Focus on the 3 Es of Talent Acquisition

Calling the current tech scenario a cusp would be short-sighted. We are far ahead of it as disruption has already made its way into industries, transforming how we work, where we work from, and towards what end. Needless to say, the pandemic has sped up the process of innovation and as a result, business goals have undergone a world of changes. Keeping up with such alterations and upheavals is possible only if we seek out and nurture the talent who will empower us to shape our businesses and bring them at par with the ongoing evolution.

Why We Need To Re-imagine Recruitment

Addressing the accelerated digital transformation calls for speed, quality, flexibility, and security. Not to mention, the incessant talent crunch has not made matters easy for companies to adopt said attributes. Traditional approaches to talent acquisition still exist, making the recruitment process a hassling experience for both recruiters and candidates. For instance, while the war for talent is more fierce than ever, incumbent organizations often have no other choice than to post and pray.

Our talent preferences, too, have advanced with the times. The skills of yesterday are no longer the skills that will prevail tomorrow. This is quite evident from the rise in demand for digital architects, cloud specialists, cybersecurity experts, blockchain specialists, and proficiency in platforms like Unity, React, and Angular, to name a few. Finding the right talent, virtually, who is skilled enough to catch up to the technology rush is a roadblock CHROs and hiring managers are facing across verticals.

Re-imagining recruitment entails the process of revisiting our existing talent acquisition practices and making them more future-friendly. It will not only help organizations combat the widening skill gap but also attract, employ and retain professionals who are here for the long haul. The question, however, is how to do it, given the evolved employee expectations that have made the market highly candidate-centric.

This is where we reflect on the 3 Es of talent acquisition that can change the recruitment game for good- Engagement, Empowerment and Experience.

Remember when candidates would wait for weeks, sometimes months, for that one response from the company that they have applied to? That won’t fly in the current situation. Today, the more engaged you can keep the candidate, the higher the prospects of them joining the workforce. Like every relationship, communication is the key here as well. Just because your recruitment process is virtual, doesn’t mean your candidates would like to feel left out or out of touch. The right mix of technology and the human touch is a sure-fire way to approach them with empathy and keep them actively engaged.

Speaking of what rubs candidates the wrong way, tedious rounds of interviews often compel top talent to drop off from the recruitment process. Instead of slapping them with a task and deadline, why not make skill assessment quicker, more intuitive, and empowering? Automation and ML tools can be leveraged to bring about a welcome change and enable candidates to present their best versions with an accurate assessment that’s both quicker and freeing. Replace your average skill assessment with a smart proctored test that offers candidates flexibility and pace.

When we talk about experience, the focus goes straight to the candidate’s experience and fairly so. But what if we could enhance the recruiter’s experience while we’re at it? Engage and enable the talent enough so that they can immerse themselves into the recruitment process and have a smooth and streamlined experience. Coming to the recruiter’s state of affairs, the screening process can become much less of a hassle if there is a vetted talent pipeline in place. It not only helps candidates to stay engaged but also makes it easier and painless for recruiters to know their candidates better and make better-informed choices.

The predominantly skill-based talent market has made role-based hiring obsolete. Therefore, aligning your talent acquisition processes with it is the need of the hour. Hiring relevant candidates that fit into both your organization as well as the highly tech-driven future requires a complete rehashing of the older order and practices. Keep an eye out for customized talent solutions that can help you re-engineer your recruitment process. Top talent is hiding in plain sight, all we need to do is look with a fresh set of eyes.

(The article first appeared in NASSCOM Insights on August 5, 2022)