What Is Talent Acquisition?
Talent acquisition deals with the strategies, tactics and processes for identifying, recruiting and retaining the human resources a company needs. It includes developing, implementing and evaluating programs for sourcing, recruiting, hiring and orienting talent.
Workforce Planning
An important step in a talent acquisition strategy is to assess the current and future workforce needs. Factors considered in workforce planning include:
- Government influence.
- Economic conditions.
- Business competition.
- Workforce demographics.
Recruiting
Sourcing and recruiting are the meat and potatoes of talent acquisition. Practices include external and internal recruiting and employee referrals.The hiring process includes numerous tasks, including:
- Candidate sourcing.
- Screening candidates.
- Interviewing.
- Pre-employment testing.
- Writing employment offers.
- Onboarding new hires.
Read more: SHRM's Recruiting Resource Center
Legal Issues
Talent acquisition requires thorough knowledge and practical application of a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations such as:
- Equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws prohibiting discrimination based on factors such as race, color, gender, pregnancy, age, religion, national origin, disability and veteran status. Many states and municipalities have EEO laws that provide greater protection than federal law.
- Immigration and visa requirements for foreign workers to be employed in the United States. There are several types of visas available under a variety of circumstances.
- Employment eligibility verification through the completion of the federal Form I-9. Civil and criminal penalties can be imposed on employers that do not comply.
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that applies to background investigations, such as criminal history or consumer credit reports, in some circumstances.
- State law regulation of employment contracts, such as noncompete agreements or confidentiality requirements.
Read more:
- Manage Equal Employment Opportunity
- SHRM's Workplace Immigration Resource Page
- SHRM's Background Checks Resource Page
Technology
Technology is frequently utilized within talent management. Some of the more common areas in which technology is employed to assist in talent acquisition are the following:
- Affirmative action tracking.
- Applicant tracking.
- Background checking.
- Candidate communications.
- Job analysis.
- Job descriptions.
- Job postings.
- Legal compliance.
- Orientation/onboarding.
- Recruiting.
Read more: SHRM's HR Technology Resources
Talent Acquistion Careers
Are you interested in a talent acquisition career? Or an HR generalist role with talent acquisition responsibilities? Here are five tips for becoming a true talent acquisition partner:
- Be Involved: Get hiring managers involved in the sourcing and teach them how to identify and reach out to referrals and leads
- Cultural Fit: Understand the teams you are hiring for by interacting with them and learning how team members engage with each other to better identify candidates who fit the team culture.
- Communicate: Provide feedback to hiring managers regarding their candidate assessments based on your expertise of the role being filled and the team.
- Don't Settle: Speak up and don’t be afraid to advise hiring managers to wait for a great candidate when they may be willing to settle for a mediocre candidate.
- Leverage Strategy: Be strategic and bring workforce planning information to the table that can assist leaders with making better talent decisions.
Related Articles
HR must always include human intelligence and oversight of AI in decision-making in hiring and firing, a legal expert said at SHRM24. She added that HR can ensure compliance by meeting the strictest AI standards, which will be in Colorado’s upcoming AI law.
The proliferation of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and the ensuing expected increase in productivity and efficiency, could help usher in the four-day workweek, some experts predict.
Learn how Marsh McLennan successfully boosts staff well-being with digital tools, improving productivity and work satisfaction for more than 20,000 employees.