Don’t Stop Strategic Talent Acquisition, Even When Hiring is Slow
The time for organizations to focus on strategic talent acquisition is now. In recent months, the economic news has been unsettling to say the least. Global financial strains and government fiscal policies will hurt U.S. growth according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg and others. Inflation is rampant and the stock market has been extremely volatile and expectations are that both trends will continue for the foreseeable future. This news will influence some organizations to hunker down and take short sighted measures such as freezing hiring.
In the short term, the announcement of a hiring freeze signals to your workforce that your organization is not healthy. This causes anxiety and motivates your top performers to start looking for other opportunities and your low performers to look busy so they don’t get called out. In the long term, it starves the organizations of the talent they will need to compete in the future.
Despite these current conditions, forward thinking organizations will seize the opportunity to upgrade talent, shore-up their talent pipeline, and be more competitive. In the ultra-competitive world in which we live, organizations with the right people in the right jobs at the right time stand to win big. These organizations take care to understand their current state, forecast talent gaps, and take the necessary steps to close those gaps.
Strategic talent acquisition takes a long-term view of not only filling positions today, but also filling similar positions in the future. These future positions are identifiable by looking at your succession management plan or by analyzing the history of attrition for certain positions. In the most enlightened cases of Strategic Talent Acquisition, organizations will recruit today for positions that do not even exist today but are expected to become available in the future.
Once you have assessed your internal talent inventory and understand the jobs you will need to execute your strategy, you must identify your gaps, determine a timeframe for closing those gaps, and create specific tactics for closing gaps. This is where getting the right talent acquisition approach is key.
You typically have 4 options as you seek to fill these roles. They are “The 4 Bs”
- Build: Developing your internal talent helps you build a cohesive culture and sends a strong message to your people that you are committed to them. It also mitigates risk because you know the employee, the employee knows you, and the transition can be relatively quick.
- Bounce: Redeploy talent from obsolete or redundant jobs. This can also mean bouncing employees from the organization who don’t fit well with the new jobs they may be unqualified to fill.
- Buy: Recruit outside talent. This can be expensive, slow, and risky. Recruiters are often involved, the process may be long, and due diligence takes more time.
- Borrow: Procure contingent or contract labor. This is increasingly popular for organizations because it is highly flexible and you can “try before you buy.”
Which is the right talent acquisition approach?
Determining which option to pursue depends not only on supply and demand, but also on your experience and internal resources. If talent supply is abundant and demand is light, it should be easier to fill those jobs requiring unique skills or expertise that are both difficult and expensive to find.
Apply a Consistent Selection Process
Regardless of the option you choose, don’t short cut your selection process. Organizations that continually seek out the best talent to meet their current and future needs have a well-defined selection process to get better people faster and at a lower cost. While it’s critical to ensure candidates have the necessary skills to do the job, it’s also critical to ensure they are a good fit for both the job and your organizational culture. Scientifically valid assessments such as our PXT Select or Emotional Intelligence Selection assessments are inexpensive and highly effective tools to help you quickly determine how well a candidate fits the jobs you need today or in the future. Your workforce is a crucial investment for your organization and you owe it to yourself to make every hire count.
We have the tools, means, and experience to help you. Talk to us, we’d like nothing more than to help you and your organization.