What is Talent Acquisition in HR and How to Succeed at It?

Talent acquisition is the process of finding and hiring skilled professionals for a company. It's not just about filling vacant positions, it's also about creating a culture that attracts and retains the best employees.

In this section, we will be discussing what talent acquisition is and how to succeed at it. We will also be covering some best practices for recruiting and retaining talent in your company.

Recruitment vs. Talent Acquisition

Recruitment is the process of finding, attracting and selecting suitable candidates for a job. Talent acquisition, on the other hand, is about finding specialists, leaders or future executives.

Both recruitment and talent acquisition are important to a company. Recruitment helps in filling vacancies and talent acquisition helps in retaining employees. When you have a talent acquisition strategy, you're making sure that you attract the right people to your company and the positions that need filling.

Should You Recruit or Acquire?

The decision to recruit or acquire a company is not an easy one. There are many factors that you need to take into consideration before you can make a decision on which way to go.

Recruitment is less expensive and allows you to retain most of the original staff, while acquisition will give you the opportunity to integrate your business with the new company and use its resources.

It's important to fill a position if you have a vacancy, but talent management should be your long-term strategy.

The purpose of acquiring

As the market changes and skills become more necessary, many people need to reskill for the jobs that are on the rise.

When the demand for staff is high, most businesses will employ a skills strategy. The areas with the most shortage of skills are those that need talent strategy the most. To help meet this demand, we're starting to see the competition for top talent intensify. More often than not, skills shortages are one of the main drivers of this spike in demand.

Benefits of Talent Acquisition

Focusing on talent acquisition can provide a lot of benefits. It can build a stronger company and fosters teamwork as well as boost productivity.

A robust talent acquisition strategy will do wonders for your company no matter what. Whether you are in a field with high turnover rates or just looking out for yourself. A move to a talent acquisition strategy should help you.

Not only would you be relieved from stressful recruitment efforts, but also ease the workload of HR that work on hiring new employees.

How to Accelerate Your Talent Acquisition?

Companies are investing more in their talent acquisition process to improve their chances of finding the right talent for their company. Some of these investments include increased compensation packages, better benefits, or improved career paths.

The most important thing that companies can do to accelerate their talent acquisition process is to make sure that they have a clear understanding of what type of position they need to fill and what skills they are looking for in a candidate.

You won't find great employees on the first go. But you will know how to find and attract them if you keep networking. It’s an ongoing process.

Newcomers will be attracted to your company as a great place to work and flourish, and the company will develop over time. You'll have no issue finding top talent that's eager to work for you.

Beginning your Talent Acquisition Strategy

A talent acquisition strategy is a roadmap for the company to find and attract talent. It's the plan that will guide your recruiting efforts. A solid strategy will be the difference between successfully finding and attracting talent or not acquiring any at all.

Creating a talent acquisition strategy starts with taking specific steps to add a strategic perspective to the recruiting process. Some common steps are as follows:

1.    Evaluate your organisational strategy
When evaluating your organisational strategy, it's important to examine the business plan, goals and departmental plans. You can learn a lot by trying to understand how your company is investing in long-term talent or skill needs. These investments can be influenced by new lines of business, mergers or global expansion.

2.    Gather feedback
Managers and HR will have the most experience and insight into your organisation's business processes, which is why they'll have input into the strategy. They might also be a good resource for other employees who can learn more about your company's objectives.

3.    Focus on your employer's branding
One important thing to note is how the company recruits. The company must align recruitment messages with the brand, so they can reach their long-term goals.

4.    Build a Pipeline

Keep track of the candidates you find, using a spreadsheet, specialised software, or platform. Set aside time daily or weekly for talent acquisition activities, such as networking, outreach, and inputting and updating candidate details. Most importantly, build relationships that could be useful when you have a future role to fill.

Talent acquisition software - how can it help?

Talent acquisition software helps companies to recruit the best talent. It can be used for recruiting and hiring, but also for onboarding and training new employees.

Talent acquisition software has two main functions: sourcing and screening. Sourcing is about finding candidates on the internet, through social media, or by using job boards. Screening is about filtering candidates based on certain criteria like skills, experience or salary expectations.

The most popular type of talent acquisition software is applicant tracking systems (ATS). They help companies to manage their recruitment process more efficiently by automating tasks like candidate sourcing, screening and recruitment management.

Talent acquisition specialist

Talent acquisition specialists are responsible for sourcing, screening, interviewing, and hiring new employees. They also oversee the retention of current employees. They have to be able to work in a fast-paced environment and in a team setting.

The role of a talent acquisition specialist is to identify potential candidates for open positions in the company. They are responsible for finding qualified people who will fit into the company culture as well as being qualified for the job itself.

Responsibilities of a talent acquisition specialist include:

• build together a diverse, skilled and qualified team of employees;
• networking and meeting people face-to-face to find the next opportunities.
• determine staffing needs by working with hiring managers and HR
• finding the right person for the job, creating job descriptions and specific interview questions
• selecting specific selection criteria for roles;
• analysing applications and CVs and providing feedback to managers
• using online channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and professional networks to find potential talent
• before hiring the applicant, they’ll chat with them to see if they are invested in their career at your company. This will also help you to gauge their personality and salary expectations.
• guarantee a successful and a positive experience for new employees.

Conclusion: What is talent acquisition in HR?

With so many other opportunities in the market, it's becoming harder and harder for companies to find the right candidates.

Hiring in a company is a big decision. The right talent can make or break an organisation. It's important to find the right people who are not only qualified but also capable of working well in the company culture and are compatible with the values and mission of the organisation.

You can focus your talent acquisition specialists to be a part of your HR team, or its own department collaborating with the HR team. The main thing to remember is that your talent acquisition team is the most important driver of corporate culture and positive long-term growth.

By implementing our tips from this blog post, you’ll soon see your recruitment improve.

If you enjoyed this blog post on, what is talent acquisition in HR then you’ll find our post on, What is talent acquisition specialist helpful.