Talent Acquisition in 21st Century-A Big Challenge (Part I)
Introduction
Last week, I was in Rajasthan (One of the largest state in India), traveling from Jaipur to Jodhpur to Udaipur to Bikaner to Kota. It was not a fun trip but I was adding few more head counts on the roll of the company I am working with. I was in Rajasthan for 8 days, 1800+ people walked-in for interviews; 750 actually interviewed and we extended the offer to 107 people. Whether you refer to it as a ‘talent war’, skill shortage, or ‘employment seller’s market’, it’s threatening the competitive position of many corporations, and the situation is worsening. Over the next 10 years, the demand for talented people will far exceed the availability of skilled workers – at all levels, and in all industries. Before proceeding further, lets have a look at the following figures:
It is estimated that at least 1/3 of business failures are due to poor hiring decisions and inability to attract and retain the right talent.
The average cost of replacing a manager or professional is 1.5 to 3 times salary.
The cost of working around an under-performer can run as high as six figures
The cost of consistently failing to attract and retain good talent – including declining productivity, morale, culture and reputation - is inestimable.
Each vacant position costs your organization Rs. 60,000 on average. For some management positions, it can easily run into six figures.
Notwithstanding the economic situation of a country which may affect the job market for a time being, many ‘A-players’ who have not had significant opportunities for growth and advancement change jobs, and the fundamental shortage becomes apparent – especially for those companies who have not developed a reputation as ‘employer-of-choice’, and who have not developed the capabilities and infrastructure to compete effectively to acquire and retain scarce talent resources.
Getting the best talent, and keeping the talent you have is becoming intensely competitive. Most corporate officers say that the biggest constraint to pursuing growth opportunities is talent.
Few businesses have adequate talent acquisition, retention and development capabilities -
Acquiring A-players is a both art and science. People who primarily make hiring decisions ‘from the gut’ are rarely consistently successful.
Employer brand identity is increasingly important to compete for talented people who have numerous options. Rebuilding a damaged employer brand often takes years.
New technology such as Internet sourcing has not reduced cycle times nor increased effectiveness
Handing-off to a third party vendor is a transaction, not a process. Organizations that consistently attract players develop an employer-of-choice brand identity, deep capabilities in talent acquisition, retention and development, and the process & infrastructure to support them.
Understanding Talent Acquisition
So what exactly do we mean by the term Talent Acquisition? Well, just as Customer Acquisition describes the overall strategic process around identifying market sectors, targeting client prospects, running direct marketing campaigns, selling and receiving the order (i.e. acquiring a new customer), so Talent Acquisition involves all the sub-processes around finding, attracting and engaging highly talented individuals into your organization.
Origin of the “Concept” of Talent Acquisition
Let’s take a closer look at the way traditional recruitment is re-emerging as a broader ‘talent acquisition’ concept - An approach that is becoming more and more critical in the ‘War for Talent’. Just exactly how does this differ from ‘plain vanilla’ recruitment? Well, in a considerable number of ways.
First and foremost, ‘talent acquisition’ forms a part of a much broader strategic approach in the corporate quest to gain and sustain a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace. Other aspects include talent development, retention and transition, these are primarily inward facing, whilst the former is outward looking.
The core concept of talent acquisition is to get away from the ‘fill in the box’ thinking to one that is more pro-active and much closer to building the skill sets required to achieve business success. Traditionally, a recruitment need occurs when an individual either leaves or is promoted to another function. That’s when panic can set in, especially if no suitable internal solution is found, a situation that is becoming known as - “under the bus syndrome”. Strong relationship building or networking skills are important here. The key to success in talent acquisition is the unique way that you are able to tap into the ‘top performers’ who are not really looking for another job. They never read the traditional job ads or go to the job boards on the Internet.
Encouraging your own ’star’ players to identify other outside top performers is an extremely powerful tool that is
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