Talent acquisition encompasses more than just screening candidates. It involves recruiting, evaluating, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding. Effective strategies allow recruiters to search for top talent proactively.
A robust talent acquisition process is crucial in today's competitive job market. CNBC reports that in 2021, the U.S. workforce shrunk by 4 million due to high quitting rates. This, combined with a low 11% of companies having hiring freezes, makes finding top talent increasingly difficult. HR professionals report challenges in locating candidates. Upgrading your company's talent acquisition approach is imperative.
The competition to find top talent has become even fiercer due to the abundance of job opportunities, a reduced pool of candidates, and increased hiring activity. With 74% of HR professionals struggling to locate suitable candidates, now is the ideal time to improve your company's talent acquisition strategies.
Talent Acquisition and Recruitment: Distinction
Although talent acquisition and recruitment are often used interchangeably, it is essential to understand that recruitment is just a part of the talent acquisition process. While recruitment focuses on filling current open positions and bringing in new employees, talent acquisition takes a more strategic approach by considering the long-term hiring goals of the company.
Recruitment can be viewed as reactive, while talent acquisition is proactive. Talent acquisition specialists aim to source top talent for various roles, including hard-to-fill executive and leadership positions, even if the positions are currently filled.
Roles within a company will inevitably change hands, and talent acquisition strategies ensure that the best candidate is in place when that happens. Talent acquisition is a crucial component of a company's HR strategy and contributes to the success of retention, performance, and engagement initiatives.
1. Analyze Current Processes
You can start by evaluating your current recruitment processes to keep your talent acquisition strategy fresh. Begin by taking stock of your recent recruitment and talent acquisition processes and answering key questions to assess their effectiveness. These questions include:
Have you created a consistent candidate experience across different roles and departments?
Does your recruitment team consider internal candidates for promotional opportunities?
Are any team members actively sourcing talent for executive positions?
Is there an established talent pipeline for future opportunities?
Are recruiters equipped with the necessary tools and resources to assist their efforts, including software tools?
Are you tracking and analyzing relevant data, such as time-to-fill, time-to-hire, retention rates, and top candidate sources?
Good job! Your talent acquisition efforts are on track if you answered "yes" to all the questions. Now, take some time to evaluate the data from your recruitment and sourcing activities to identify areas where you can improve efficiency.
Emphasize improving the areas where your current talent acquisition strategy falls short. Focus on creating new approaches that target the lacking areas.
2. Enhance the Candidate Experience
To ensure a positive candidate experience for job seekers, it's essential to streamline the recruitment process. According to CareerPlug, 53% of job seekers consider candidate experience more crucial now than before the pandemic, and 63% may reject a job offer if they had a bad experience. Thus, it's vital to maintain transparency and honesty and keep the candidates informed throughout their application status. The job description should be comprehensive, free of discriminatory language, and quick to complete, while the interview process should include regular communication and clear expectations. A seamless transition from candidate to employee can be achieved by starting the onboarding process once the offer is signed.
3. Internal Recruiting and Promotion
The benefits of promoting from within include higher engagement, quicker hiring processes, and lower costs. Internal hiring also leads to improved retention, with employees staying longer at companies that hire internally than those that don't. A recent study from the University of Minnesota supports this, showing that internal hires tend to be higher-performing and more likely to stay with their company. In contrast, high-performing external hires are more likely to leave. In the wake of these things, companies redirect their recruitment budgets to strategies like internal hiring programs to retain valuable talent.
4. Maximizing the Benefits of Employee Referral Programs
An employee referral program can bring numerous benefits to your talent acquisition strategy, including expanding your talent pool, attracting highly qualified candidates, and improving retention rates. As per Forbes, referrals are the top source of top candidates for nearly half of all companies, and the likelihood of hiring a referred candidate is four times higher than other sources. The cost of hiring a referred candidate is also significantly lower than other sources.
Not only are referred candidates highly qualified, but they also tend to stay with the company longer. Additionally, employee referral programs provide a valuable tool for reaching out to active job seekers, with 71% of job seekers relying on referrals in their job search. Hiring referred candidates is also faster, as they tend to integrate into their new role more quickly due to their connection to the company.
Implementing an incentive in your employee referral program can lead to higher-quality referrals. Consider offering a referral bonus after they have been in the position for 90 days. If you are starting a referral program or improving an existing one, ensure that employees know it. Your HR team should keep track of important metrics for referral hires, such as time-to-hire, retention rates, and hiring costs, and compare them to other candidate sources.
5. Use Talent Acquisition Software
Many companies use talent acquisition software like an applicant tracking system (ATS) to aid their hiring process. According to G2, 78% of companies found that using ATS has made it easier to find talented candidates. An ATS can streamline processes such as job postings and employee referral programs, enhance the candidate experience, and keep track of recruitment data.
If you need an ATS or upgrade your current system, ensuring the software you choose can support your talent acquisition efforts is crucial. Look for an ATS with a proven track record and the ability to adapt as your company grows.
In today's competitive hiring market, a successful talent acquisition strategy is achievable with the right tools and tactics. You can tap into candidate sources that produce top-performing, high-quality candidates by utilizing proven techniques and innovative software.
HireTalent ATS can help you find these top candidates. With its ability to reach a wider pool of candidates, manage candidates, and automate recruitment processes, HireTalent offers a powerful solution for your talent acquisition needs.