Talent Acquisition: Current and Future

Where Talent Acquisition has been and where the Future of Talent Acquisition is going.

Then and now

THEN:

15 years ago, a wave of sophisticated Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) were launching to help companies better automate, regulate and track their Talent Acquisition strategies. These systems created enormous efficiencies and enabled HR Talent Acquisition Departments to do so much more with the limited resources they had. With these efficiencies came an unforeseen cost that has been somewhat invisible until we started examining the whole lifecycle of Talent acquisition from a Data Analytics standpoint. We've literally been burying millions of job seekers in the wake of antiquated Applicant Tracking Systems, and Rigid Compliance driven processes.  Unknowingly, by building ATSs to help Recruiters process mountains of information, we have created our own enemy. A process and system that does not manage the candidate relationship very well.

• Over 90% of all candidates start, but never complete an online application process.
• 86% felt abandoned in the process.
• 56% Never heard back from the employer.

That was then. Here is what is coming:

We are seeing a revolution in the workforce.  Candidates are demanding transparency and a better candidate experience or they simply will move on to the next job opening they see. And recruiters are asking for better tools to give candidates what they desire.

Where do we see most companies refocusing their Talent Acquisition resource strategies currently?  

Opportunity Harvesters

An “Opportunity Harvester” includes all the Talent Acquisition tools used to get candidates into a requisition pipeline. (there are thousands of smart tools recruiters have available to help get candidates into our job requisition pipelines.  These tools range from Job Posting tools, Job Boards, Social Media Aggregators, and Resume aggregators, etc.) The latest wave of Sourcing Smart Tools are great, but they still do not address the fundamental issue around poor candidate experiences!

Where should the next progression take us? I.E. where should companies be refocusing their Talent Acquisition resource strategies?

A wise leader once told me, "When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging". While many companies are looking for ways to dig faster and harder to find candidates, pushing more through a broken process is missing the biggest area of opportunity!  Consider what happens when talent enters the pipeline?  Are we engaging with this talent in a way that satisfies both what the organization needs and what the candidate needs. The research says we are still failing to deliver what the candidates want.  We still deploy ATS’s in the following dysfunctional ways.

• Resume repositories
• Black Box Abyss
• One way communication - “don’t call us, we’ll call you”
• Legal and Compliance is priority 1 at the detriment of the candidate experience.

The lack of talent is not the biggest issue that Talent Acquisition teams need to address. If we can learn to convert more of the applicants who fail to complete the application process, and then create a better candidate experience, we will win more of the battles for talent.

Remember This:

Our goal should be to convert applicants to hires and brand ambassadors!  There are many technologies that currently exist and some that are on the immediate horizon that can/will address this fundamental issue.  Creating a better candidate experience through more effective human interaction and better technology, is the next step in the evolution of Talent Acquisition.  Stay tuned….