Is your talent strategy working for you?

Taking a research-based approach to organising your talent strategy is not just beneficial to tap into targeted pools containing the best talent for the job, but it also identifies talent with a vested interest in the wider company strategy and as such offers the greatest payoff.  

For instance, if digitisation is the strategy, does the company have the right organizational design, incentives, messaging and marketing in place to foster that approach in applicants? 

When we talk about talent strategies, we’re referring to your game-plan for finding, engaging, and retaining the people you need for your business to be successful. 

We’re not talking specifically about the tactics – of which there are almost infinite combinations. In fact, it is very important that strategy is considered before tactics, and with the longer-term goals at the forefront of those plans.  

For example…  

When beginning a new search for potential candidates, a recruiter might decide to utilise the following tools: 

• Post on a job board 
• Post on a website  
• Post on social media 
• Begin cold calling online candidates 

These are all standard tactical responses that are certainly important for job exposure. For some roles, they are the exact right tactics, but for others they are unlikely to get you any success whatsoever.  

In this instance, these tactics would appeal to what we deem ‘active’ job seekers. An active job seeker is someone – wait for it - actively seeking new employment opportunities. These candidates are easier to appeal to because they’ve already got their sights set on the next best opportunity. You’ll likely find them scouring job boards, fielding calls from various recruiters, and sharing their CV with anyone willing to look.   

On the other hand, ‘passive’ candidates - individuals who are not actively looking for new employment but might be open to discussions – require a well-researched talent strategy of their own. In that case, recruiters may focus their attraction strategies on posting the job as a thread in a targeted online community, reaching out directly to a well-known candidate for referrals, or targeting their messaging to the aspects they know will be most effective. 

The vital message is that in 2022, it is unlikely to serve you well to just rely on tactics without strategy.  By creating those targeted strategies, you and your recruitment partners can work a lot smarter and faster to get you access to lucrative talent pools.  

On top of this, successful talent strategy also comes down to making sure that your company attraction channels are fit for purpose:  

• Think about candidate attraction in the same terms as you would about marketing or selling to target customers to grow your business - through a clearly defined product, website, marketing channels, messaging, a good understanding of the target persona, the right supply chain.  

• And once you’ve done this – make sure you then think about your tactical deployment. How are you communicating all of your companies amazing qualities to your target audience? One aspect of this is ensuring your job adverts stand out amongst an overwhelming sea of vacancies. Download our guide to writing the perfect job ad here.  

It is crucial that your talent strategies are both ‘well-researched’ and ‘well-executed’ to remain competitive in the war for talent – and this should be based on the expertise of an experienced recruitment partner.   

Click here to book a free, no obligation talent consultation with one of our workforce solution experts who can help you redesign your talent strategy to get ahead in a candidate-driven market.