The old playbook was built for another era. Define, Attract, Engage + AI= A modern Love Story.
Instagram had just launched. Game of Thrones was entering the zeitgeist. Ke$ha’s hit song “Tik Tok” topped the charts… six years before TikTok would even exist. And a little device called the iPad had just hit the shelves.
It feels like a lifetime ago.
So why are so many companies still recruiting like it’s 2010?
They’re still posting jobs, crossing their fingers, and tracking the wrong metrics. They’re measuring speed, not success. With disconnected steps and outdated dashboards, ROI slips through the cracks.
It’s time to rethink the process: Define ? Attract ? Engage.
This isn’t about piling on more tools. It’s about aligning the right ones — and amplifying them with AI.
If I’m Hitting My Metrics, What’s the Problem?
When recruiting is narrowly focused on time-to-fill, retention and quality often get sidelined. That quantity-over-quality mindset is expensive.
Research shows that 80% of turnover stems from bad hires, and replacing just one can cost up to 33% of that employee’s salary. Beyond the financial hit, poor hires affect productivity, morale, and employer reputation. These aren’t ripples; they’re tidal waves that shape your entire brand.
Another issue: generic employer branding. If your message doesn’t resonate, your talent pipeline suffers. Fewer qualified applicants come through the door, and even those who do may be less likely to say “yes.”
The good news? It’s not too late to fix it.
Define: Clarity Through Strategy + AI
Most companies start their recruiting strategy at Attract. They blindly post jobs, waste sourcing resources, and advertise without truly defining what they need. It’s like posting on Myspace after everyone’s moved to Facebook.
Defining means aligning talent strategy with business strategy. It’s understanding not just what roles you need, but why you need them, how they drive business goals, and who will thrive in them.
Start by assessing your roles by impact and scarcity. Which can be trained internally? Which are critical for growth? Which require specialized skills? That clarity determines where to focus your recruiting energy.
This is where AI shines. By analyzing performance data, resumes, and labor market insights, AI surfaces the competencies that truly drive success and reveals adjacent skills you might overlook.
For example, tools like Hiregate give recruiting teams pattern-based data across candidate pools, sharpening definitions of what a “great” actually looks like.
When you define strategically, every other step becomes more focused and effective.
Attract: Resonance Over Reach
Once you know who you’re looking for, it’s time to get and keep their attention.
Today’s talent market is noisy. Job boards are crowded. Inboxes are overflowing. Candidates have options. In this environment, resonance beats reach every time.
Your employer brand can’t be generic. It must be authentic, purposeful, and human. Candidates should read your job posts or career content and think: “This is where I belong.”
AI can help here, too. It can:
- Analyze job ad language that resonates with targeted applicants
- Identify the channels where your ideal candidates actually engage
- Personalize outreach at scale
Modern recruiting isn’t about casting a wide net; it’s targeted storytelling. When you deliver the right message to the right people at the right time, possibilities expand.
Engage: Commitment Beyond Day One
Attracting great talent is just the beginning. Engagement starts at application, and continues well beyond Day One.
Too often, companies drop the ball here. They invest in sourcing campaigns and career sites, but onboarding feels like an afterthought: paperwork, confusion, radio silence.
Modern engagement builds connection early and sustains it. That means:
- Structured communication
- Personalized employee journeys
- Real opportunities for growth
Great news, this isn’t a heavy lift because AI can play a powerful role here, as well. Predictive analytics can flag disengaged candidates during onboarding, allowing proactive intervention. Automated reminders keep new hires on track, while curated learning paths ensure they feel challenged and supported long after the 90-day mark.
Companies winning the retention game treat engagement as a deliberate, data-informed practice, not an afterthought.
Closing the Loop
The beauty of the Define ? Attract ? Engage framework is that it’s not linear, it’s cyclical, like a Continuum.
Data and insights from engagement feed back into how you define future roles:
- What worked?
- Where did you lose candidates?
- Which hires thrived and why?
AI accelerates this feedback loop. It connects dots humans alone can’t see, providing a 4K HD picture of what drives quality, retention, and ROI across the talent lifecycle.
Companies still throwing darts will keep spinning their wheels. Those who embrace clarity, resonance, and intelligent engagement, partnered with AI, will build talent engines that scale with precision.
Unlike Doc and Marty, where you’re going does need a road. But that road can take you into the future.
A 3-Step Checklist to Get Started
- Audit – Use systems like People Science’s Recruiting Continuum and Talent Acquisition Assessment to assess strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities objectively.
- Pilot – Apply what you’ve learned to test and refine the new process.
- Measure – As People Science CEO Christine Nichlos says, “Data is king.” Without data, sustainable change is impossible.