Apart from hiring, what value do I bring as a TA? (Part 1)

Change is the only constant. With the news of layoffs and recession appear ever so often, it is crucial to start thinking alternative ways to add value to the organisations you are in - regardless of which role you have at this very moment.

These periods are hard, uncertain and scary. And from a business standpoint that puts a lot of Talent Acquisition (TA) folks at risk - when there is no hiring, we are no longer needed.

Our leader Erin Scruggs shared in her Non Newsletter (yes she coined it) where she talked about Impact Players in Liz Wiseman 's book.

“Impact Players are those who make a significant contribution individually but who also have an enormously positive effect on the entire team.?There’s?also their mental game: how they view their role, work with their managers, and deal with adversity and ambiguity, and how willing they are to improve.?

Here is what I envision myself to be: An impact player who can navigate challenges and lift others up. As business needs are changing, I would like to take this opportunity to share what I am doing now to enable my business to remain competitive and inspire others. A snapshot of what's on my plate at the moment:

Talent Attraction

It is more important now than ever. The state of the workforce is at an inflection point, where 41% of employees are considering leaving their current employer in 2021 (survey from Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index). Employees globally are rethinking not just how they work - but why they work. Based on insights from LinkedIn's Talent Drivers Survey in June 2021, priorities have shifted from compensation and benefits to flexible work arrangements (+12.3%), inclusive workplace (+7.3%) and work-life balance (+6.3%).

With this context in mind, I am working with the business to build a Talent Brand Toolkit that educates TA and business leaders about the importance of a full funnel talent attraction strategy. This will help us create an engaged and nurtured talent pool for the future. We are in the midst of finalizing project team members that consist of TA, HRBP (Human Resources Business Partner) and Business stakeholders (Sales & Content Solutions) to make this come to live.

On top of that, I am working with a small and mighty team to pilot the media campaign execution for the business I am partnering with. The work processes are:

• Review past talent brand campaigns and explore opportunities to make them better.
• Identify key pillars to focus on based on candidate persona and employer value proposition
• Socialize with all team members on this initiative and gather content
• Get brand approval for campaign launch (first one has just been launched, YAY)

Pipeline

Pipeline is a pre-screened and qualified pool of candidates who can fill future positions in an organisation. At LinkedIn, we expand this definition with another extra diversity, inclusion and belonging (DIBs) lens on by creating equitable and inclusive pipeline who will shape the future of the organisation.

Building long term relationships and creating new connections with candidates are crucial. Even though we are not hiring at the moment, there is always a conscious effort to look at pipelining to be ready for future business demand.

How to do it?

1. Reach out to candidates: It can be done through active sourcing, employee referrals, media campaigns, etc. Once you have identified a suitable batch of candidates after aligning with the business, reach out via inmail.
2. Have exploratory conversations: Once candidates reply, arrange a time to speak with them and have blue sky chats about their career aspirations, what they are looking for next and what matters to them the most in their new stint.
3. Align with business: Have regular sync with your business stakeholders and discuss about the conversations you've had with candidates. I always have candid yet structured feedback loop to make sure that the discussion is centered around skills/competencies we are hiring for the team.
4. Arrange coffee chats with hiring managers: I would arrange virtual coffee chats between candidate and hiring manager for them to get to know each other and have more in-depth conversation about the potential upcoming positions, team culture & expectations alignment. Often times, this is a great opportunity to build connection and get to know who is the leader you will be working for.
5. Close the loop: Candidate experience is crucial so it is especially important during pipelining. It is a two-way street, so make sure you inform the candidates about the next steps, timeline, feedback from the chats after they choose to invest time speaking with you.
6. Nurture: Since the roles are for future business demand, build an effective and scaled nurture strategy becomes important to continue the relationships with the candidates you have spoken to. Share latest news/reports from the organisation, media campaigns you have been working on, or just drop a message to catch up. These personalized touchpoints are the one that will create memorable experience for the candidates so when they start looking out, you will be top of mind.

Create Customer Value

LinkedIn is in a unique position where we are in the middle of doing good and doing well. Our business is so unique that it allows TA team to pivot and explore different approaches to add value to the business. I have been involved in two different aspects: sales enablement and customer engagement.

Sales Enablement

Talent Campaign Media (TCM) is a space where TA team is using the product for talent media work everyday. There is an opportunity to provide the sales representatives a new angle on what customers are facing and how to pitch the product more effectively to them. I am developing the learning content and really looking forward to deliver the training to the team by end of November.

A sneak peak on the learning content about how talent brand is not siloed and the importance of unified brand and blended content journey that will bring impact across to customers, candidates and employees.

Customer Engagement

The current climate has resulted in a shift of focus for many clients and this in turns demands a renewed approach to customer conversations. TA is uniquely positioned in this space to support these conversations to build deeper relationships with clients.

As a collective TA team, we have built talent case studies and new toolkits for the team, as well as deliver 1:1 or scaled customer engagement sessions to share our experience using LinkedIn products and also talent trends.

I have collaborated with ESSEC Asia-Pacific on a panel discussion session to talk about why finance careers are in demand now and how to optimize your profile for job search.

Looking back at all the work I have done and currently working on, my heart is full. I am so glad I get to contribute in so many different aspects. Often times it just starts with "How can I help?" and saying yes to new experiences.

I will leave you with Liz's quote to wrap this article and hope this inspires you to start becoming an impact player in your organisation.

The fundamental difference between contributors and?Impact?Players is the way they respond to ambiguity and uncertainty and the everyday struggles in the workplace like problems without clear owners, unclear roles, unforeseen obstacles, moving targets, and unrealistic workloads.”?

#TACreators #ImpactPlayer #TalentAcquisition #TalentAttraction