Understanding Talent Acquisition

Talent acquisition has changed in recent years. From the economy to the pandemic, to the possibilities afforded by technology. Here is a list of the current challenges the function faces:

Not enough high-quality candidates

Unemployment is unusually low. While great for the economy, it makes hiring top talent a challenging task.

Increased competition

With a smaller pool of candidates, organizations must compete to get the right talent. Employers must streamline their hiring process and improve their compensation strategies to hire the best.

Overreliance on outdated methods

Job boards are no longer enough. The best fits for a job are not actively applying.

Lack of diversity

The demographics of new hires often reflect the existing employee base. It takes a conscious effort to diversify a workforce.

The future of talent acquisition

Automation

Advances in automation are consistently improving the efficiency of TA teams. This will continue.

AI

AI has tremendous potential. It will help to detect bias in the hiring process, for example. It will also give enhanced forecasting capabilities on hiring trends.

Decisions enhanced by data

Analysis of key metrics will help recruiters to have deeper insights on their work.

Virtual and remote hiring

Video interviews and remote onboarding are quickly becoming the norm. They are efficient, effective, and accessible.

Enhanced candidate experiences

The experiences that people have as they move through the hiring process are crucial to the image of an organization. For example, applicants increasingly do job searches on phone and tablet. Recruitment marketing will adapt to reflect these changes.

Improved job listings

Job openings will become commonplace on social media. Targeted, personalized advertisements will find candidates, improving recruitment funnels.

Upgraded candidate assessments

Advanced recruitment technologies will quickly assess and compare applications. AI when used this way will help find the best candidates.

What is recruitment intelligence?

Recruitment intelligence improves recruitment strategy through the following four methods. Firstly, it maximizes the use of data to find trends and behaviors in applicants. After that, it finds talent based on these insights. Then, it creates systems and practices to reflect the findings. Lastly, it helps make better informed, data-related decisions on all parts of the hiring process from interviews to assessments.

Why does recruitment intelligence matter?

• It improves the standard of applicants.
• It makes the process more time efficient.
• It lowers overall costs.
• It offers bias free insights backed by data.

Recruitment intelligence works by finding the skills of top employees and using them to build a profile of a model applicant.

It does this by analyzing all applicant-related data, creating listing sites, interview questions, and processes to reflect this information. It predicts the numbers of applicants at each level of the hiring funnel. Recruitment intelligence offers predictions on pay ranges, competitive skills, and market trends. It automates parts of the process such as first screening, appointment setting, and talent outreach.

The most effective Recruitment Intelligence mechanisms

Recruitment technology is changing how companies find new employees. Candidates now use websites like LinkedIn to highlight their experience and contact organizations. In response to these higher numbers of unverified applicants, they now use tools to automate screening. These tools divide into three stages to find talent. Firstly, sourcing the potential candidates. After that, it helps screen them. Lastly, it assesses them.

The tools are the following:

• Applicant tracking systems (ATS): These function as a database of all information relating to the applicant’s progress.
• Candidate relationship management (CRM): This type of tool helps nurture ongoing relationships.
• Data and analytics: These tools trawl through data to find patterns and trends relating to the hiring process.
• Resume search engines: Many recruiters currently spend copious amounts of time sorting through hundreds of resumes. These tools instead search databases and AI to match potential hires to jobs.
• Resume parsing software: Parsing through resumes is also time-consuming work for recruiters and hiring managers. Resume parsing software presents a solution. It takes resume information and puts it directly into applicant tracking systems, saving valuable time.
• Video interviewing platforms: These tools allow the user to assess the candidate’s personality, behavior, and cultural fit in a company. They do this without the expense and time cost associated with in-person interviews.
• Skills assessment tools: These test candidates on the skills they will use in the job. They help decide who should move onto the interview stage.

Three key benefits of recruitment technology

It saves time

Recruiting new additions to a company is time-intensive work. Recruitment technology automates certain parts of the function. It manages much of the data and leaves the relationship building aspect of recruitment to humans.

It widens outreach

For example, it enables advertising of new roles on social media. This leads to a better chance of filling the position with the right person in a shorter time.

It lowers recruiting expenses

Streamlined workflows for TA teams means lower hiring expenses. Recruiting tools are significantly cheaper than traditional recruiting methods. This means competitive hiring is practical for more organizations. Particularly ones with smaller hiring budgets.

Five actionable methods for finding talent

With the war for talent in full swing, it is more important than ever to have the right people in your organization. Here are the five most comprehensive ways to achieve this.

1. Clearly define your ideal candidate

This should include a comprehensive skillset. The ideal candidate should also be a good cultural fit.

2. Use referrals

Referral programs are an effective way to get the right talent. Referrals often have shorter hiring times and lower hiring costs.

3. Make recruitment decisions based on data

For example, data helps track representation of different minority groups, enabling better inclusion. It makes predictions on future needs.

4. Optimize company branding

What are your organizational values? What is it like to work in your company? Who do you want in your organization? The answers to these questions will inform your company identity. A firm understanding of the brand will underpin the hiring strategy. If the identity of your organization is not strong or rooted in deep values, the best applicants will not apply.

5. Experiment with passive talent strategies

Use social networks to inform applicants about job openings. Leverage those who have interacted with the company. While this takes time, it will prove invaluable on a long-term basis.