Hiring is the only way to incorporate new talent into the organization. New hires bring fresh perspectives and ideas and thus give a new direction to the firm and help the firm in achieving its long-term goals. So, right hiring is adeptly one of the most crucial decisions for the firm as one wrong hire, and team dynamics goes bananas! And the amount a wrong hire costs a company is something else entirely. So, talent acquisition is a strategic decision that must be carefully planned out and executed to make the most of the resources. As times are changing, so are the needs of the firms and the ways to acquire them. So, new talent acquisition strategies are in play in the market, and how this affects the hiring process in the future, we shall discuss this in this article.

What is talent acquisition?

As the term suggests, talent acquisition means searching, identifying and acquiring the right talent according to the needs of the firm. Most of the firms have a talent acquisition team who looks after the entire process of developing skill. They do everything from searching, identifying, assessing, acquiring and hiring candidates so that the candidates are the perfect fit for the firm. In most firms, the HR team is the one looking after the entire process, but many times they have a special department dedicated to this, and they work in tandem with the HR department to get satisfactory results.

A talent acquisition personnel must have strong communication and interpersonal skills that help them in dealing with so many candidates. Their skillset must include sourcing strategies, assessment skills, candidate assessment, compliance-driven hiring standards, and awareness about trends in hiring and best corporate hiring practices. They must be highly motivated who are result driven go-getters.

What is the importance of talent acquisition for a firm?

For any firm, people are the building blocks and thus, having a strong foundation matters the most. So, talent acquisition is one of the most important concerns of any firm. So, its importance includes:

• Hiring the right people who are the best fit for the company: Finding the right talent rather than finding quick talent is the main motive of the talent acquisition team. Hiring the right talent means a lower retention rate and thus is beneficial for the firm.

• A means to stay competitive in this war of talents: Acquiring the right talent adds value to the firm and provides an edge to the firm by continuously innovating. Eliminating risk and motivating the fellow workforce, the right hire helps the firm in staying competitive.

• Helps in saving time and thus making it cost-effective: Hiring the right talent once and retaining it for a more extended period of times saves time than hiring new talents for each position again and again! So, think wisely, acquire strategically! Be future-ready with all your hires.

What is the talent acquisition process?

Talent acquisition is an elaborate process that starts at the time when a job opening is hired in the company to the time someone is employed for the role. So, let’s take a deeper dive into understanding the process.

Step 1: Sourcing and Lead Generation

Starting with releasing a job opening and a job description, the talent acquisition team scouts social media, seminars, forums, conferences and many more to expand their applicant pool in search of the perfect candidate for the role. Having a large number of potential hires makes the process even more challenging and satisfying.

Step 2: Attracting top candidates

Having a strong brand value, promoting the company’s work culture and a comprehensive compensation package are the key ways to attract and retain top talents for the firm.

Step 3: Interview and Assessment

Recognizing the top skills required for the job position and interviewing the suitable candidates based on them to assess the candidates on an ordinary parameter.

Step 4: Checking the references

Cross-checking the references gives an absolutely clear idea about the candidate and also helps to clear certain last-moment doubts thereby making the acquirer ready to roll out offers.

Step 5: Selection of the most suited candidates

Based on interviews and assessments, make the final selection of the candidates who are the best fit for the job and the company.

Step 6: Hiring and onboarding

Hiring the right talent and giving them proper onboarding is the final test that can make or break an employee. So, the onboarding process is the last and the most crucial step.

What are some of the talent acquisition strategies?

As the importance of talent acquisition is well-known by now, so some of the important talent acquisition strategies that the firm must deploy are:

• Have strategic workforce planning in place: Having workforce planning in force means having a proactive approach towards talent acquisition. Having a predefined plan means that the firm is well aware of its needs and can divert its resources in the actual acquisition of talent rather than in planning.

• Building a positive and happy work culture: A corporate culture is an embodiment of a company’s values, beliefs, symbols, rituals. Positive work culture is something that every candidate desires so, build a culture that encloses the core values of the company and makes every individual feel included.

• Make the firm a strong brand and cash in on it: Employer brand conveys how strong a company is and what kind of workforce the company has. So, make sure that the firm has a well-defined brand and is communicated to all the stakeholders for faster identification.

• Use data analytics to be on top of the game: Use data to forecast the candidates required, have an efficient applicant tracking system (ATS), clear metrics to judge candidates upon and align the business goals with the acquisition strategy.

• Expand outsourcing of clients: Having an elaborate reach so that different kinds of talents can be reached differently. Use different kinds of media, academic programs, seminars, forums to reach a wider pool to choose from.

• Search for talented candidates: Different job roles have different requirements. So, hire candidates that can be easily trained for different skills and show an interest in the kind of work. Hiring a talented candidate is easier than hiring an experienced one as he/she might be rigid in the way of working.

• Collaborative hiring: This trend is on the rise as many departments work side by side to hire professionals as it is both cost-effective and improves the quality of hire thereby reducing the turnover rates.

How can talent acquisition strategy be aligned with the business strategy?

The key to organizational performance lies at the intersection of talent strategy and business strategy. The alignment requires an analysis of the firm’s objectives, strategic and operational goals. As employees play the most important role in all these objectives, they are the key to achieve these business goals, so hiring the correct talent that helps in the fulfilment of plans is an absolute must!

Building a strategic plan of hiring according to the business goals so that they have the perfect relation between them right from the start is the correct way to go ahead. Having a good mix of external hire with the internal employees to have a balanced approach and perspectives towards business problems is also essential. Hiring talents equipped with ever-changing technologies that can help the company be in the competitor’s race is also required.

So, having a well-defined plan in place can go to great lengths in helping the firm acquiring the right talent. Talent acquisition works for the fulfilment of both short-term and long-term goals of the companies and thus plays a crucial part and must be treated with utmost importance.