One of the things you can find in every successful company is a group of highly skilled and dedicated personnel. No matter how good the company system is or how well it has been managed, nothing would ever work if the people behind it do not fit in. So how do we find the right person to hire? Hiring top talent starts with a great talent acquisition and recruitment process.
Difference Between Recruitment And Talent Acquisition
Talent acquisition is a process of attracting, finding, and hiring skilled personnel to meet an organization’s labor requirements.
A lot of people, even some human resource professionals, confuse talent acquisition with recruitment. While the two are almost synonymous and both crucial in hiring top talent, there are some differences that you should be aware of.
Recruitment is reactive and tactical while talent acquisition is proactive and strategic. The former only requires short-term planning as it also requires fast results. It focuses on filling up company vacancies. On the other hand, the latter requires long-term planning for it to be effective. It is the ongoing process of finding the right candidate with a specific skillset who will help drive the growth of the company. Hiring top talent requires a good talent acquisition strategy.
8 Effective Talent Acquisition Methods
There are several methods you can use to find the right talent for your company. Each company is different. The method used by the other company may not apply to yours. You can choose a few of these methods or mix them all up to customize your company’s needs.
1. Hiring top talent within the industry.
It is a common practice among big companies to consider and offer a position to outstanding employees of competitors or from other related organizations. You will likely find the person with the right attribute and experiences from here.
2. Hiring through referrals.
Current employees can be channels of possible candidates. Involving them with the recruitment process through the company’s referral program may prove to be a quick and effective method in finding the best talent for the company’s current vacancies.
3. Identifying talented freelancers
Not all talented individuals are in the corporate world. Some are working as freelancers. Keep an eye on promising freelancers. If you think their skills will help you grow your business, convince them to join your team by offering a difficult-to-resist package. When creating the best deal for freelancers, take into consideration that what matters most to them is flexibility and the opportunity to work remotely.
4. Grooming fresh graduates for future roles
Many fresh graduates can take on a huge responsibility even in their early careers. You can target top graduates and offer them a role where they can utilize their talents. You can also run attractive internship programs that will attract top graduates to join your team. If their performance during their internship program is satisfactory, you can offer them a long-term position.
Finding the right talent in other cities or countries
Talent knows no boundaries. There are many skilled candidates that come from all over the world. The good thing about hiring from other cities or countries is that they bring in fresh ideas - ideas that have not been fully utilized by other companies in your city. When you find a candidate outside your city, offer a great relocation package to increase the chances of them taking the position.
Rehiring a former employee, commonly called a boomerang employee, has its advantages and disadvantages. Rehiring a previous employee requires less time of training as they already know the company and its processes. They can also bring in fresh ideas from their new work. However, be sure to have a rehire policy to set things straight.
7. Joining Job Recruitment Events
Events such as job fairs, workshops, and career counseling are full of job hunters who could be skilled or complete newbies. These are great places to look for ideal candidates because of the number of people coming.
8. Hiring Internally
Most of the time, you do not have to look outside to find the best candidates for a senior position. Seek the best candidates within the company and provide training to prepare them for a future role. Hiring internally will also improve employee morale - it is a way of letting them know that they can expect professional growth within the company.
These are some of the talent acquisition methods used by companies to find the right personnel ideal for their organization. The effectiveness of these methods differs for each organization. Some are even not applicable to them.
Develop an Effective Talent Acquistion Process
The process of talent acquisition involves several important steps. Since it is a long-term plan and covers broad aspects in hiring top talent, each step must be carefully considered and a well-analyzed plan properly established. Below are the steps to be taken during the talent acquisition process:
1. Develop a specific strategy based upon the company’s situation.
It is essential to generate an effective plan that covers what needs to be done and where and how to get the talent you need to reach your goal.
2. Build talent pipelines.
There must be a steady flow of talent because talent acquisition is a continuous process.
3. Build positive employer branding.
The way a company presents itself affects the way talented applicants will perceive it.
4. Build good talent relationship management.
Before hiring top talent, a company must first present itself as a good place to work. This can be done through Recruitment Marketing. The RM Team are responsible for creating.
- Awareness about the company and the growth prospects it offers
- Market career-building opportunities so that top talent will give the company some consideration
- Arouse the interest of top talents through targeted job ads, online bulletins, and social media campaigns.
5. Recruitment involves several steps:
- Scanning candidates from a pool of applicants
- Cultivating a pipeline of potential candidates
- Shortlisting prospective candidates by identifying their skills and values and comparing them with the company’s ideal ones.
- Interviewing shortlisted candidates. By preparing effective interview questions, employers are usually able to spot the right talent they need for their organization.
- Onboarding selected applicants
Having a well-thought procedure on each of the steps above is the key to successfully acquiring the right personnel your company needs. Hiring top talent is not easy, but it is achievable with careful planning.
How Do You Spot And Retain Your Talent?
Hiring top talent is not an easy task. You cannot just pick somebody to assume the vacant role in your organization without the skill sets that are required for that position.And even if the skills are there, that person must also be flexible enough to blend in with your company’s organizational culture. Therefore, once the right candidate has been found, the company must put up an effort to retain that talent. Promoting a work environment where employees want to work is a reasonable approach on how to keep top talent. Here are some effective methods for finding and retaining top talent for your organization.
1. Identify the most important skills and values for your company
As soon as these important skills and values are identified, you can use this as your basis in hiring top talent.
2. Build a work environment that focuses on employee welfare.
You can offer your employees career and skills advancement through training and seminars. You can also design an employee recognition program, offer performance bonuses, and other strategies that will encourage your employees to stay loyal.
3. Involve employees in recruiting potential candidates
Involving employees in the recruitment process can make them feel valued and give them a sense of belonging. It can also encourage them to work happily especially if the person they are referring to is close to them.You can also offer them referral incentives to encourage them more.
4. Attend events where you will most likely meet your potential candidate for a position
Events such as job fairs, workshops, and career seminars are places where a pool of potential candidates is present. Some may be currently employed while others are still seeking the right job.
Build your company’s online presence
Attract potential talents by promoting a happy and PRO-employee work environment. You can show this by building your company’s online presence. How do you build and retain a strong online presence? Here are a few suggestions:
- Build a captivating website
- Create a very good social media strategy
- Create a strong visual strategy through media production
- Create a paid ads strategy
- Build a strong SEO Strategy
Having a good talent acquisition strategy is crucial in finding the right candidate for your organization. The goal of the company must always be taken into consideration in every strategy being formulated. Otherwise, it will defeat the purpose of having a strategy at all.
Aside from the ways in finding and retaining top talent discussed, you can work with the talent acquisition specialists from Pareto. They can help startup companies like yours find and hire top talents that will help you drive your business growth. Pareto can assist you with the tedious task of pooling and qualifying candidates so you can choose to do interviews only for the best potential talents.
