What are Talent Acquisition and Recruitment Strategies?

In the competitive landscape of today's job market, every organization is striving to elevate itself by hiring the top talent in the world. But beyond knowledge and skill, modern enterprises also look for candidates who can seamlessly fit into the company's culture. However, winning talented candidates who can check all boxes is not easy; it requires constant and vigorous effort.?

Companies and their HR departments are implementing sophisticated talent acquisition and recruitment strategies to ensure this.

While these two methods may look like synonyms for each other to a common understanding, they represent two dimensions with different aims in the HR world. So, in this HR edition of the Pitch N Hire newsletter, we are deep-diving into the hiring process to understand these two strategies from a close-up and discover which one you should opt for.?

Talent acquisition: What is it?

Talent acquisition is a tactical and understandable approach to tracking, attracting, hiring, and retaining top-tier talent for an organization. Did you know that 77% of talent leaders say their talent acquisition strategies are more about creating value than cost-saving??

And unlike recruitment strategies, talent acquisition involves long-term planning and commitment to address current talent requirements and future roles. This means if you are looking for a quick fix for a skill gap in your organization, then talent caution might not be the right strategy for you. A robust talent acquisition strategy involves the following elements:

Employer branding: What is it?

Developing a recognizable and trusted brand for your organization is a slow process, but when done properly, it can attract top talent from all over the world. The logic behind this is quite simple: job seekers and employees want to connect and work with an employer with a high reputation in the job market.?

Brand building can be enhanced using compelling career pages, collecting and sharing employee success stories, promoting diversity and inclusion, monitoring online reviews, and using social media to gain trust. A study shows 89% of companies expect to be more digital in their talent acquisition processes post-COVID-19.

Accessing needs

Conducting a thorough assessment of current and future candidate requirements can set a proactive objective for candidate acquisition within the organization. By following these objectives, organizations can ensure that no skill gap arises in the future. This process involves assessing short-term and long-term needs, developing candidate profiles for hiring, and evaluating internal talent.

Different sources

A vital strategy for talent acquisition in modern times is leveraging the plethora of digital platforms and tools available to hire top talent. As an HR expert, you can use social media platforms, job boards, or job websites to reach your ideal candidate.

Robust screening

Candidate screening is a method wherein a pool of potential candidates is carefully evaluated to identify the most qualified talent for the future. It can be done by adopting several strategies, such as assessing cultural fit, checking references, and assessing soft skills.?

You can also employ an application tracking system such as Pitch N Hire's ATS to screen resumes and curate skill assessment assignments.

Talent relations planning

Trying to improve the candidate experience and maintain a positive relationship with potential candidates can help you attract and retain top talent.?

A study shows that 77% of candidates with a negative experience with your company will share it with their networks, which can stop you from attracting the best talents.

Recruitment strategies

Recruitment is a subset of the talent acquisition process. Similar to talent acquisition, it involves identifying, attracting, and recruiting the best talent. Still, unlike talent acquisition, candidates under this strategy are hired to fill an immediate opening within an organization. It's a more tactical and short-term process that includes less commitment from employers to develop and cultivate talent.?

According to a survey, 31% of employees quit in their first six months due to a lack of engagement from employers. A robust recruitment strategy includes the following steps:

Application tracking system

According to research findings, 75% of recruiters use an application tracking system or ATS. It is a sophisticated tool designed to facilitate the fast-tracking of recruitment processes.?

That makes it a perfect tool for organizations and HR personnel looking to urgently fill the skill gap. Some of the advanced ATS, like Pitch N Hire's ATS, include features like automated job posting, resume parsing, advanced candidate filtering options, and providing a pool of top candidates.

Use your brand.

Top talents are often attracted by well-established brands. Companies worldwide are using this strategy to attract top talent quite effortlessly.

Job posting and advertising

As an HR individual, if you aim to recruit a candidate quickly, job postings and advertisements can be a great tool that can cater to your immediate candidate needs. You can also use social media to reach out to your potential candidates. In fact, a study shows that 84% of businesses are not using social media as a recruitment tool.

Candidate pools

One of the overlooked elements of recruitment strategies is ignoring past applicants. To find talent, you can look back and reach out to applicants who were not selected in the past.

Use your channels

Apart from the new approach, you can use conventional methods to hire. This includes posting on job websites and niche job boards, using your professional network, or launching employee referral programs where your employees can help you track the best talent.

What should you do for acquisition or recruitment?

Acquisition and recruitment follow a similar hiring strategy; one is used as a long-term solution, while the recruitment strategy is used as a quick-fix solution to the hiring needs. If an organization has to achieve flexibility in managing its workforce, it's going to need the help of both strategies.?

As we explored, implementing the right recruitment strategy needs time and effort, but this can be changed by incorporating Pitch N Hire's ATS into your hiring mechanism. Its AI-enabled technology streamlines the entire hiring process, from sourcing and screening candidates to managing interviews, ensuring you find the right talent in record time.