20Years in TA: A Reflection

I saw a post the other day where the wonderful Alan Walker mentioned he had been in recruitment for 20 years. This made me wonder how long I had been in it.

Well coincidentally I started at Goodman Masson in April 2004 as a Researcher, 20 years ago! For context at that time LinkedIn was 2 years old and had circa 1.2m members, Google announces plans for an IPO, Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen (13) becomes the world's youngest international Grandmaster (GM), Youtube was still a year out from being founded, there was no technology company in the top 10 companies in the Fortune 500... it was a different time...

Fun fact I didn’t actually join LinkedIn until January 2006 I am member 4,753,870, at that time LinkedIn had a staff of 50.

This 20year milestone has got me somewhat contemplative and reflective.

At Goodman Masson my job was to look at the Big Red Book, a book containing all the members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and track down all soon to qualify and recently qualified accountants. This was as manual and literal as it sounds. Line by line alphabetically and reviewing what year they had or were forecast to qualify. I would then look to phone through reception and try to get the potential candidate on the phone and see their interest in changing roles. This work wasn’t glamorous but it really set me on the path of recruitment from a very granular candidate hunter (vs gatherer / farmer) perspective (nb in this context I am not using the traditional sales hunter/farmer meaning). This hunter mindset would stay with me throughout the next few promotions and roles. I always thrived in the thrill of the chase and findings the candidate that others couldn’t. In fact, many months I would surpass my entire sales target purely on candidate splits as I was so much better at hunting candidates than I was picking up new clients and traditional business development.

This hunter mentality threw me into the world of sourcing and direct search which itself led me to executive research, sourcing intelligence and into the world of Talent Intelligence in which I now find myself. I have always loved sourcing, the hunt, the high value relationships it can bring. I still remember many of my earliest placements, some of the most phenomenal candidates I met and the relationships I had.

It is through this, very openly bias, stance in which I write this reflection and look to the next 20yrs….

So the last 20 years has been pretty epic for the industry. We’ve seen more and more teams set up internally in organisations and a drive to direct sourcing. We’ve had many say the death of the industry be it with internal teams starting, jobs boards improving, LinkedIn expanding, sourcing becoming more mainstream, or the latest moves with GenAI. Job postings were confined to print advertisements and job boards, resumes were meticulously sorted by hand, and the concept of employer branding was still in its infancy. We’ve seen whole new genres of sub teams and offerings evolve, Recruitment Marketing, Employer Branding, Talent Acquisition Analytics, Talent Intelligence. Technology make leaps forward in CRM and ATS space with next gen systems having auto matching, marketing funnel campaign management, genai capabilities, some even looking at integrating market and candidate intelligence data.

The advent of the internet and social media ushered in a new era of digital recruiting. Online job boards and career sites replaced their print counterparts, allowing organizations to cast a wider net and reach a global talent pool. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter emerged as powerful tools for sourcing, networking, and showcasing company culture, enabling recruiters to engage with both active and passive candidates. As the competition for top talent intensified, organizations recognized the importance of cultivating a strong employer brand. Companies invested in creating compelling career websites, employee value propositions, and engaging content to showcase their values, culture, and employee experiences. This shift toward authenticity and transparency has been pivotal in attracting and retaining the best and brightest.

The integration of data and analytics has further revolutionized the recruitment process. Recruiters can now leverage insights from metrics such as time-to-hire, source effectiveness, and candidate conversion rates to make informed decisions and optimize their strategies continually. This data-driven approach has fostered a more efficient and effective recruitment process, allowing organizations to stay ahead of the curve.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote and virtual recruiting practices, including video interviews, virtual career fairs, and remote onboarding processes. This shift has not only increased accessibility but has also challenged traditional notions of workplace dynamics.

But let’s take stock and look ahead. As we look forward, the recruitment industry continues to evolve, adapting to the changing needs of organizations and the workforce. The future promises even greater integration of technology, data-driven decision-making, and a heightened focus on creating exceptional candidate experiences.

No surprised on the first thought. Further integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation: AI and automation will likely play an even more significant role in streamlining and optimizing recruitment processes. We may see AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots handling initial candidate screening, scheduling interviews, and addressing common queries. Predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms could also be leveraged to identify the best-fit candidates and forecast hiring needs more accurately.

Adoption of blockchain and decentralized recruitment: The adoption of blockchain and decentralized recruitment processes could potentially disrupt the traditional models in a significant way. This emerging technology offers the potential for greater transparency, security, and decentralization in the recruitment landscape. Existing vendors like LinkedIn, which have established themselves as prominent players in the recruitment space, may face challenges in fully pivoting to a blockchain-native platform. Their current business models and centralized architectures are deeply rooted in traditional recruitment practices. However, these established players may explore partnerships or develop parallel offerings to integrate blockchain technology into their existing platforms. On the other hand, we may witness the rise of dedicated blockchain-native recruitment platforms built from the ground up on decentralized principles. While established vendors like LinkedIn may explore blockchain integration, they may face challenges in fully embracing the decentralized nature of the technology due to their existing centralized infrastructures and business models. This could create opportunities for dedicated blockchain-native recruitment platforms to emerge and disrupt the traditional recruitment landscape.

Data, data everywhere…. In this new era of genAI and hyper scale we need to really up our game when it comes to data, analytics, talent intelligence (I’m bias) and commercial acumen. Emphasis on personalised candidate experiences: With the abundance of data and advanced analytics, recruiters may be able to create highly personalized candidate experiences. Tailored communication, customized assessments, and individualized career path recommendations could become the norm, enhancing the overall candidate experience and improving the chances of attracting top talent. We need to have far richer business partnering to really affect change with a total workforce mindset rather than limiting ourselves to putting “butts in seats”.? To be this high value trusted advisor and partner we need a data foundation and data maturity that we simply do not have broadly in the industry presently. The first step is to simply not allow so many of the poor practices that we allow when it comes to data accuracy. I can’t tell you how many TA leaders I’ve seen ask how they can get recruiters to use their ATS/CRM more rather than using tools off the side of the desk. Yes absolutely we should be challenging the vendors to improve the products, yes absolutely we should be looking at working closer with procurement on the purchase, IT on the installation etc. BUT…. Once a tool is in place it is our job to use these effectively and data accuracy is one element of that. Imagine if a finance leader said the P&L wasn’t accurate as many of the finance team weren’t using their finance system but using excel instead. It just wouldn’t be tolerated. Let’s drive up adoption rates as a mandatory, no data in the system means no credibility in data at a leadership or advisory level.

We need to get back to our roots. As an industry Talent Acquisition has lost its way. With the move away from thinking of ourselves as “recruitment consultants” we’ve largely become process administrators rather than consultants. The rich value add and close relationships we had with our candidate base, and the advisory we gave to our hiring managers and business is now largely replaced with volume of outreach and a process driven funnel conversion model. This is not a knew move, back in 2018 I wrote Promoting Process Over Value and Management Over Leadership where I argued that? internal talent acquisition (TA) have been designed for cost reduction and process efficiency focused on predictability and order - the essence of management - rather than driving change and impact, which is the essence of leadership. Never have I been more convinced that for internal TA to have maximum impact, and frankly to survive, it needs to go beyond management fundamentals. Teams must be bold, brave leaders who change the status quo, set clear direction, align their people, and inspire them to reach new heights. Only then can they achieve the strategic influence and results they aspire to, rather than being limited to tactical process management and be in the firing line for automation.

In the span of two decades, recruitment has transformed from a largely manual and localized process to a technology-driven, data-informed, and candidate-centric endeavour. This remarkable journey serves as a testament to the industry's resilience, innovation, and commitment to attracting and retaining the best talent for a ever-evolving world of work. What will we see out of the next 20years?