How to Attract Top Talent and Boost Business with Talent Acquisition Excellence by Kevin Wheeler and Bas van de Haterd

Using Digital Capabilities and Analytics to Improve Recruitment. In the highly competitive world of talent acquisition, companies that excel at attracting and hiring top talent gain a significant advantage. “Talent Acquisition Excellence” by Kevin Wheeler and Bas van de Haterd is an indispensable guide that reveals proven strategies and cutting-edge techniques to revolutionize your hiring process. Packed with invaluable insights, this book is a must-read for any business looking to build a world-class talent acquisition function.

Discover the secrets to talent acquisition success and take your hiring to the next level. Keep reading to learn how “Talent Acquisition Excellence” can transform your approach to attracting the best and brightest.

Genres

Business, Human Resources, Recruiting, Talent Management, Leadership, Staffing, Career Development, Organizational Development, Workforce Planning, Employer Branding

“Talent Acquisition Excellence” provides a comprehensive framework for building and optimizing a high-performing talent acquisition function. The authors, Kevin Wheeler and Bas van de Haterd, draw on their extensive experience to share best practices, case studies, and actionable strategies.

The book covers all aspects of talent acquisition, from developing an effective strategy and employer brand to leveraging technology and data analytics. It emphasizes the importance of aligning talent acquisition with business objectives, creating a great candidate experience, and continuously measuring and improving results.

Key topics include:

• Building a talent acquisition strategy
• Developing a compelling employer brand and employee value proposition
• Leveraging social media, employee referrals, and other innovative sourcing techniques
• Creating an efficient and engaging candidate experience
• Using data and analytics to drive decision-making and measure ROI
• Fostering collaboration between talent acquisition and other HR functions
• Adapting to the latest trends and technologies shaping the future of recruiting

Throughout the book, the authors provide practical tools, templates, and exercises to help readers implement the concepts. They also highlight real-world examples from leading companies that have achieved talent acquisition excellence.

Review

“Talent Acquisition Excellence” is an essential resource for any organization looking to attract and hire top talent in today’s competitive market. Wheeler and van de Haterd have written a comprehensive and engaging guide that is both strategic and practical.

One of the book’s key strengths is its focus on aligning talent acquisition with business objectives. The authors convincingly argue that recruiting must be a strategic function that directly supports the organization’s goals. They provide a clear roadmap for developing a talent acquisition strategy that is data-driven, candidate-centric, and delivers measurable results.

Another highlight is the book’s emphasis on innovation and adaptability. The authors recognize that the world of recruiting is constantly evolving, and they provide guidance on staying ahead of the curve. From leveraging AI and automation to building a strong talent pipeline, the book is full of fresh ideas and forward-thinking approaches.

The writing style is clear, concise, and easy to follow, with plenty of examples and case studies to illustrate key points. The authors strike a good balance between high-level strategy and tactical advice, making the book relevant for both senior leaders and hands-on practitioners.

Overall, “Talent Acquisition Excellence” is a must-read for anyone involved in recruiting and hiring. It provides a roadmap for building a world-class talent acquisition function that attracts top talent, supports business objectives, and delivers a competitive advantage. Highly recommended.

Recommendation

Kevin Wheeler and Bas van de Haterd explore the changing landscape of recruitment — and the increasing role of AI and algorithms — to offer a guide to digital technologies that fuel effective talent acquisition. They explore the use of AI in all aspects of recruiting and the overarching role of analytics. They emphasize a data-driven, evidence-based, and ethical approach to recruitment. The authors explain the need for adaptive skills and collaboration in AI-enabled recruiting.

Take-Aways

• The world of work has been changing rapidly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Remote and hybrid work reflect the changing workplace.
• Too many jobs are chasing too few qualified workers.
• Modern recruiters must be comfortable using AI.
• Technology enables talent acquisition.
• Use technology to help identify, personalize, and disseminate the organization’s employee value proposition (EVP).
• Data allows recruiters to make predictions and correlations and to develop probabilities.
• AI will change talent acquisition.

Summary

The world of work has been changing rapidly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than ever, employees seek work-life balance. The pandemic shifted the mindsets of workers who may have lived to work before COVID-19 but now view work as secondary to enjoying their lives and freedom. This seemingly sizable contingent wants to right-size their lives — finding a balance between sufficient income and the time to pursue their ideas and interests. Workers across most industries have also demanded higher pay and more flexible working arrangements.

“The pandemic has cemented the thinking that work and life must be balanced and that employers and workers need to create mutually beneficial relationships.”

Some in the gig and self-employed workforce choose those paths due to bad experiences with, for example, poor management or disrespectful leaders. Others, having no choice, embraced gig work during the pandemic. Some choose gig work for flexibility, others because they can earn more or exercise creativity, and some because they cannot find traditional work.

Remote and hybrid work reflect the changing workplace.

Research indicates that workers could do nearly 40% of jobs remotely, at all times, and that more than half of workers could adopt hybrid work arrangements — a few days in the office, a few days from home. However, many leaders still believe that innovation and company culture suffer unless employees share a physical location. Some supervisors and managers believe that unless workers are under their watchful eyes, “they aren’t working.” Leaders worry that office space will go vacant if everyone works from home. Small businesses that depend on workers who congregate in cities might go out of business.

“Once people are accustomed to virtual work, they tend to resist going back to the office full time with its daily commute and hours spent in meetings.”

It is true that when people work closely together and share experiences, they are more likely to bond than if they work apart. People make friends at work — but when they join a new employer as a remote worker, they may never meet their teammates except on a screen.

However, workers who experience remote work show little enthusiasm for returning to the office full-time. Remote work allows people to spend more time with their spouses, children, or friends, which creates happier workers. It is, therefore, unsurprising that workers don’t tend to receive blanket “back to office” mandates well. Moving forward, companies will need to find the right balance between in-person and remote work options and offer other flexible work arrangements — like flexible start and end times — or risk losing top talent. Recruiters, in turn, must pay close attention to a company’s culture when seeking candidates.

Too many jobs are chasing too few qualified workers.

Traditionally confined to specific job titles and skill sets, workers often find themselves ill-equipped to navigate today’s evolving work environment. This creates problems for recruiters. Companies are seeking candidates with expansive skill sets, and many face challenges finding suitable hires. Steven Hankin of McKinsey dubbed this phenomenon “the war for talent” back in 1997, and recruiting has become even more complex since.

“Many employees are leaving their employers or would like to leave their employers because of lack of respect and lack of development opportunities or the ability to use their skills to the fullest.”

Many organizations pour vast resources into attracting new skilled talent yet fail to examine whether a role requires the skills, credentials, education, and experience that their job descriptions demand. Moreover, too few organizations are working to proactively prevent the attrition of existing talent. Mistreating employees — for example, by prioritizing shareholders and quarterly profits over employee well-being — drives away potential and current employees. Demonstrate respect when recruiting and retaining employees. Support your employees’ career goals to secure their loyalty and motivation.

Modern recruiters must be comfortable using AI.

Though AI technology is advancing rapidly, organizations will rely on human oversight and collaboration with AI for recruitment for the foreseeable future. Talented and adaptable individuals with expertise in leveraging AI are, thus, indispensable. From data fluency to networking, modern recruiters must combine their human skills with AI to generate the most value for the companies they serve.

“As we are entering the age of AI and algorithms, we’re also entering the age of talent. The truly talented in any occupation will be as valuable as the best players in sports.”

The recruiter of the future requires a familiar and new range of skills that cut across technical savvy and relational intelligence. Ask three questions about your recruiters:

1. Can they effectively cater to their managers’ and job candidates’ often conflicting demands and needs?
2. Do they promote openness, which affects how hiring managers approach a changing recruitment landscape?
3. How do they persuade candidates to work at their organizations?

“A machine can do the work of 50 ordinary men, but no machine can do the work of an extraordinary man.” (writer and philosopher Elbert Hubbard)

Foremost, recruiters must know how to adapt to changing technology and shifting markets. They should exhibit the following abilities:

1. Knowledge of “how to use data” — Data-savvy recruiters use data to focus their efforts. They understand how to draw insights from data and use those insights to influence candidates and hiring managers. Recruiters must use data to find the best people and to demonstrate why a candidate is a top prospect.​
2. The ability to “build market and talent intelligence” — Data gives recruiters a better understanding of talent location, supply, and demand, giving them what they need to build talent pipelines.
3. Skill for building “relationships and teams” — Top recruiters do their homework and know their industry, including the best talent within it. They work in teams to hire the best people and build reach to connect with the elusive talent their organizations seek.
4. Understanding of and willingness to “embrace technology” — No recruiter of the future will succeed without a solid understanding of how to leverage emerging technologies.
5. Flexibility and agility — As Darwin observed, survival relies most on the ability to adapt. Recruiters should stay curious about new technologies and respond positively to fluctuations in the talent markets and economy.
6. “Networking” — An effective recruiter continuously builds and nurtures an extensive network, including former prospects, experts, friends, colleagues, and social media candidates.

Technology enables talent acquisition.

Businesses need diverse talent with strong potential, agility, flexibility, self-confidence, and eagerness for the job. To find this talent, recruiters must assess candidates’ skills and capabilities instead of relying mainly on credentials. AI can streamline and improve candidate background checks, help determine an optimal new-hire offer, and tailor onboarding to individuals’ needs. However, many firms do not use AI to help with recruitment. Indeed, many use little technology other than, perhaps, an applicant tracking system (ATS).

Spreadsheets and base analytics characterize the early stages of technology adoption and hinder modern recruitment. Organizations evolve from a “haphazard” use of random tools to planned experimentation and platforms with aligned and integrated technologies. At top companies, technology drives sourcing, applying, and initial screening. From the recruiters’ and candidates’ perspectives, recruiting is mostly automated.

“Many organizations expect RPOs to take over the entire spectrum of recruitment.”

For organizations that lack technology, savvy Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) — essentially, hiring specialized recruiting firms — options might provide a temporary or long-term bridge. Many RPOs offer tech-driven global operations, so they can source and recruit anywhere and possess the expertise to keep up with employers’ constantly changing needs. RPOS are attractive options for organizations seeking to outsource talent acquisition.

At the sourcing end of talent acquisition, “programmatic recruitment advertising” and marketing employs AI and algorithms to track specific talent and deliver personalized messages to prospects. Newer systems permit real-time ad bidding based on target characteristics — just as consumer marketing has done for years.

Use technology to help identify, personalize, and disseminate the organization’s employee value proposition (EVP).

Technology can aid organizations in tailoring EVPs — the aspects of your culture that differentiate your firm and will draw the talent you seek — to specific talent against four key considerations that drive success:

1. “True and believable” — Make your EVP detailed and credible.
2. “Sustainable” — Your EVP constitutes a promise linked to your corporate values. It should remain essentially unchanged for years.
3. “Attractive” — Your EVP must attract a wide range of talent, but your firm cannot be everything to everyone. Shape your appeal to different prospects by emphasizing different aspects of your EVP.
4. “Differentiating” — Leverage your EVP to differentiate your organization from other firms.

Amplify the elements of your strong EVP by utilizing AI and algorithms to reach the talent you seek with precisely the right message — while maintaining the integrity of your core messaging. Candidate attraction depends on well-constructed and personalized job ads that align with and support the employer brand. Job ads stand out as the most crucial form of recruitment marketing and outreach because they attract candidates to the job, thus serving as the starting point for potential hires.

AI and personalization improve career sites. A career site acts as a window into your organization, helping potential candidates see what you do and how you do it.

Data allows recruiters to make predictions and correlations and to develop probabilities.

Data encompasses material coded and stored in computers, databases, and platforms. You generate data when you shop online, text friends, send emails, post on social media, and look up information. Recruiters can find prospects with specific skills, experience, interests, or education using algorithms and search capabilities that draw on this data.

“For almost every organization, the CV is still the document used for the very first screening of a candidate, even though there has not been a single scientific study that’s been able to find a single predictive value in a CV.”

Other data, such as labor market intelligence — an overview of available candidates for various positions — can estimate how many people with the right skills are available and how many will graduate from college or other programs with what skills, in which geographies.

AI will change talent acquisition.

There is no one “right” way to find the right candidates for a company. However, AI, algorithms, and data-related developments will continue to change talent acquisition. From applicant tracking systems to predictive analytics — which can help discover how much turnover a given job might expect — and from programmatic recruitment advertising to AI-driven candidate screening, talent acquisition, and those who engage in it can benefit from leveraging technology.

“Ad campaigns won’t be single ads, but hundreds or maybe even thousands of ads that are similar but not the same running all at once.”

The future of recruitment, particularly in terms of job marketing, will center on mass personalization. AI will custom-craft job ads to entice one candidate at a time; messages will include information designed to convince that specific candidate to apply. Recruiters and companies should prepare to make the most of these and other positive, tech-driven changes in the hiring sphere.

About the Authors

Kevin Wheeler is an HR, talent acquisition, and L&D expert and consultant. Bas van de Haterd focuses on using technology to improve recruitment.