for skill evolution, particularly in AI literacy. With five generations active in the workforce, companies might explore bridging generational divides through structured relationship-building and cross-generational mentorship programs.
Strategic AI integration calls for measured implementation over experimental adoption. While nearly all companies invest in AI, only 1% believe they’ve reached maturity. Competitive advantage often comes from strategically integrating technologies into existing systems with quantifiable ROI.
Q. What’s your final advice for organizations looking to transform their talent acquisition approach?
Anastasiia Kostiuk: What we’re witnessing is a significant reimagining of how organizations create competitive advantage through human capital. Companies are no longer asking “how do we fill positions faster?” but “how do we build adaptive talent ecosystems that support business outcomes?”
This requires leaders to think like architects, designing integrated systems where technology enhances human judgment and every hiring decision plays a role in long-term organizational capability. In an economy where 92% of technology roles are evolving, talent strategy should be foundational.
Companies that embrace this transformation often find that exceptional talent acquisition becomes a key driver of growth and organizational resilience. The future likely belongs to organizations that view talent acquisition not as a cost center to be optimized, but as a strategic capability to be developed.
My advice? Start today. Begin with one integrated program, measure everything, and build from there. Organizations that wait for perfect conditions might find themselves competing for yesterday’s talent with tomorrow’s challenges.
