Building a Strategic Talent Acquisition Roadmap: My First 30-60-90 Days as Head of Talent Acquisition

Jumping into the role of Head of Talent Acquisition (TA) is both an exciting and challenging mission. The first 30-60-90 days in this position are critical for analyzing the situation and establishing a roadmap that aligns with the company's goals. My approach may differ from most of you but hope that this article can add to what you've already been doing or to those that are new in the TA Leadership role, even act as a quick cheat sheet for your next assignment

The First 30 Days: Assessing the Situation

In the initial month, my focus lies on understanding the culture of the organization and understanding the current state of talent acquisition, and building relationships with key stakeholders. The key objectives include:

Learning:

• TA members - Understanding where they come from, what they're working on, assess potential and development areas in each member
• Stakeholders - Previous challenges when it comes to hiring. Strengths? Wishlist (you're not going to get everything but we'll meet somewhere in between)? Preferred communication style? What are the road blocks?
• Direct Supervisor - Manage and communicate expectations.

Assessing the Recruiting Function:

Reviewing current talent acquisition processes, technologies, and tools to identify areas of improvement and alignment with the current market (best practices)

• ATS - Is everything being tracked in the system or is the team still using Excel to track candidates? Is requisition planning and approval flow correct? How does headcount planning tie into the ATS?
• Other TA Tools - Assessment, background check, Visa vendor, leveraging AI tools to automate or simplify tasks, video interview tools and scheduling. Are these for the most part integrated with the ATS? If no, are there other options that can integrate with the existing ATS?
• Scheduling - Is this still manually done? Or is it already automated by using a scheduling tool?
• Referral Program - Does the company have one? Is it unique or boring? Is the fee competitive? What outreach is the team doing to spread the news of hot positions? Does the program have a catchy name or is it just ''Employee Referral Program''.
• Branding - Does this term even exist within the function? View Glassdoor ratings (For US/UK but for the rest of the world there are similar sites specific to that region. Ex: Tenshokukaigi for Japan), LinkedIn followers, Instagram followers, FB followers and other key SNS status. Are employees following the company page? How does the Corporate Careers page look? LinkedIn company page basic? Catchy booth set up for job fairs and offsite events? Working relationship with the Marketing team? Leveraging targeted banner ads?
• Cost Analysis - Map out prior source of hire and calculate the cost breakdown of each source. What's the heaviest source? If your answer is Agencies, this is where you can shine as a new leader. Cost breakdown of headcount and tools within the team to optimize cost spending.
• Team Structure - Is the current structure optimized to support the next 1-3 years of the company's objective? There are times when leveraging a 3rd party RPO is the better option versus internalizing a team right away. Do your due diligence on what structure best fits the organizational goals.
• Process Work Flow - Review the Recruiting workflow chart if available. If not, draw one up yourself. Locate areas of improvement.
• Communication - Is the team sending out template emails to candidates? Would be good to review the material and make any necessary changes to include more content for candidates to review when receiving messages from Recruiters. Adding links and photos would be a good place to start.
• Meetings - ''Can't this meeting be an email?''. Everyone is familiar with this meme. If your team is swamped with meetings, review the content of those meetings and combine/delete if necessary to free up time to focus on Recruiting activities.

The Next 30 Days: Begin Mapping a Strategic Plan

With insights gained during the initial phase, the next 30 days are dedicated to formulating a comprehensive talent acquisition strategy. This involves:

1. Setting Clear Goals: Defining short-term and long-term talent acquisition goals that align with the company's growth trajectory. Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of recruitment efforts.
2. Technology Optimization: Identifying and implementing innovative recruitment technologies to streamline processes, enhance candidate experience, and stay ahead of industry trends. Providing training and support to the team and hiring members for effective utilization of new tools.
3. Talent Branding and Marketing: Collaborating with the marketing and communication teams to enhance the organization's talent brand. Implementing strategies to attract top talent and differentiate the company as an employer of choice.

The Final 30 Days: Execution and Continuous Improvement

In the last leg of the first 90 days, the focus shifts to execution and ongoing improvement:

1. Implementing Strategic Initiatives: Rolling out the strategic talent acquisition plan, emphasizing collaboration, and ensuring that the team is aligned with the overall vision. Monitoring progress and making real-time adjustments as needed.
2. Metrics and Analytics: Establishing a robust analytics framework to track and measure recruitment metrics. Using data-driven insights to continuously refine and optimize talent acquisition strategies.
3. Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Encouraging a culture of continuous learning and adaptation within the talent acquisition team. Staying informed about industry trends and adjusting strategies accordingly.

As Head of Talent Acquisition, my first 30-60-90 days are a journey of discovery, strategy development, and execution. What`s your strategy?