The 4 “B’s” of Talent Acquisition – Which One is Right for You?

Organizations can have the most up-to-date facilities, equipment, and technology; but, if they don’t have the right people in the right jobs at the right time, it may all be for naught.  Simply put, talent acquisition has become the heavy artillery in the war for talent.  To win this war, organizations must understand their current talent state, accurately forecast talent gaps, and then take the necessary steps to close those gaps.

You can’t take for granted that you already have people with the necessary capabilities.  Placing the right people in the right jobs has always been crucial, but these days it’s more important than ever.  Rapid technology transformations and other social, economic, and global health events have caused workforce havoc.  The result: staffing shortages and unprecedented change with tremendous consequences for individual and organizational success.  Any delay in assembling a solid team can seriously hinder the execution of even the most well thought out strategy.

Once you have assessed your internal talent inventory and understand the jobs you will need to execute your employment strategy, you can 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 (or combination of approaches) is key.

You typically have 4 options as you seek to fill these roles. They are “The 4 Bs”:

1. 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 employees, the employees know you, and the transition can be relatively quick.
2. Bounce: Redeploy talent from obsolete or redundant jobs as well as redeploy people who won’t fit well with the new jobs they may be required to fill. This can mean, unfortunately, bouncing some employees from the organization altogether.
3. Borrow: Procure contingent or contract labor. This is increasingly popular for new ventures because it is highly flexible and you can “try before you buy.”
4. Buy: Recruit outside talent. Hiring managers need to fill job openings quickly while still ensuring their new hires have the right abilities, behaviors, and interests to perform their best.  That’s never been easy and everyone involved in hiring decisions has at some point struggled with selecting the best people.

Which is the right talent acquisition approach?

Determining which option or combination of options to pursue depends not only on supply and demand, but also on your experience and internal resources.  But, when it comes to acquiring contract labor or recruiting outside talent, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.  The research team at Wiley (the publisher of the PXT Select assessment) asked over 5,000 hiring managers in 2022 to pick a single word that described a good selection process.  There were two words most respondents picked – structured and fair.

Apply a Consistent (Structured) Selection Process.

Regardless of whether you pick selecting contract labor or recruiting outside talent, do not short cut your selection process.  Take proper measures to ensure all candidates have the basic skills to not only do the job, but fit both the job and the organizational culture.  Even temporary hires can cause havoc and disruption in the workplace if they don’t fit.  Your workforce is a crucial investment for your organization and you owe it to yourself to make every hire count.

Use an Assessment Which Fairly Evaluates Candidates

Organizations need to use a data driven approach that complements the resume and interview to ensure congruence between your candidates thinking style, behavioral traits, and interest so they are placed into positions where they’ll most likely to do well.  Success boils down to getting the right person in the right role, a concept we call Job Fit.

Our new eBook, Hiring Successfully for Dummies, PXT Select™ Special Edition, is your guide to mastering the art of Job Fit by using a data-driven approach to take the guesswork out of hiring.  This eBook covers:

• Why hiring with only your gut instinct is not enough.
• How to avoid bad hiring decisions and reduce hiring costs.
• How to reduce hiring bias to help build an equitable workplace.
• How to implement a scalable and proven selection solution that enhances organizational success.

To get a copy of our eBook, Hiring Successfully for Dummies, give us a call at (248) 388-0697 or email us at [email protected].  We have the tools, means, and experience and we’d like nothing more than to help you and your organization.