“Deloitte’s 2018 Human Capital Trends Report found over 70% of respondents citing AI, robots, and automation as important. Yet, 52 percent of candidates are not even hearing back from employers 2-3+ months after they’ve applied, according to The Talent Board.” – Susan LaMotte

“We’re a people-driven business.”
“Talent is our most important imperative.”

These anthems of almost every C-Suite leader ring loudly from the Fortune 100 to the struggling startup. Talent matters. We’re in a war. We need to find A-players. We need to keep high-potentials. They’re bold proclamations, yes. But it’s the same refrain every time.

When I was getting my MBA over ten years ago, many of my classmates pursuing finance and marketing careers didn’t see the value in HR or talent calling it soft and “touchy-feely.” And yet on several occasions a few years after graduation, those same classmates called me for advice. The request was always the same: “I didn’t realize hiring and keeping talent would be so hard. I need some help.”

Many professions are specialties—but every leader, every manager, regardless of job title—has to hire, manage, fire, and do it all over again. Yet most managers haven’t progressed their own talent strategy skills.

Deloitte’s 2018 Human Capital Trends Report found over 70% of respondents citing AI, robots, and automation as important. Yet, 52 percent of candidates are not even hearing back from employers 2-3+ months after they’ve applied, according to The Talent Board.

Think about that carefully. We’re so excited about the future of technology but we can’t even get back to job candidates in a timely fashion. If we can’t seem to update job seekers today, how are we going to manage complicated, algorithmic-driven robots to do it for us? We saw how well that worked for Amazon.

Trend-setting is important. Paying attention to how the world of work is shifting and considering the application to our own organizational challenges is key. But no matter how much strategic work we do in HR or talent acquisition, or how advanced our applicant tracking systems become, we won’t see any success without all of our colleagues on board.

Unless we teach all leaders the basics of effective attraction, recruitment, and selection, we’ll continue to sing the same chorus over and over again: “why can’t we fill these roles?” Here’s how you start with a fresh sheet of music:

Susan LaMotte, HRExaminer Editorial Advisory Board Member

Ask hiring managers what they think are the most important tools in hiring. What do they think moves the needle when it comes to attracting the right candidates. Look for huge warning signs—their answers show a lack of knowledge about job seekers, how they behave and what they prioritize. Then help them bridge the gap with real data about your high-performers and new hires.

Teach managers talent economics

I’m always surprised how many leaders don’t understand how unemployment works. It’s not as simple as who’s lining up each week. Spend time teaching leaders what economic metrics and factors impact your talent strategy, especially in your industry. When everyone understands the landscape in the same way, it’s easier to prioritize dollars and resources.

Feed their egos

Show hiring managers how important it is for them to share their own experiences, their work, and their perspective. At exaqueo, we know from our over 50,000 data points in 2018, candidates highly value original information that gives them true insight into both the job and the person they’ll be reporting to. The more managers can share about their work and their experiences, the more effectively candidates can self-select out, or in, to the process.

Fix the basics first

A flashy, new employer brand campaign won’t matter if your candidate experience is horrific. According to the Talent Board, 2017, 62% of candidates had a 3-star or below candidate experience. Candidates are consumers—and smart ones at that. They can see through the technology and the sizzle to the actual experience. And for example, while they may be drawn in by allure, they won’t stay if their basic expectations of a simple job application aren’t met.

Keeping up with the Joneses is a mentality we can’t escape. From home to work, it’s hard not to look over the fence to see what others are doing. But what really matters to our own business success is what we should be doing ourselves. After all, if you’re a talent driven organization, shouldn’t you focus on simply how to get them in the door first? It’s better to sing the right song, than the most popular one.