As the talent war continues to heat up, the term Talent Acquisition is gaining in popularity. Unfortunately, it is often used synonymously with the term recruiting. At entreQuest, we believe these two terms are very different.
Recruiting is a subset of Talent Acquisition — it includes activities like sourcing, screening, interviewing, assessing, selecting, and hiring. However, it does not include what happens before or after recruiting activities.
Talent Acquisition, while inclusive of recruiting activities, extends past this to include other elements like strategic planning, onboarding, and retention efforts. Recruiting is where most companies want to start when looking to hire new talent, but that’s a great example of putting the cart before the horse ...
To effectively attract, hire, and retain the RIGHT talent, try focusing on the 4 strategic elements of Talent Acquisition outlined here:
STORY: A recent survey by LinkedIn reported 85% of those surveyed believe the brand has a considerable impact on the firm’s ability to attract and hire top talent. So, wouldn’t it make sense to first focus on your brand, or story, to ensure it is designed to attract the right talent? If you build it, they will come. Consider your company’s story your field of dreams. If you understand how to tell your story, you are destined to attract the right talent.
SCREEN: Screening is a pretty common recruiting activity, but I’m not talking about traditional screening here … HR software provider, SilkRoad, recently asked 247 professionals to list their “pet peeves” during the job-hunting process and “Focus on technical skill (excluding a candidate’s professional qualities)” came in at number 5 on the list. When screening candidates, it is imperative to take into consideration how a candidate will fit not only the role (has necessary skills), but company culture (has the necessary traits) as well.
ON-BOARD: A few years ago, The Whynhurst Group reported that that 22% of staff turnover occurs in the first 45 days of employment and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost for replacing an employee is over 25% of their annual salary. But, the good news is employees who go through a structured on-boarding program are 58% more likely to be with the organization after three years. On-boarding your new employee is the first, and arguably, most important step in retention. A successful on-boarding program not only arms new hires with important organization/business facts, but it helps build an engaged workforce that is committed to the company’s mission, vision, and values, ultimately, positively effecting an organization’s bottom line.
RETAIN: According to a recent Monster study on employee loyalty, 82% of surveyed employees have updated their resume in the past six months and a whopping 59% say they are looking for a job “all the time.” Certainly compensation comes into play, but when it comes to keeping your team, the real focus should be on employee engagement and professional development.
Don't get caught with your cart before your horse; take the time to focus on the elements of Talent Acquisition and not just the act of recruiting.
Joe Mechlinski is CEO and Co-Founder of entreQuest, where he's helped hundreds of companies prosper through some of the worst economic times in history. Joe's debut book, Grow Regardless, an instant New York Times bestseller, defines strategic growth, change management, and organizational development.