The importance of an effective talent acquisition strategy

SELECT TALENT Managing Director Jo Hall discusses talent acquisition and how an effective talent acquisition strategy can prepare you for future success.

It’s fair to say that the world of in-house recruitment and talent acquisition has changed since I first started at Network Rail back in 2016. Back then, I would sift through hundreds of paper applications for its Advanced Engineering Apprenticeship Scheme, or spend time recruiting for big infrastructure investment projects like Crossrail and Thameslink, where we’d introduced a new applicant tracking system and recruitment supplier directory. A talent acquisition team’s responsibilities and value evolved quite rapidly, and we saw a shift of in-house teams recruiting directly to market. This was something I implemented at Royal Mail.

Ten years ago, I launched Selective Resourcing and we’ve recently rebranded to SELECT TALENT. We wanted to bring a fresh option to businesses across the rail sector by showing them different solutions and helping them to think differently about the value that a recruitment supplier with talent acquisition expertise can bring.

One of the big changes from my time at Network Rail to now is the many ways you can access candidates. There are so many innovative ways to reach candidates, removing the barriers that previously existed.

The use of technology and the advent of social media, particularly Linkedin, has enabled companies and recruiters to access more potential candidates than ever before. Add in more flexible working and it is easier to target candidates than it has ever been. Although it has created challenges. Consider how many times you may have received an email or LinkedIn message talking about a ‘new and exciting opportunity’. Due to the number of approaches that potential candidates now receive, your ‘outreach strategy’ (how you target candidates) must stand out and your talent attraction is more important than ever.

So what is the difference between recruitment and talent acquisition and what makes up a talent acquisition strategy?

Recruitment is used to fill a specific role with a qualified candidate, making it a short-term strategy. Talent Acquisition is embedding an approach to enhance a business as an employer of choice, creating a longer-term, multi-faceted strategy addressing changing business demands.

Let’s take a look at some of the core elements when considering a robust talent acquisition strategy:

1. Workforce planning
   Workforce planning is the process an organisation uses to analyse its workforce and determine the steps it must take to meet current and future hiring needs. Considering internal moves, and pre-empting turnover and business growth. It’s essential to strong workforce management. From identifying skills gaps to building new positions and expanding services, operations or products. A talent acquisition strategy is a core output of a strategic workforce plan.
2. Talent attraction
   The first step to attracting the right talent is understanding your target market. Where are they? What attracts them? What is going to make your offer stand out? How easy are you making it for them to apply and when they apply, have you planned your next steps and are you acting quickly enough? Answering these questions is how a campaign is built and marketed to candidates. There are a broad range of channels available where your target market can be engaged. If you have only one or two options, you probably need some help! Positioning your offer is equally important, making it engaging, insightful and truthful. This isn’t just about a new headcount – you want new starters to make an impact and enjoy their job!
3. Assessment & selection
   With staff turnover rates being at their highest for a decade, the pressure is on to get this part right. Before you jump into the actual interviewing bit, there is a lot to consider; technology, diversity, organisational fit, quality of hires, turnover rates, job satisfaction of employees and new skills. When you take stock, this bit is an absolute game changer. A collaborative hiring process is critical to success. Defining the role, qualifications, and person you are looking for will greatly increase the likelihood of finding the right talent. Then comes the best part – choosing the wide-ranging options of tool or technology to assess that person appropriately.
4. Offer & onboarding
   Did you know the average time to fill a role in all industries is 42.6 days, and in tech, 68 days? The latter is due to more counter offers being made in tech than in any other sector. Quite alarming for the growing need for tech talent in rail. The last thing you want after all the time invested is to lose your top candidate at the final hurdle. There is good news: if you get the earlier points right and expedite a speedy and responsive process, you are far more likely to secure them. Onboarding can be as simple as keeping in touch points, giving the new starter a chance to meet the team, and inviting them to social nights before they formally start. This is all a great start. If you want to step it up further there is so much collateral and merchandise on the market right now that can be created and sent before their arrival.

Other considerations

Candidate relationship management

A key part of any talent acquisition strategy is building a positive candidate experience, responding to every candidate and treating them with respect. A candidate that is not suitable for your organisation right now may have other promising skills and will develop new skills in the future. Be sure they’ll want to choose you again.

Employer brand

This is my favourite part of talent acquisition and it takes the heavy lifting out of reactive recruitment i.e. posting a job and hoping the right person sees it. In today’s market, if you are using a recruitment agency or third-party platform to represent your business, it’s critical that they are asking about your employer brand. For me, it’s a big red flag if they aren’t.

Your employer brand is your shop window and your most important attraction tool. It’s how you present yourself; your culture, what differentiates you, and your reputation. It’s your ‘why’ – why would top talent choose to come and work for you? I call this an ‘always on’ approach. There are more avenues than ever to communicate with your target audience and the trick is knowing who they are, where they are based and what will appeal to them

Diversity

It’s no secret that a diverse workforce brings the most business benefit. The trick is defining what you want to achieve, then putting in place a clear strategy. Most importantly, you should create a time plan of when you are looking to achieve this, with clear checked milestones. Your plan must address a wide range of outreach strategies to a variety of diverse groups, and you should apply thought and due care to your assessment and selection processes. Remember though, your talent won’t stay if you haven’t got the right policies in place to consider their needs. And finally, your whole workforce and culture needs to be on board – so yes, an absolutely massive one!

As you can see, to secure the talent you need in 2024 for the long term, a considered talent acquisition strategy is your best option.

How we can help

Thanks to our rebrand to SELECT TALENT we’ve been able to craft talent acquisition strategy considerations into all of our solutions, created by listening directly to business challenges around budget, resource constraints, lack of talent and the way contracts are awarded in rail.

Our solutions offer both strategy and delivery options and can support businesses without a dedicated HR resource or with a team of recruiters. Helping with ‘on demand’ style support to pay monthly and annual options.

Our transparent process keeps you updated every step of the way with set milestones to keep you on your toes, an honest view of the market and how things are progressing. It’s our commitment to keep going until we secure the right talent.

Our innovative approach to engaging candidates to buy into your culture is key to our success. This is delivered via sourcing and attraction tools that ensure the CVs received are relevant and from a diverse pool.

About us

We are a small business, a husband-and-wife team that can flex up and down to your needs. Every client matters to us, and we put the time in to make sure clients receive our care, dedicated time, and knowledge.

Our in-house and business recruitment background shapes our culture. We utilise our individual strengths and agility to offer the best solutions for our clients. Our size allows us to quickly adapt and respond to their needs. Our values and ethics are driven by our understanding of and direct experience in the industry, and we’ve honed our skills by delivering in senior positions ourselves.

We’re looking to create lasting partnerships and leave your recruitment in better shape.

To learn more about us, how we work and our solutions click here to download our brochure