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By Matt Alder

 

The Great Resignation or the Great Reset? Whatever you choose to call it, it is undeniable that employers are currently finding it extremely challenging to attract and retain talent. It is also evident that this isn’t a transient post-pandemic trend, but a deep-seated systemic issue driven by demographics and changing attitudes towards work.

Short-term tactical responses to the challenge aren’t working for employers, and it is clear that comprehensive strategic approaches are the only option. Seeing talent acquisition as a critical long-term business priority is absolutely key to this.

Many employers still have a very transactional approach to recruitment, reactively responding as roles become vacant within their organisation. Even those who have invested in building talent acquisition capability in the past will continue to struggle if they keep doing the same things they did two years ago to attract talent.

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The world has moved on, the market for talent has never been more competitive, and the employers who are getting a competitive advantage are those who are bringing the same level of thinking to talent acquisition as they do to sales and marketing.

Simply posting job descriptions on the internet or relying on working with recruitment agencies on a last minute contingent basis may have worked for companies in the past, but this has a limited chance of success in 2022. Instead, employers need to think about talent acquisition as an ongoing process that requires many months to bring the right hires into their businesses.

Although strategic talent acquisition is a complex business process, it can be simplified into four key elements. First, how do you get the attention of the people you want to hire? Secondly, how do you persuade them that your company and organisation are the right fit for them? Thirdly, how do you covert their interest into an application and ultimately a hire? And fourth, how do you ensure you provide a brilliant candidate experience throughout the process?

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For companies starting from scratch, making sure that your job adverts are written in a compelling way designed to appropriately engage with the target audience is a good starting point.

Unsurprisingly, the recruitment market is booming, and many technologies and suppliers can help employers plan and execute long-term strategic talent acquisition. Doing what you have always done isn’t good enough anymore. Talent acquisition is now a critically important business function, and it needs attention and investment right now.

Matt Alder, host of The Recruiting Future Podcast, is a guest writer on behalf of s1jobs.