Why recruitment and talent should be part of your HR strategy?

Let’s face it recruitment is a bit of a pain, it takes time, it costs money and it’s not always a successful process. However as the talent landscape becomes ever more competitive prospective employees are more aware than ever of finding an employer who recognises their value and provides a cultural fit which works for them.

Does recruitment have to be painful though? Not necessarily, we can’t say that the process will always be smooth but a great starting point is ensuring that recruitment and talent planning are part of your HR strategy.

Does recruitment and talent sit within HR?

No. It varies business to business. The person leading the team needs to have a big say, they know what they need not only from a skills perspective but also a person fit too. Depending on your size you may include recruitment, talent and HR this may be one person, or a few. But in order to ensure an active and successful talent pipeline they have to be working together for success.

Let’s have a little explainer:

Talent planning is a pro-active approach to talent acquisition. It involves understanding who is in your business, whether they can take the next step. If they can't, or you need different skills,  building relationships with potential candidates, even if there are no current job openings. This allows you to have a pool of qualified candidates ready to fill future roles and understand what your options are.

Recruitment on the other hand is the process of identifying, attracting, and hiring qualified candidates for specific job openings within your organisation. Traditional recruitment methods often focus on filling immediate vacancies.

The smart businesses have both in their overall HR strategy and this is why:

Ensure a continuous talent supply and future-proofing

Effective talent practices ensure that your business has access to continuous supply of qualified candidates. By actively seeking out top talent (even when you’re not hiring) you reduce the time and resources spent on last-minute decisions and better still ensure that your team is always staffed with the best talent because you’re anticipating future talent needs before they occur and building relationships. 

Reduce Costs

Pro-actively sourcing and engaging with potential candidates can significantly reduce recruitment costs in the long run. With access already in place to a network of candidates, you can fill vacancies more quickly and reduce time to hire, saving both time and money. 

Enhance employer branding

Walking the walk as well as talking the talk, when candidates have positive experiences with your business they’re more likely to view you as an attractive place to work which in turn helps to attract high-quality candidates. Employer branding however is way beyond a shiny advert from the talent team so you’d better be sure that what you say on the outside is really happening on the inside of your business too. 

Facilitate Diversity and Inclusion

If it’s always part of your strategy rather than just an ad hoc exercise then you can truly commit to making DEI in your organisation actually happen. By actively seeking out candidates from diverse backgrounds, you’re creating a more inclusive workplace and delivering products and services which have true diversity of thought.

Let’s get strategic then….

You may be thinking ‘ well that all sounds great’ but how do we get started on this strategy. Here’s a few pointers to get you going:

Define clear objectives: Establish clear goals and objectives for your recruitment and talent efforts. Determine the roles you need to fill, and the roles you may need to fill as part of any growth strategy.

Harness HR Technology: Use HR platforms and applicant tracking systems (ATS) to streamline recruitment and talent processes. These can help you source candidates, manage relationships and track the numbers. For extra efficiency choose tools which integrate with your existing HR platforms. 

Focus on relationship building: Include engagement opportunities such as networking events, social media and other communication options to build relationships with potential candidates and build a talent network.

Measure and Evaluate: We know, boring but you do need to measure the success of recruitment and talent efforts and include this as part of your strategy to ensure you stay accountable. Use this information to identify areas for improvement which in turn will help you refine your strategy.

A pro-active approach to recruitment and talent is the way to stay competitive and prepared for future challenges. Don’t wait until you have an open vacancy to start, invest in this area of your business as part of your HR and overall growth strategies and you won’t regret it.

Sounds like a lot of work? We’ll sort it for you?

Let’s have a chat about getting a HR strategy in place that works for you and your business.