In a move that underscores the rapidly evolving landscape of Human Resources (HR) and learning, LinkedIn has announced a suite of new features aimed at making the lives of HR professionals and employees easier. The announcement was made at LinkedIn's 12th annual Talent Connect event by CEO Ryan Roslansky, who emphasised the increasing strategic importance of HR. "In fact, 90% of HR professionals say their role has become more strategic in the last year," Roslansky shared.

AI in HR: A Game Changer

The new tools include Recruiter 2024 and an AI-powered coaching experience on LinkedIn Learning. "AI is quickly transforming recruitment, training, and many other HR practices," said Josh Bersin, industry analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company. He added that "LinkedIn’s new features in Recruiter 2024 and LinkedIn Learning can massively improve recruiter productivity and help all employees build the skills they need to grow in their careers."

Recruiter 2024: The Future of Talent Acquisition

Recruiter 2024 is designed to make the hiring process more efficient. It employs generative AI and leverages data from LinkedIn's vast network, which includes more than 950 million professionals, 65 million companies, and 40,000 skills. "By pairing generative AI with our unique insights, we’ve reimagined our Recruiter product to help our customers find that short list of qualified candidates—faster," the company stated.

The tool allows talent leaders to use natural language for their hiring goals, such as "I want to hire a senior growth marketing leader." Markus Kumpf, head of recruiting technology and innovation at Siemens, expressed enthusiasm about the new features, stating, "We look forward to using new Recruiter 2024 features like the AI search experience to make finding the right candidates easier for our recruiters."

LinkedIn Learning: Upskilling for the Future

LinkedIn is also focusing on the upskilling challenge that companies face. The platform has been evolving its LinkedIn Learning to support learning and development (L&D) teams. "We’ve been rolling out career development features and expanding our in-demand skill library, including AI courses that saw a 65% uptick in learners last year," the company revealed.

The new AI-powered coaching feature in LinkedIn Learning aims to provide real-time advice and tailored content recommendations. Joe Antony, senior L&D manager at Coyote Logistics, found the tool to be "very helpful, very quickly," particularly for change management.

CRM Connect: Streamlining Recruitment

In addition to these, LinkedIn is launching CRM Connect, an integration that connects LinkedIn Recruiter and Candidate Relationship Management systems. Initial partners for this feature include Avature, Beamery, Clinch, Jobvite, and Radancy.

The Road Ahead

LinkedIn is piloting these new tools with a small group of customers, with plans for a broader rollout later in the year. "Today’s updates are just the start of what’s to come. We’re actively building upon these products to support our HR and L&D customers with innovative, valuable tools that will drive their business forward," the company concluded.

The new tools are a testament to the growing role of AI in HR and learning, and they mark a significant step in LinkedIn's journey to support professionals in adapting to the fast-paced changes in the world of work.