The New Hero for Tech - Your TA Team

Over the last year or so, I have had in-numerous conversations with various Technology Heads & Talent Acquisition Leaders on the clichéd “War for Talent”. Most common comments are “Is there enough supply”, “This is going to be our best hiring year ever”, “We are seeing offer drops of up to 50%” and everything related to “I am willing to spend as much as it takes to hire talent on time”. The last time I remember such sentiments on display was in 2008-2009; there was a massive off-shoring push, but even then the number of players that were hiring were just a handful. However, this time around we have a lot more IT Services players, Startups, Unicorns and let’s not forget the Indian enterprises, who have joined the bandwagon.

Now here is where the TA teams comes in. It’s widely believed that in most companies, the sales teams have the greatest impact on the bottom line but in this scenario – it’s the recruiters who create a ripple with their hiring capabilities and decisions that make or break a company’s success. In fact, I would go so far as to say that recruiters are the new sales folks in town – they have to understand the client’s and the candidate’s needs, generate leads to fulfil positions, build and manage relationships and close the deal – all while advocating the employer’s brand.?

The idiom ‘your first impression is your last impression’ holds true for recruiters. They have one opportunity to deliver that perfect elevator pitch to the candidate – to convince them on why your company provides the best opportunity for them in the time it takes to ride an elevator. Landing the right impression will determine the candidate’s unalterable opinion and employment decision.

To understand this better, let’s take a quick look at the talent landscape today. With the digitalization mega trend sweeping across Tech Inc., organizations are scurrying to bolster their workforce across technology skill sets. Economic Times reported that Indian IT firms plan to hire over 150,000 freshers in FY22 and NASSCOM remarked that India’s five largest companies are likely to hire 96,000 employees this year. Although this will be a huge boost for the $150 Billion industry, the demand-supply technology talent gap is only widening. Today, it is the candidates who hold the power and have the pleasure of the last word as prolonged notice periods allow them time to hedge their bets with the four-five job offers they have on hand. And the more skilled they are, the more offers they juggle.?

This led me to think about the best ways to ensure we manage our unsung hero – The IT Recruiter.

1.????Employer brand management

?Assuring the candidate that your company is the best place to work in comparison to all the others; you have to give them a good reason to pick YOUR company over the competition.

What is the value proposition you are providing them? Is it just a better salary? Improved benefits, more work-life balance, accelerated career paths and skilling opportunities or perhaps just an amazing work environment? Whatever you choose, remember your recruiter must be thoughtful and personalized, rather than stiffly narrate a well-written script. A good employer branding strategy must be combined with empathy and authenticity to have real impact.

As an employer – It is important to ask yourself if your Recruiters are equipped with these answers.

?2.????What is the right fit?

?Again, I see many employers struggling to define the right fit because each hiring manager is driven by their legacy experiences and principles. However, if you decide that someone isn’t a fit, does it mean that this particular candidate is less important than the one you consider the right-fit? Certainly not. Why, you may ask? They may not be the hot lead you were looking for today, but come tomorrow, you may never know when you might seek them out again. This boils down to experience management, damage can be done to the company’s reputation in the matter of a few clicks, Networks have a multiplier effect and word of mouth - both positive and negative – can have a defining and long-reaching domino effect on your brand.

You would want every candidate you interact with to walk away thinking positively about the organization’s brand and their experience with you. To this effect, we recently conducted a dipstick study with prospective candidates, where nearly 80% responded that not receiving a response is the most discouraging element of the job hunt process – and one that negatively impacts their opinion of the firm. All it takes is one simple email – automated or not – to communicate the decision to the candidate, ensuring a favorable experience. It’s the small details that make or break their experience.

As an employer – Do you close the loop with your candidates?

3.????How productive is your workflow?

?A company should evaluate its talent process flow like a manufacturing process. What are the bottlenecks? Any lags or down times? How can we design a leaner interviewing process? How can we leverage more talent acquisition tech? And possibly my favorite question – How can we treat Talent as an omni-channel system? Can we hire the employee full time, as part of insource or outsource recruitment, as a contractor or even as a gig worker?

?Leadership should evaluate these options in an employee market. It allows the TA team to focus, leverage and prioritize. In these times, the metrics that you so promptly followed may no longer hold true; it is time to then revisit the process. If you haven’t yet, you must read “The Goal” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt to learn more about this.

As an employer – Are you exploring all the options you have to attract talent? Are you sure your TA teams are staying ahead of the curve?

4.????Empowerment of TA teams

?A quick question for you – as a business leader, how much time are you spending with your TA Teams? Many-a-times we have noticed a push strategy in such scenarios; demands are released and the teams are expected to run with it. I guess in an employers’ market this is BAU, but in an employees’ market you need significant business interventions. While we upskill our tech talent, are we upskilling our Recruiters? Are we recognizing our best recruiters? Are we asking the TA heads if they need any new tech to help them improve productivity? In other words, as business pipelines increase, my take would be that the CEO should be spending more time with the TA & HR teams than on account planning - not just reviewing with the teams, but supporting them.

As an employer – When was the last time you spent some value time with the TA team?

One thing is certain, there is no right or wrong decision in hiring; the right process and channel defines the most optimal outcome.

Vijay Sivaram is an integral founding member of Quess Corp, India’s No. 1 staffing company and private sector employer and currently serves as the CEO of Quess IT Staffing and Quess Search & Recruitment.