What Talent Acquisition Teams Need Most? A Strategy Built for Change

We’re living (and hiring) in a time of unprecedented change. Layers upon layers of change, in fact. 

Some change happened quickly, like the need to create fully remote talent acquisition processes. Some happened over time, like the shift in candidate needs, expectations, and behavior. And even more change is coming, once we determine the business impact of The Great Reprioritization, which is currently resulting in record-breaking quit rates. 

The companies that will come out of this recovery on top will be those who are able to finetune their business strategies to capitalize on market opportunities. And, they need their talent acquisition teams to help them execute, ensuring they have the right people in the right roles across their organization. But they can’t do it with the way things are now.

It’s time to change gears

If there’s one word to describe how TA teams have been dealing with all of this change, it’s reactive. 

Recruiters have had to adjust their processes in real time, on the fly, to keep up with the needs of the business. Operating in this way – for this extended period of time – has been exhausting. They’re being asked to continuously do more with less, and are hitting roadblocks all along the way as candidates disappear, roles need to be backfilled, and hiring managers grow frustrated.

Talent acquisition needs a reset. From reactive to proactive. They need a strategy, one that is built for change, in tune with candidates and the market, and harnesses the power of both relationships AND technology.

Our newest report outlines five considerations for building your 2022 hiring strategy. None of these can be achieved if TA teams continue to operate without a plan in place. While we can’t predict exactly what’s next, it’s important to ensure your teams have the resources they need to not react but respond and refocus when change comes.

  1. Stay on top of market realities. Companies need to know where the candidates are, what they expect, and how it all varies from one geography to the next. Data helps, but having the right analyst able to make sense of the numbers and advise you on how to adjust your hiring plans is key.
  2. Deliver a high-touch experience in a virtual world. Relying on technology to build and grow your relationships with candidates is a big miss. Speed is important, but not if you haven’t built trust with candidates and created some stickiness. 
  3. Measure and analyze EVERYTHING. The same old hiring metrics won’t get you the insights you need to compete in today’s market. Companies need to update their list of what they’re tracking and definitely increase how often they’re looking at the numbers. For some metrics, it needs to be daily or even hourly.
  4. Operate from a new talent acquisition playbook. The world we live in today is different from just two years ago in nearly every way. From remote and hybrid work to a heightened focus on diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives throughout the hiring process, there’s a lot to update in the playbook.  
  5. Stand out to candidates. Job seekers are different today, collectively and individually. There are sweeping changes to what they want out of work and how they expect to be treated, and also very nuanced changes on the personal level based on where they are and how they’ve been impacted by the pandemic.

Developing hiring strategies and processes built for change is far and away the most important work we’re doing for our clients today. Most companies look at RPO providers as simply extra arms and legs to execute on their aggressive hiring plans. That view is true, we certainly do that, too. But in today’s market, our clients are turning to us for our hiring expertise, not just our ability to execute. Reach out to our team if you’re unsure if you have the right strategy, data, and resources to hire successfully in 2022.