Talent acquisition is a complex process; it’s never just about filling open positions. Organizations that employ it as a strategic endeavor scrutinize every element of talent at their disposal and are better placed to identify and address skill shortages enabling them to meet growth objectives. They integrate the pre-hire stages of an employee life-cycle, right from creation of a job requisition to hiring and follow-up, in a way that engages potential recruits with an eye on business objectives.

Is talent acquisition another name for recruiting?

NO. Many organizations unknowingly confuse talent acquisition with recruiting; of course they are closely related, but there are significant differences between the two. While recruiting basically includes all the efforts made in identifying a capable individual to fill a vacancy, talent acquisition strategies aim at identifying, attracting and on-boarding the best talent available to efficiently and effectively deliver dynamic business needs. Recruiting focuses almost exclusively on immediate hiring needs while talent acquisition strategies are developed for long term growth.

Recruiting is just one of the many elements of talent acquisition.

Why would you need an excellent talent acquisition strategy and not just a recruitment plan?

  • A great talent acquisition strategy will help you recruit well
    If you want to move from simply hiring to hiring with one eye on betterment of your organization, a shrewd talent acquisition strategy is one thing you cannot ignore. A good strategy will help you analyze labour markets, make global considerations and examine workforce plans continually. You’ll also be able to segment your workforce in ways that make identification and appropriate filling of talent gaps much easier.
  • Talent recruiting strategies are long term investments
    Today’s market is much more competitive than it was two decades ago. There are more companies and although the talent pool has also grown, the competition for top talent is very stiff. Everyone is looking for that game-changer and when they get them they do everything to keep hold of them. If your goal is to find top talent, not just today but over and over again, you need a serious talent acquisition strategy.
  • Employment branding will help advance your market position
    One of the elements of talent acquisition is employment branding where you uncover, define and articulate the company’s image, key differentiators, organizational culture, products and services as well as reputation. Organizations that do their branding appropriately benefit from better positioning in the market which helps in drawing and retaining top talent. Candidates will choose you because they can already see what it is like to work for your organization.
  • Continuous tracking drives continuous growth
    Acquisition strategies also apply metrics and analytics to help with tracking. This way you’ll always know what you have and what is missing in terms of workforce skill. So when you have to hire, you know exactly what to look for in a candidate. Surely this can only make the recruitment process simpler. And when you find the right candidates, you boost productivity which ultimately leads to better business.

Every major organization is turning to strategic talent acquisition with most of them keen on building candidate audiences and talent communities so that they are always in touch with the top talent. It’s critical that you be part of that revolution.