New research revealed today by professional network LinkedIn suggests that slow adoption of new skills in the recruitment industry may be impacting the growth and productivity of UK businesses.

A study of 500 senior HR and recruitment professionals revealed that nearly one in three (31 per cent) admit they aren’t taking full advantage of the data insights into the skills of the wider workforce now available through social media. Not using data insights to inform recruitment activity has a clear impact on the ability of the business to identify and hire the right candidates.

Of those surveyed, 28 per cent said that the biggest impact is reduced business productivity caused by an increase in the time taken to bring on new people. A further 21 per cent reported slower growth, with 18 per cent saying the extra time causes a potential loss of revenue.

Chris Brown, Director LinkedIn Talent Solutions, commented: “Talent is the number one driver of success for businesses today. Companies that invest in their recruitment functions, give them a seat at the boardroom table, and give them access to the latest tools and insights have a competitive advantage. Being able to apply data insights to solve hiring challenges is just one of the things top employers look for when building their recruiting teams.”

The growing importance of data in recruitment is underlined by the fact that those surveyed said that better data analysis skills (35 per cent) was the top priority in successful recruitment in the future, and more than half (56 per cent) believe the use of data insights will increasingly shape business strategy over the next three to five years.

As part of its investment in new skills, defence company Thales has put 18 new recruiters through LinkedIn’s Recruiter Certification programme in the last year.