Improving the Sophistication of Talent Acquisition

A former colleague of mine, Marc Havercroft from SAP, wrote a article on LinkedIn recently about the evolution of recruiting in the digital age.  

Marc made many good points (see link below) in his article and the point that hit home with me is one that I see repeatedly within companies large and small...the lack of a well thought marketing approach to talent acquisition.  It's a point that is more than just about employment branding. It's about a comprehensive approach using all facets of consumer marketing and innovative talent acquisition strategies & tactics. Specifically, having insights for each job family and hiring market:

  • Knowing your target audience - Knowing the current trends, motivations and drivers of candidates. 
  • Understanding the markets - Assessing the short and longer-term supply/demand environment. Studying current and likely future competitor positioning for talent. Understanding the compensation and cultural aspects that are gaining traction with candidates in target job families.
  • Competitive positioning - Developing a plan of action to position your organization to be successful versus the other companies competing for the talent you need. 
  • Crafting & driving the message - Applying consumer marketing tactics to effectively and efficiently achieve market reach, awareness and candidate understanding of your value proposition.
  • Utilizing analytics - Continuously assessing, refining and adapting using marketing and talent analytics.

Adding consumer marketing-based sophistication into talent acquisition is a great pressing area of opportunity for many companies and one where faster movers will gain advantage.