Talent Acquisition in the Modern Age
Job hunting today is a far cry from job hunting in the last century, or even in the last two decades. What used to rely on word-of-mouth, tedious typewriting, and the concentrated perusal of trade journals has now transferred to internet job websites, online forms, and Skype interviews. As job opportunities open up to so much more people and the job market itself evolves to accommodate new generations, the essence of job hunting changes on both ends as well.
One of the main developments that HR professionals are encouraged to take into account in talent acquisition is the importance of the ‘candidate experience’. Their efficiency and courteousness from acknowledging job applications to concluding the job interview can now be a determining factor when high-quality candidates make employment decisions.
In addition to this, companies are now locked in a race for talented applicants, especially in a downturn when they are increasingly anxious to stabilize their position in a period of unemployment and job security.
So from a business and sales perspective, what two main aspects do HR professionals need to focus on to improve their chances of succesful talent acquisition?
Improve operational efficiencies. HR professionals need to find avenues to simultaneously cut costs, streamline internal recruitment processes, and maximize the reach of their advertisements.
There is a business aspect to this activity as well. If job-hunting is properly automated, then it positively manifests in three main ways: first, it reduces the time HR professionals need to spend on the recruitment cycle, meaning that they can improve on their productivity; next, it gives an avenue for self-service for managers, employees, and candidates alike; and finally, it streamlines the application process by receiving them through pre-designed web forms.
Adapt techniques used by sales and marketing teams. Despite the race in acquiring talented applicants, many are realizing that merely offering a job to an interviewee is not enough. HR is now encouraged to take an active part in building a company and talent reputation that applicants will want to be a part of. A common suggestion is that recruitment should now be viewed as a sales and marketing exercise — so HR needs to work on a good corporate image, good marketing skills to reach the best candidates, and good sales skills to entice them to join.
Candidate Relationship Management — HR’s own version of sales and marketing’s Customer Relationship Management — platforms are helpful in maintaining the modern HR professional’s network, as it helps keep a structured approach towards current and potential future job candidates. This way, passive candidates can be brought in quickly, and
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The series of serious economic conditions that the world has experienced in the past century, in addition to the advent of modern technology, have had a big impact on both the budgets for hiring candidates and the candidate pool, with high unemployment continuing to influence market dynamics. Thus, the modern age challenges HR to implement and strategize a talent acquisition approach that will work. Recruiters who are quick on their feet will have to constantly embrace new technologies and refine their relationship-building skills.
So much power has been given to HR professionals in the modern world — the question now is: how will they wield it?
