In the world of human resources, recruiting and talent acquisition have similar albeit different meanings. Knowing how they differ can give your company an edge over your competition in attracting the top employees.
Recruiting tends to be reactive, in the sense that the company’s goal is to find an individual to fill a specific, vacant or soon to be vacant position. Recruiting techniques include posting a position to a job board, holding job fairs, and conducting a series of interviews. The individual is usually on-boarded after the position is vacant.
Talent Acquisition vs. Recruiting
Talent acquisition is a proactive approach to hiring that requires skills other than basic recruiting skills. Acquiring talent requires strategic thinking and management skills such as relationship building, foreseeing hiring needs as the company grows, and creating and maintaining a pool of quality candidates for key positions. Those positions may or may not be vacant.
Too often, companies engage in recruiting before they do the hard work of talent acquisition planning. Recruiting should be done after your company develops a quality talent acquisition strategy. Many companies do not have the resources or the experience to devote to effective planning. These companies should consider outsourcing to a talent acquisition manager. Outsourcing your company’s acquisition needs can help your company save a significant amount of time and produce the best results with maximum efficiency.
Roles and Responsibilities of an Outsourced Talent Acquisition Manager
Outsourced professional talent acquisition managers bring a plethora of HR experience to your company while saving you the expense of hiring another employee. (The income of an in-house talent acquisition manager with 20 years of experience is around $100,000, depending on geographic location). Exactly what kind of services would such a manager offer?
1. Planning an Acquisition Strategy
A professional talent acquisition manager understands the amount of planning necessary for success. The manager is a professional who has experience in analyzing the nature of your business and the industry as a whole. The manager can develop an understanding of your future workplace hiring needs. Not only will the manager evaluate your company needs, the manager is a professional trained to take into consideration the local and global labor markets that may be competing for the same individuals.
2. Workforce Composition
In a larger company, a successful acquisition strategy requires an understanding of the different profit centers within the company and the different positions within those centers. A talent acquisition manager will take the time to develop a thorough understanding of your company’s operations and each of the skills and competencies that each position requires for success.
3. Employer Branding
To be competitive for top candidates, your company must show an appealing brand. Your company must have a positive image and pleasing culture. Your company must have a good reputation based on quality products and services. All of these elements make your company an attractive place to work. A talent acquisition manager knows how to make sure your company projects a solid brand that attracts top candidates.
4. Talent Management
Know that the best candidates come from many different sources. A professional talent acquisition manager will have already researched and determined the different sources of top talent that your company needs. The professionals will keep up with the latest hiring methods and trends. When you don’t need to fill a position immediately, the manager can contact potential candidates on your behalf and take time to maintain and build relationships with them. When your company is ready to hire, you can draw from the talent pipeline that the talent acquisition manager has already built for you.
5. Talent Outreach
A talent acquisition manager who performs well helps client companies hire productive employees. Managers need to have excellent interpersonal skills to be able to interact with employees at every level of the company. They also need to go outside of their office to meet candidates at job fairs, college campus events, and other networking events. The amount of time required to do effective networking is time that an in-house HR executive may not be able to spare.
6. Skills Assessments
A talent acquisition manager will design methodologies to develop the talent pools for you, assess candidate skills, and comply with company goals and applicable laws and regulations.
7. Metrics and Analytics
A sound acquisition strategy will use key metrics to conduct proper tracking and analysis of the company’s recruiting. These data analytics will help your company refine its strategy, correct deficiencies, and improve your hiring decisions in real time.
Contact Smart HR for More Information
Save your company time and money by outsourcing your talent management. Speak to the HR consultants at Smart HR for more information about acquiring outsourced talent acquisition services.
