What is Talent Acquisition?
Talent acquisition is a complete solution for hiring processes and strategies. It focuses not only on the short-term needs but the long-term goals that lead to success. Talent acquisition within an organization is made up of all aspects of HR including recruitment, hiring managers, sourcing and credentialing if necessary, and human resources managers.
Generally considered part of the Human Resources department, it doesn’t just focus on finding candidates and filling jobs, it also relies on HR data collected over long periods to make processes and plans to improve hiring and retention. It will also cover essential functions such as sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding, but it goes so much further than that.
At its core, talent acquisition is strategic. Its visionary objective is to hire right the first time, nurture talent, and provide resources for individuals to grow with the company for a long time.
Talent acquisition includes a lot of other aspects of company culture, too. Most notably, the employer brand. Unlike a company’s user brand, which advertises a company to the public, an employer brand demonstrates how a company treats its employees and stresses long-term employment and relationships. It also encompasses long-term planning, such as succession, to ensure that roles are not going unfilled if someone takes another position in or outside of the company.
What is Recruitment?
Recruitment is all about filling the open positions within your company. You don’t begin the recruiting process until a need arises, usually due to someone leaving an important role or the discovery of a new skill that’s necessary for continued growth and success.
This sometimes means that the process by which candidates are found is an in-the-moment experience. That can lead to fewer qualified candidates available in the right place and right time as your immediate need. Sometimes these structures don’t line up and can create situations where bad hiring decisions are made, which can restart the cycle.
Recruitment has long been considered the norm for organizations, but reactionary hiring can demonstrate a lack of foresight into the future success of your company. Understanding the difference can lead to a much stronger experience for you and your candidates.
The Main Difference Between Talent Acquisition and Recruitment
In looking at the functions of each hiring strategy it’s easy to see the primary difference. Recruitment is based on the reaction to a given situation while talent acquisition is proactive. That means each of these strategies will have a different place in your organization or when it becomes second nature you may find that talent acquisition takes its place as the top priority in your organization.
As a reaction to turnover, recruitment will always have a place in employment but talent acquisition could make high levels of turnover a thing of the past. Processes starting at the core of your business, from the ground up, will create an employer brand and company culture that can attract top talent and keep them engaged to grow with you. But knowing when to shift gears, and how to make talent acquisition the default in your company will start with having the right tools at your disposal.
How to Hire Smarter with Talent Acquisition Software
When developing a long-term hiring strategy to incorporate talent acquisition, it’s important to know that you don’t need to do it alone. There is no sense in reinventing the wheel when tools exist to streamline talent acquisition. If you want to expand your recruitment processes, consider these ways you can hire smarter using the right software.
Reducing Time to Hire
Building a pipeline and improving sourcing strategies will reduce the time to hire for any open position. The software can streamline that process to not only fill jobs faster but save money in the process. An applicant tracking system, for example, can build a talent pipeline. This is a proactive way to cultivate relationships with top talent so you can contact them when positions become available
Automating Administrative Functions
One aspect of recruitment that is most time-consuming is the administrative function. Paperwork, from the application to onboarding, can be automated to save time for both your hiring professionals and incoming employees. Recruiters can spend an average of eight hours per week on repetitive tasks that can be easily automated with a good software solution.
Improving the Candidate Experience
The overall candidate experience directly impacts the quality of potential employees. If the process is too difficult, you’re not just losing candidates, you’re losing top talent. If there are too many hoops to jump through, they will likely abandon the application and apply elsewhere. Making the application process automated and easier to navigate will improve the quality of candidates applying.
Onboarding and Training
The process by which employees start at a company is also essential, and something incorporated into the talent acquisition process. Onboarding starts before an individual begins their first day, and talent acquisition software can streamline the process online to make it easier the software can also track training milestones to improve overall engagement and performance.
Engaging Employees
Engagement is also critical to the new employee experience. Not only do you want them to feel heard and appreciated, but you also want them to see the opportunities your workplace presents. Providing access to a variety of tools online and increased access to decision-makers or mentors, you will improve engagement and retain top talent.
Increasing Productivity
Talent acquisition software provides much more than just the ability to source top talent. It can also provide an employee hub that can increase productivity on the job whether the employees are in an office or working remotely. Online access to recruitment and employee management software means these tasks can be done quickly and efficiently.
Measuring Employment Data
Everyone knows that Human Resources is a data-driven industry. The best way to gather this data is through the processes included within talent acquisition software. It can measure everything from the pipeline to the time it takes to fill an open position. It can also provide important data for retention to prevent high levels of turnover.
Conclusion: Talent Acquisition for Your Company
Improving recruitment across the board is the goal of any company, large or small. And to tap into the resources provided by creating a strong talent acquisition strategy isn’t just reserved for the world’s largest corporations.
To transform your recruitment processes into a stronger talent acquisition program, the right technology can make all the difference. That’s how an all-in-one recruiting solution such as HireHive can give your company access to talent acquisition at your fingertips.
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