Building – and optimising – a powerful talent acquisition strategy means leveraging insights from your business, and from the industry. Talent acquisition specialists can help. But how does Talent Acquisition work?
Talent acquisition: it’s something we’ve all heard of. And you may even have used talent acquisition services or support in the past. But how does it work? And how does it help you secure top talent?
That’s what we’re here to answer. Below, we’re exploring the ins and outs of talent acquisition to help you understand the role it could play in your business. We’ll be answering questions such as ‘what is a talent acquisition partner?’, ‘what is the purpose of talent acquisition?’, and ‘what does a talent acquisition consultant do?’. All to help you make smarter, more informed decisions, and build your talent acquisition strategy in a way that drives the best results for you.
What is the purpose of talent acquisition?
‘Talent acquisition’ and ‘recruitment’ are often used interchangeably. And when they are, it can be difficult to understand the purpose of having a separate function beyond basic hiring. However, the two are very different. We explore this in more detail in our blog post on recruitment vs talent acquisition. But at its core, the difference is simple. While one focuses on placing operational roles, the other is more concerned with building a robust, repeatable process for attracting and engaging top talent.
While recruitment is largely handled by team leaders and those that will be working closely with the new hire, talent acquisition is more aligned with the HR function. It isn’t overly concerned with role specifics, but more with strengthening and communicating the value proposition of the organisation.
So, what is the purpose of talent acquisition? It’s to help businesses position themselves in the right way. To help set themselves up in the long term to bring in leaders, execs, and specialists that will help them grow. It’s about more than just recruitment. It’s about laying the foundations of success.
So how does talent acquisition work?
Talent acquisition works by bringing together all aspects of hiring into one repeatable process; one that can be used to provide each candidate with the same positive experience. While each talent acquisition process will be different depending on business needs, it usually includes 8 core steps:
- Lead generation: laying the groundwork to build a network, even before advertising a role
- Assessment: evaluating the talent pool and learning about the needs of that talent
- Attraction: leveraging insights from the assessment stage to pique interest
- Candidate qualification: identifying core competencies and aligning to business needs
- Interviewing: learning more about candidates through questions and assessments
- Shortlisting: building a pool of candidates that best align with business needs and culture
- Hiring: creating a compensation package that motivates the chosen candidate to accept an offer
- Onboarding: setting the new hire up for long-term success through guidance and support
Good talent acquisition processes follow these 8 stages in a flexible, adaptable way. The process must be able to change in response to fluctuations in talent pool trends and demands. So having a process that can be tweaked to the market and the landscape ensures that it always delivers optimal results.
What is a talent acquisition partner?
How does talent acquisition work successfully? Well, it’s all down to working with the right talent acquisition partner. A talent acquisition partner is a professional organisation that helps businesses build, develop, implement, maintain, and optimise their talent acquisition strategy. Unlike a recruitment partner, a talent acquisition partner won’t oversee the 8-step process on your behalf. Instead, businesses remain in full control of their recruitment. What they will do is support organisations in their talent acquisition efforts, by providing industry insight and insider knowledge for more efficient hiring.
Talent acquisition partners come in all shapes and sizes. Typically, the ones that drive the best results are those with extensive knowledge of the industry in which you operate. They’ll also have the ability to fully understand your needs, and will boast a strong team of skilled talent acquisition consultants.
What does a talent acquisition consultant do?
It’s easy to say that a talent acquisition consultant provides ‘support’. But what kind of support? How do these specialists help businesses attract and retain top talent? What does a talent acquisition consultant do when working with an organisation? The answer, of course, will depend on exactly what each individual needs. Generally, however, support can be offered through methods such as:
- Introducing technologies: helping businesses achieve more through digitisation and automation
- Improved commercial awareness: sharing insights from the market for better decision making
- Process review: assessing current ways of working to identify room for improvement
- Optimisations: supporting businesses as they adapt their strategy to align with changes over time
Top tips for creating an effective talent acquisition process
Regardless of whether or not you decide to work with a talent acquisition partner, it’s crucial that your process is effective. An experienced consultant can help you to develop a strategy that works for you. But if you’d rather go it alone, there are a few aspects you’ll need to take into consideration.
For example, a strong talent acquisition process is one that doesn’t just focus on hiring, but also on long-term retention. It’s one built around the core fundamentals of your brand. It’s one that’s firmly rooted in solid data, and yet also flexible enough to adapt to different situations. You can find out more about this by checking out our blog on how to improve your talent acquisition process.
Get expert talent acquisition advice
You might already have what you need to complete your leadership team search. But does your organisation have what it takes to build a solid foundation that attracts, engages, and retains top talent? If not, working with a talent acquisition partner could help. At Innovex Global, we specialise in high-quality, professional talent acquisition advisory services. We carefully match growing businesses with our hand-selected consultants, providing them with the knowledge, insight, tools, and confidence they need to develop a strong strategy. Get in touch with the Innovex team for more information
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