Submitted by Sara Dalsfelt, ATAP Member
In early September, Adway participated in ATAP’s Global TA Day and I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m still pretty awe-struck by all of the insightful presentations I attended! The overarching theme of the event was how today’s talent acquisition teams can leverage the entire world as their recruiting playground. In all honesty, anyone and everyone can be a potential candidate nowadays.
Before I dive into all the excitement of the conference and my key takeaways, let me give you a little overview of who I am and what I do. My name is Sara, and in my role, I focus my efforts on providing value to my LinkedIn network; educating employers on the importance of cultivating brand visibility and attracting relevant candidates with the help of AI. Take a moment to pause and think about it. The war for top-notch talent is incredibly fierce – and without the use of programmatic, meaningful social ad campaigns or tactics designed to streamline the application process, your company will forfeit its competitive edge.
With an eye on the themes, trends, and topics impacting the business of talent, I hold recurring livestreams and webinars to discuss how harnessing the power of data and automation can help employers move from “egosystems” to successful recruiting “ecosystems.” If strategic Talent Acquisition is on your radar, and you’d like to be in the limelight of the recruiting and Talent Acquisition game, then you’re very welcome to tune in. From a shift in the way candidates communicate to the emergence of artificial intelligence, I hope my insight will enable your talent acquisition team to optimize their processes and carve the pathway to success.
Global TA Day was such an incredible experience to partake in. I loved having the flexibility to select the seminars I wanted to attend. I even managed to join in live for a whopping 14 hours before my head felt like it may explode from all the great topics and insights. Each speaker offered a plethora of inspiring information. So, here’s the key takeaways I can’t stop thinking about!
Are You an Order Taker or a Strategic Business Partner?
Even the most senior recruiters can find themselves playing the part of “order taker” at any point during their careers. But, what if it wasn’t just a product of “bad luck?” What if you could engineer a different kind of relationship with your hiring manager right from the start? As Anna Stenbeck and Bret Freig discussed in each of their talks, Talent Acquisition drives business objectives and overcomes challenges through the lens of talent. By approaching matters from a candidate-focused perspective, we can develop the “why” and “how” behind some of the issues being faced – whether it’s performance, a lack of a strong pipeline, or internal culture.
You may be thinking, “My hiring manager doesn’t want to listen to this.” However, every concept, argument, or initiative you speak to should start and end with data. You should be asking yourself questions like, “How can I be sure I’m adding value?” “Are we solutions-driven?” “Are we being proactive versus reactive?” The goal is to move out of the order-ville hierarchy. How? By knowing your hiring manager and leveraging data. Set the pace, purpose, and expectations!
Instead of a one-sided relationship, you want your hiring manager to invest in your partnership. Showcase your value by gaining a deep understanding of the historical data, facts, and gaps in the process. Approach each conversation knowing what you want to accomplish and you’ll begin building a thought leader relationship.
Diversity Is Being Invited to the Party; Inclusion Is Being Asked to Dance
I’d first like to give a big warm thank you to Vanessa Raath and Lerato Semenya, for their gripping and eye-opening discussions surrounding diversity and inclusion. In the wake of apartheid, South Africa is battling workplace issues surrounding inclusion and diversity. In response, the South African government passed the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Codes of Good Practice in an effort to ensure companies stop exclusion and have a positive global impact. Like South Africa, countries across the globe are taking a similar stance – ensuring businesses are adhering to inclusive workplace practices.
Placing an emphasis on diversity recruiting opens up a whirlwind of opportunity for employers. It allows companies to tap into new perspectives, boost morale and performance, and access a broader pool of talent. Candidates want to work with real people. Real teams. There’s no more room for bias.
Don’t Just Be Data Storage – Use Your Analytics to Understand What Questions Need to Be Asked in Your Recruitment Funnel.
When people hear the word “data”, their knee-jerk response is, “we need to be more human.” However, data consists of facts and statistics, serving as a resource for employers to make informed decisions. Facts and emotions need to be separated. One of the main reasons people react this way is due to fear; fear of being replaced by automation. But, with this mindset, people often fail to see the opportunity and the positives, like making life easier and more efficient.
As Bill Boorman and Ivan Stojanovic discussed, by leveraging data and automation, TA teams can focus 95{b82145e54dfbe3a58a59cec33300113b09cf99fd28d1209839483dfcfb952449} of their attention on the bottom of the funnel instead of spending 95{b82145e54dfbe3a58a59cec33300113b09cf99fd28d1209839483dfcfb952449} of their time living at the top of the funnel. As humans, we have the ability to take data and numbers and put them into a meaningful context. We’re the ones in control.
An algorithm is limited; it can react to trends but it cannot identify the root cause of the trend – only a living, breathing person can do that. Data gives you a high-level, helicopter perspective, which can be used to build successful recruitment and talent acquisition strategies. We need to measure and understand impact in order to demonstrate value. Use A/B testing. Think like engineers. Talent Acquisition exists to increase share and stakeholder value – that’s their “why.”
These three takeaways summarize some of the biggest initiatives I see talent acquisition teams focusing on all around the globe, now and for 2021.
And the best part? I am very passionate about this and I check off all these boxes in my discussions on Linkedin. My core belief, along with Adway’s, is not just to attract great talent, but the right talent. If you’re just like me – and you simply can’t get enough of the future of Talent Acquisition, then I hope to see you join in on my discussions on Linkedin!