Talent Advisor Reality Check: What the Data Tells Us About TA’s Next Evolution

Recruitment loves a rebrand. We’ve gone from sourcers to strategists, from recruiters to relationship builders, from order-takers to Talent Advisors. But what’s happening beneath the surface of these evolving titles?

At our recent SocialTalent Live event – Talent Advisor 2.0 – we set out to explore what it really means to step into this new era of talent acquisition. The panels were packed with insights, from how AI is reshaping recruiter workflows to what it takes to influence business decisions. But we also turned the spotlight on our attendees, running a series of live polls to get a temperature check on where TA teams are today.

The results were illuminating – and, at times, sobering. They told a story not just of transformation, but of tension. Not just of opportunity, but of obstacles. If Talent Advisor is the destination, our poll data shows the path is far from straightforward.

Let’s break it down.

1. The Influence Gap Is Real

Poll Result: Only 21% of recruiters feel very confident in their ability to influence hiring managers.

We talk a lot about influence. About having “a seat at the table.” But the reality is, most recruiters are still fighting to be heard – never mind consulted early or seen as equals in hiring decisions.

As Elias Albino, Global Head of TA at Syngenta Group, said at the event:

“The title doesn’t make you a partner. The organizational structure doesn’t make you a partner. Influence makes you a partner.”

That kind of influence isn’t granted; it’s earned. And earning it takes time, trust, and deep understanding of the business. But therein lies the paradox: many TA professionals are operating at breakneck speed, managing high req loads, juggling admin tasks, and navigating shifting priorities. There’s little space for the kind of strategic conversations that build credibility.

If only 1 in 5 recruiters feel truly confident in their influence, it’s not a failure of ambition. It’s a failure of system design. We can’t expect Talent Advisors to emerge from environments that don’t give them room to think, collaborate, or challenge.

Learn more: Dive into a full recap of the Talent Advisor 2.0 event.

2. AI Isn’t Coming. It’s Already Here

Poll Result: A staggering 94% of attendees said they’re already using AI in some form.

Let’s pause on that.

For all the hand-wringing about whether AI is going to disrupt recruitment, the disruption is well underway. From candidate screening to scheduling, sourcing to summarising notes, recruiters are embracing AI at pace.

But here’s the question that matters most: to what end?

Is AI freeing recruiters up to do more strategic, consultative work – or is it simply helping them do the same transactional tasks faster?

As John Vlastelica put it during his conversation with Johnny Campbell, we need to be cautious:

“There’s a high risk right now of taking a pretty crappy process, throwing AI on it, and just automating bad practices.”

AI, when used intentionally, can be transformative. It can buy back time, reduce friction, and surface better insights. But it’s not a shortcut to strategic value. That still requires human judgment, deep listening, and the ability to connect talent decisions to business outcomes.

If 94% of recruiters are using AI, the next frontier is clear: are they using it to become more human in their work – or less?

Learn more: Rebuilding Candidate Trust in an Age of AI

3. The Two Big Barriers: Expectations and Skills

Poll Result: The biggest concerns in shifting to a Talent Advisor mindset are
1) Changing stakeholder expectations
2) Skills gaps within the TA team

This is the crux of it.

You can’t become a Talent Advisor in isolation. The role only exists in relation to others – hiring managers, HR partners, executives. If those stakeholders still see recruiting as a service desk, no amount of internal upskilling will move the needle.

At the same time, we can’t blame the business entirely. We also need to build the capabilities that the Talent Advisor role demands. That includes fluency in workforce data, confidence in stakeholder management, and comfort with ambiguity and trade-offs.

Diane Circo, VP of Employee Experience at Sprout Social, shared how her team tackled both challenges simultaneously. They redesigned their intake meetings into Role Alignment Meetings – a consultative session where recruiters guide hiring managers through priorities, trade-offs, and success metrics.

“Rather than asking hiring managers if they want fries with that, we’re using this time to get really clear on what success actually looks like in the role.”

The result? A two-year backlog of roles cleared in a single year. Improved offer acceptance. And a recruiting team that now has a true seat at the table.

This is what a Talent Advisor culture looks like in action: new rituals, better tools, aligned expectations – and real results.

Learn more: You Want Numbers? Here’s the Talent Advisor ROI

So… Where Do We Go From Here?

The poll results don’t paint a grim picture – they paint a realistic one.

Yes, most recruiters are still climbing the hill toward Talent Advisor 2.0. But that’s okay. What matters is recognising where we are, and being intentional about what comes next.

To build a future-ready TA function, we need:

• Capability – skills in data, strategy, communication, and change.
• Capacity – time and space to actually operate as a consultant, not a task-taker.
• Culture – business partners who see TA as strategic and are willing to collaborate.

The good news? These aren’t abstract ideals. They’re achievable goals. We saw it from every speaker at SocialTalent Live. And we’re seeing it across our platform every day – from companies redesigning how they partner with hiring managers, to recruiters learning how to challenge assumptions, to teams using AI to amplify (not replace) their expertise.

Final Thought: The Real Shift Is Mindset

Talent Advisor 2.0 isn’t about flashy job titles or better dashboards. It’s about how we think, how we show up, and how we influence.

As Johnny Campbell said during the event:

“We’re not doing this so that recruiters can feel good about being Talent Advisors. We’re doing it because the business needs it.”

If your team isn’t evolving, it’s not falling behind the trend – it’s falling behind the business.

So here’s your reality check. If only 21% of recruiters feel confident influencing hiring managers, what would it take to double that? If nearly everyone is using AI, what’s your plan to use it well? And if expectations and skills are holding your team back, what will you invest in first?

Because the future of recruiting isn’t coming. It’s already arrived.