05. TALENT ACQUISITION AND RECRUITMENT

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 Talent Acquisition and Recruitment

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            Talent acquisition is a strategic approach to identifying, assessing and acquiring new employees for a company. Unlike general recruitment, which sometimes values quantity over quality, talent acquisition is a carefully curated process that businesses rely on in order to find the very best fit for their team. There are often talent acquisition specialists within a company whose primary role is to source candidates who have the exact skill set that is needed to help a company thrive and grow. 

            Talent acquisition is a particular process for hiring skilled employees. When employers select candidates thoughtfully, the new hires are more likely to excel within the business and improve the company's brand. Talent acquisition responsibilities include developing a strong candidate pipeline, developing employer branding, identifying, assessing, and hiring candidates to fill open positions, future resource planning, and diversifying the labor force. Doing this well leads to lower turnover, higher productivity, and increased engagement.

            The talent acquisition strategy should align with the people strategy (or HR strategy). In turn, this strategy aligns with the broader organizational strategy.

            Over time, the talent acquisition function has developed. In most organizations, it is now a separate team or a part of the HR department and has become an essential part of people strategies.

Effective Talent Acquisition

            In order to recruit and hire the best talent, companies must align their planning and talent acquisition strategy across departments in order to identify, target, and attract the most qualified candidates for a given role.

            Talent acquisition teams are also responsible for developing employer branding and communicating that brand to potential candidates. Branding should clearly give candidates an understanding of your company culture, its reputation, key differentiators between competitors, and its products and services.     

            The talent acquisition team must also manage candidate life cycle, from the initial application through the final job offer. Effective collaboration, clear communication, and goal alignment with the hiring manager is key, in this regard.  

            In addition, talent acquisition teams are responsible for retaining essential employees and developing and maintaining morale among their labor force.

The Talent Acquisition Process

The talent acquisition process involves several complex steps. The most essential of those include:

1. Lead generation
2. Recruiting and attracting top candidates
3. Interview and Assessment
4. Evaluating references
5. Selecting the best candidate(s)
6. Hiring and Onboarding

            For a more in-depth look at the talent acquisition process, check out our Talent Acquisition Software. We use direct sourcing to discover more candidates, make it easy to nurture candidates through all social media channels, utilize a one-click application function to make applying as easy as possible for job seekers, and offer unique tools to build exceptional career sites optimized for mobile use.

Talent acquisition vs. recruitment

            The terms talent acquisition, recruitment, strategic recruitment, and corporate recruitment are often used interchangeably. While talent acquisition and recruitment share the same primary goal of filling open positions in an organization, there are some notable differences.
            Talent acquisition is a more strategic, long-term process aimed at finding highly qualified employees for hard-to-fill roles and anticipating future staffing needs.
In contrast, recruitment tends to be the short-term, operational task of filling vacancies. Recruiters generally hire for positions that are always needed or are not expected to be difficult to fill. Conversely, talent acquisition requires more time and planning to understand the different roles and departments, as well as the unique set of skills and experience required to succeed in each position.
            Talent acquisition also includes strategic recruitment, employer branding, recruitment process optimization, recruitment process outsourcing, and much more.

What Does a Recruiter Do?

            The focus of a recruiter’s job is to collaborate with a hiring manager to determine what type of candidates are best suited for a position, then find and screen those people. A recruiter is almost always seeking to fill an open role, or a role that will soon be available. It’s common for a recruiter to work for an outside agency, and attend events such as job fairs to find potential employees.

What Does a Talent Acquisition Manager Do?

            Businesses, health care systems, universities and school districts all keep talent acquisition managers on staff. Through extensive research, consulting and recruitment, these specialists are experts at identifying the top talents available in a particular field or industry. Their role is not just to fill open positions, but to also source individuals who will benefit a company long term.

Importance of Talent Aquisition

Talent acquisition is integral to the success of an organization as it grows for many reasons. 

👉Attracting top talent – Talent acquisition enables organizations to source and hire the best candidates for their open vacancies. Talent strategies are tailored to meet the company’s unique needs and future vision. That way, the talent hired is not only skilled and experienced but fits the core values of the organization and can be of long-term benefit. For example, Nationwide Mortgage Bankers hire people who fit their core values even if no immediate role is available.

👉Reducing costs – A well-designed talent acquisition strategy helps reduce recruitment costs by streamlining the hiring process, improving the quality of hires, and lowering turnover rates, saving both time and resources in the long run.

👉Improving employee retention – By creating talent acquisition strategies that help organizations find hires who are a good cultural fit and align with the overall mission and vision of the company, businesses can improve employee retention. This can also help save money, improve organizational knowledge and experience, and increase team morale.

👉Building productive teams – One of the core aims of talent acquisition is to help companies build teams with a diverse set of skills, knowledge, and backgrounds. This leads to an increase in productivity, collaboration, and problem-solving. 

👉Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace – Talent acquisition strategies also allow organizations to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. This leads to greater creativity and innovation and a stronger employer brand. For example, tech company Bitwise Industries encourages diversity by removing unnecessary degree requirements. Instead, they focus on training people that display promise but lack the education that most other tech companies require. 

👉Ensuring business continuity – A strong talent acquisition strategy helps build a pipeline of top candidates and pays attention to the potential future workforce needs of the business. Businesses that are proactive when it comes to talent ensure access to skilled people even in times of change or crisis. A great example of a proactive organization is IBM. The company has partnered with several universities to train future data scientists as demand for this type of role is increasing. They’re cultivating relationships with potential candidates early on to attract them after graduation.

👉Effective succession planning and succession management – With talent acquisition, businesses can plan ahead for the future and identify potential successors for critical roles. These employees can be trained and mentored so that they are ready to step in when needed.

👉Boosting business performance – Ultimately, placing top talent in the right roles helps organizations increase their effectiveness and gain a competitive edge. This drives long-term growth and significantly contributes to business performance.

source: FORBES ADVISOR

How do apply a Talent Acquisition strategy? 

                Plan your Talent Acquisition strategy around your goals. Consider your organization’s long-term needs. If you want to attract people with fresh ideas and perspectives, consider building internship programs for recent college graduates and entry-level employees. If you want to recruit more diverse teams, use blind hiring techniques. Keep in mind that nurturing relationships with potential hires takes time. The people you attract, and recruit play an important part in your company’s future, so start your sourcing by participating in relevant networking events and interacting with passive candidates online.

CONCLUSION

The role of HR in talent acquisition and retention is integral to the success of any organization. By engaging in strategic workforce planning, building a strong employer brand, adopting innovative recruitment methods, prioritizing candidate experience and onboarding, and implementing employee development and retention strategies, HR professionals can attract and retain top talent. Effective talent management practices contribute to a skilled and engaged workforce, driving organizational growth and achieving long-term success..

REFERENCE

What Is Talent Acquisition? (2024 Guide) – Forbes Advisor https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/what-is-talent-acquisition/.

Talent Acquisition: Strategies, Process & Best Practices (valamis.com) https://www.valamis.com/hub/talent-acquisition.

HR Blog & Resource Library | AIHR | Videos | Guides | Case Studies         https://www.aihr.com/blog/.

Talent Acquisition vs. Talent Management vs. HR: an FAQ guide (workable.com) https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/faq-talent-acquisition.

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