Technology automation poses the biggest challenge for half of HR professionals as they work to attract and retain talent, according to a new Equifax survey.
The survey of more than 250 HR executives and professionals at the SHRM25 Conference found that 50 per cent of respondents identified using technology to automate workflows as one of their top challenges, Equifax said Monday.
Resume fraud widespread
The survey also revealed that 71 per cent of HR professionals have encountered fabricated or misleading candidate information during hiring, according to Equifax. The fraudulent information most commonly appeared in employment history, educational background and credentials or licenses.
Despite the high frequency of resume fraud, only 20 per cent of HR professionals reported being “very confident” in their ability to detect fabricated or misleading candidate information, the company said.
“Our survey shows that HR is facing new challenges with the prevalence of misleading candidate information in the age of AI-generated resumes,” said Bart Lautenbach, senior vice president and general manager of Talent Solutions for Equifax Workforce Solutions.
Hiring speed concerns
Less than 12 per cent of HR professionals said their organizations consistently hire candidates quickly, despite speed-to-hire being a key metric for many companies, according to the survey.
Additionally, 83 per cent of HR professionals identified room for improvement in their organization’s onboarding process, Equifax said.
AI adoption growing
Despite the challenges, 76 per cent of survey respondents reported using AI to improve efficiency in hiring and onboarding, according to the company.
“HR teams know this, and that’s why they’re prioritizing the use of technology to help automate routine and manual processes so they can streamline tasks for their own teams while also simplifying and enhancing experiences for the employees they serve,” said Chris Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of Employer Services at Equifax Workforce Solutions.
The Atlanta-based data and analytics company surveyed attendees at the SHRM Annual Conference in San Diego between June 29 and July 1, 2025, according to Equifax.
