Smart hiring is not just about filling seats—it’s about shaping the future of an organization. Increasingly, companies are relying on talent acquisition specialists to guide their hiring choices. A skilled talent acquisition professional can dramatically boost the effectiveness of a company’s hiring practices. In turn, this has far-reaching implications for organizational success.
In this article, we’ll discuss the evolving role of the talent acquisition specialist (TAS), along with some key tenets of a successful hiring strategy. We’ll also examine how to track long-term recruitment success, rather than just focusing on short-term metrics.
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1. The Expanding Role of the Talent Acquisition Specialist
2. The Link Between Hiring and Long-Term Business Outcomes
3. 7 Key Traits That Talent Acquisition Specialists Should Hire For
4. The Importance of Cross-Functional Collaboration in Hiring
5. Using Post-Hire Data to Improve Talent Acquisition
6. Embedding a Long-Term Mindset into Hiring Strategy
The Expanding Role of the Talent Acquisition Specialist
Finding talented employees and boosting retention requires skill and planning. It’s not just about increasing numbers of recruits; it’s about bringing in the right ones. A talent acquisition specialist focuses on targeting and securing new hires who will meet a company’s needs over the long-term.
In the past, talent acquisition professionals were usually tactical recruiters. This meant they followed instructions from leaders, focusing on targeting potential new hires. Today, a talent acquisition specialist takes a strategic role in recruitment. In fact, 87% of recruiting professionals say the role has become more strategically focused over the past year, according to Deloitte.
Designing a talent acquisition strategy involves several key elements:
- Identifying long-term talent needs.
- Designing a recruitment strategy to fill these needs.
- Defining or strengthening the employer value proposition.
- Researching market trends to help the company enhance its employer brand.
- Studying the effectiveness of the strategy and its implementation.
A talent acquisition specialist determines talent gaps, conducting a skills gap analysis to identify areas of need. By carrying out market research and staying informed about the company’s business strategy, the TAS can also work to predict future needs. Then, the TAS can help the organization begin recruiting to meet these needs in advance of any changes.
A TAS also strives to understand organizational culture and team dynamics. This allows for recruitment of people who fit or enhance this culture. The TAS can help a company refine its competitive offering to attract a more qualified pool of candidates, too.
An effective talent acquisition specialist has a strong influence on employee retention and organizational performance. By facilitating smart hires who have the potential to grow with a company over the long-term, the TAS can enhance workforce satisfaction, reduce turnover, and improve outcomes.
The Link Between Hiring and Long-Term Business Outcomes
The hiring decisions your company makes today will affect its long-term success. Hiring the right people shapes company culture and potential for growth, influencing profitability over the long-term. Let’s explore why.
The ROI of Good Hires (and the Cost of Poor Ones)
Poor hires can incur substantial costs, both in terms of lost productivity and the expense of replacing someone who didn’t work out. Ineffective employees decrease their whole team’s engagement and require more hand-holding from their manager. Due to all of these factors, a poor hire can cost up to 200% of that individual’s annual salary, reports the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
In contrast, good hires bring a high ROI that can pay huge dividends over a period of years. High-potential employees are 400–800% more productive than the average employee, research shows. So, the benefits of hiring a high potential employee can be exponential.
Further, a strong hiring process will increase job satisfaction and engagement. By ensuring people’s fit for their roles, it boosts work fulfillment and productivity. In other words, strong talent acquisition practices will aid in building cohesive teams that accomplish more impressive goals together.
Now, let’s look at a few examples of real-world hiring practices that support long-term success.
Examples of Strategic Hiring Practices
Using predictive hiring models, LinkedIn ensures new recruits’ fit for their roles. General Electric uses 360 feedback in its hiring process to provide a holistic view of candidates’ ability to lead their company. And Boeing requires new cybersecurity recruits to complete an intensive apprenticeship that instills crucial skills. Applying for this program is highly competitive, requiring multiple assessment steps.
Next, let’s examine some core qualities that a TAS should prioritize in their recruiting plans.
7 Key Traits That Talent Acquisition Specialists Should Hire For
Across a broad range of roles, certain qualities remain crucial for long-term success. A TAS should strive to recruit and hire talent with the following characteristics:
- Potential for growth ― Look for people who demonstrate strong ambition and the capacity to increase their responsibilities over time.
- Adaptability ― Seek out candidates who can thrive in fast-changing environments and embrace new challenges with ease.
- Alignment with company values ― Hire people whose personal values and behaviors reflect your organization’s mission and culture.
- Learning agility ― Prioritize candidates who can quickly absorb new information and apply it effectively in real-world situations.
- Collaborative abilities ― Recruit people who excel at working with others to drive shared goals and team success.
- Communication skills ― Identify individuals who can convey ideas clearly and listen actively to others.
- Resilience ― Favor candidates who can stay focused and positive when facing obstacles or setbacks.
These traits serve as better indicators of future performance than credentials alone. Education and certifications can demonstrate technical skills, but employees can often grow such skills on the job as well. The human skills and qualities mentioned above are crucial for growing with a company and advancing into a higher-level position. By hiring people with these traits, a TAS will dramatically improve the ROI of their recruits.
For these reasons, companies are often eliminating the requirement to have a college degree. In fact, 73% of all companies focused on skills-based hiring in 2023, SHRM notes. Many focus on competencies like those listed above, which prepare people for success in an increasingly agile and fast-changing workplace.
Next, let’s review how strong partnerships across the organization will enhance a talent acquisition specialist’s efforts.
The Importance of Cross-Functional Collaboration in Hiring
Talent acquisition requires clear communication with organizational leaders in a variety of roles. A talent acquisition specialist should partner with professionals like these:
- Hiring managers
- Human resources business partners (HRBPs)
- Leadership and development (L&D) professionals
- Managers of various teams and departments
By creating a continuous feedback loop between hiring and talent development teams, a TAS will seek recruits with the most relevant abilities. HRBPs can provide insights on how the company’s people strategy aligns with and supports its business strategy, guiding talent acquisition efforts. The TAS can then communicate with hiring managers about how to implement this strategy. Meanwhile, L&D professionals can shine light on which skills can be built on the job and which are crucial to have at the outset.
Further, the talent acquisition specialist should stay up to date on performance expectations, in partnership with team managers. This understanding will guide them in creating definitions of roles and candidate screening processes. Team managers can also share feedback on the effectiveness of hiring practices, based on their experiences with new hires.
Finally, the TAS can work with L&D leaders and team managers to implement learning initiatives that boost new hires’ success. Mentorship programs and training modules can form part of a robust onboarding program that strengthens outcomes. Performance management data and analytics tools can reveal the effectiveness of such efforts.
Using Post-Hire Data to Improve Talent Acquisition
To strategically plan future talent acquisition efforts, don’t stop measuring success once an offer is accepted. Instead, track success over the new hire’s first several months on the job—and beyond. Study new hires’ goal achievement, integration of feedback, and personal growth. By using a comprehensive people analytics solution like Primalogik, you’ll identify talent acquisition patterns that will support stronger hiring decisions.
Tracking Performance
Performance management software will make tracking these metrics possible. Having people analytics integrated into goal-tracking tools will help you fully leverage and understand your data. Through insights on engagement and continuous improvement, it will help you close the loop between hiring decisions and long-term outcomes. As a TAS reviews this post-hire data, they can adjust recruitment, screening, and selection strategies based on what delivers the most capable hires.
Onboarding Effectively
Further, follow a 90-day onboarding program to prepare new hires for long-term success. As you guide and mentor them, you’ll also gather data on their level of engagement, proficiency in the role, and efforts to improve. With a well-structured onboarding plan, you can clearly measure progress toward goals, benchmarking new hires’ progress. A 30-60-90-day plan for managers will help you track new leaders’ effectiveness and mentor them to success, for instance. Along the way, you can adjust their training plan and goals as needed.
Surveying New Hires
A talent acquisition specialist should also strive to improve the hiring experience for candidates. To do this, the TAS can survey new hires about the interviewing and onboarding process. By asking good questions, the TAS will learn how to increase engagement with the hiring process, reduce overwhelm among new hires, and provide the right support as they start their new job.
Embedding a Long-Term Mindset into Hiring Strategy
A good talent acquisition specialist will help an organization hire for long-term fit, not just to fill immediate needs. By continuously improving the hiring process, the TAS will strengthen candidate selection. Well-structured interviews and assessment tools will aid in choosing the right recruits. Staying informed about the most effective evaluation methods, a skilled TAS can implement a mix of helpful tools. And by integrating performance insights into workforce planning, the TAS will recruit the most qualified new hires.
For instance, a TAS could integrate 360 feedback into the interview process. After multiple people speak with a candidate, they can share their impressions. The group sharing this feedback could include potential direct reports, peers, and leaders.
In these ways, a talent acquisition specialist will help your company build its leadership pipeline. You’ll select candidates who have the potential to serve as future leaders for your organization, allowing you to plan for succession and promote from within. Provide employees with ongoing support in developing a career path, holding regular one-on-ones to coach them to success.
With the help of a skilled talent acquisition specialist, you’ll develop a highly effective hiring strategy that brings in the most capable talent. And then, by using clear post-hire analytics, you’ll continue refining this strategy to ensure you’re selecting the candidates who best fit your company. Over the long-term, this strategy will help you develop future leaders, strengthen outcomes, and enhance organizational success.
Learn more about how Primalogik’s software can enhance talent management. Demo our performance management product today!
