Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition

							                                       5
                         Spring
                                2012
                            Strategic
                                Trends
Five Strategic Trends in              In
Talent Acquisition
By: Sarah White, Industry Analyst
                                 Talent
                             Acquisiti
                                     on
Talent acquisition has seen great growth in both scope and maturity over the last decade. Once a small
segment of human resources and an entry point for new HR professionals seeking to become
generalists, the field has evolved into a stand-alone business function in many organizations —
partnering with human resources, as well as other functions and lines of business, as an equal.

The increase in attention signifies an acknowledgment that organizations must be able to hire talented
people — quickly — to achieve any strategic goal. And recent research indicates that the emphasis on
talent acquisition will continue to grow, with 63 percent of organizations expecting economic
improvements to enable more hiring. The top three recruiting challenges cited are finding good
candidates, filling positions quickly and engaging hiring managers.

This paper identifies the top five trends that you can embrace in your recruitment process and culture to
align with recruitment organizations considered to be best in class. Each trend was identified based on
quantitative and qualitative research completed over the last few months from business leaders,
candidates and talent acquisition professionals.


                                                               Consumerization of Technology
                The Five Trends                            Adoption of Marketing Techniques
                                                                                     Sourcing
                                                                          Candidate Experience
                                                          Proving Return on Investment (ROI)



                                          Sarah White & Associates, LLC
                                  www.SarahWhiteLLC.com www.HRTechBlog.com
                                                                 Trend 1:
                                           Consumerization of Technology
    The tools and techniques driving information technology are increasingly likely to emerge
    little by little in consumer-oriented products, such as smart phones and inexpensive software
    applications, as opposed to sweeping enterprise-oriented solutions. This trend, which
    industry watchers call “consumerization,” has been a bit slower to reach talent acquisition
    technology than other segments of the IT marketplace, but shifts toward app-based design
    and mobile devices are expected to pick up speed over the next three years.

    App-based products

    While many analysts and vendors have pushed buyers toward integrated talent-management
    technology, the innovation and product depth has not come as quickly as it did in the next
    generation of vendors focused on one small sub-segment of the marketplace. As a result,
    many recruiters and human resource professionals hesitate to abandon their best-in-class
    stand-alone solutions that are producing results, instead buying a number of solutions that
    simply integrate or interface with their core solution.


           The shift in technology expectations means the
           core applicant tracking system (ATS) will emerge
           as a hub for multiple plug-and-play products.

    This next generation of products — such as recruiting candidate-relationship management
    (CRM) tools, talent networks, video-interviewing, social collaboration and various sourcing
    technologies — add a specific depth of functionality and interact with applicant tracking
    systems in ways that only background-checking and pre-hire assessment providers did in
2   the past.

    Such additions are increasingly affordable, accessible (thanks to cloud technology) and
    capable of integrating with core systems from different vendors. Organizations often can buy
    them out of departmental budgets, avoiding more complicated purchase-review processes.




     Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
2                                       Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
    Mobile technology

    Conversations about mobile technology in talent acquisition have come a long way. Just two
    years ago, the focus was on basics like SMS and texting. Today the space also encompasses a
    constantly growing array of options for feature phones, smart phones and tablets. The rapid
    growth of the tablet market, such as iPad and Kindle Fire, is changing how we view the mobile
    workforce and with some analysts anticipating tablets outselling traditional laptops by the end of
    the decade - mobile a vital part of any talent acquisition strategy. Already, some of the start-up
    hr technology providers are building products for mobile devices first, and then developing the
    SaaS look and feel for desktop and laptop users.

    We expect to see technology products emerging in the talent acquisition space with
    functionality that is equally as robust as in the standard software. Collaboration, accessibility
    and actionable design are key for recruiters, candidates and hiring managers.




                                                   Trend 2: Adoption of Marketing
                                                                      Techniques

     Over the last 18 months we have watched market leaders in sourcing and recruitment shift toward
     strategies traditionally deployed only in a consumer-marketing environment. There is a fresh
     awareness of and emphasis on employment branding and the potential of utilizing everyone and
     everything to promote an organization. Corporate marketing tools are being used to approach the
     recruitment team’s main consumers — job candidates, future candidates and anyone who may refer
     candidates.

     The renewed focus on employment branding is causing organizations of all sizes to take a closer
     look at how their organizations are represented as employers. Effectively communicating an
     employment brand among various sources has proven to be a challenge for even the most advanced
     organizations, but it is a skill worth mastering. Its importance to among job seekers considering your
     organization is only going to increase as more companies do it.




      Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
3                                        Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
    Consumer Marketing Tools

    Just as organizations have been using them in corporate marketing for brand awareness, lead
    generation and sales — consumer-marketing tools will soon find a place in recruiters’
    toolboxes. Some of the web focused solutions, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), pay-per-
    click advertising, social media, email marketing, micro sites and free online-ad placement are
    already being utilized by best in class recruiting organizations as they work to fill high-volume
    and niche positions.

    Traditionally, many corporate human resource
    departments relied on recruitment marketing
    agencies or internal marketing teams to facilitate
    their efforts at an expense that often made the
    return on investment unattainable for many
    organizations.

    A new crop of talent acquisition technologies has emerged
    over the last few years: recruitment marketing platforms.

    Though still in their adolescence, these ATS/TMS vendor-neutral solutions have improved
    significantly in the past 18 months. Now offering organizations much more depth in user
    experience, marketing reach, business analytics and cost efficiency.

    These solutions focus on exposing your opening to people that would likely never have seen
    it on your corporate website or traditional job board. Similar to the job distribution technology
    found in many applicant tracking systems, this generation of recruitment marketing platforms
    will enable standard job board posts, but it will also give marketing intelligence, smart social
    networking distribution and deep access to websites you didn’t even know your candidates
    visited. The most advanced solutions also allow you to develop customized career sites and
    measurable, unique landing pages to give each candidate group a unique, customized
    experience.

    The end results of using a recruitment-marketing platform are sourcing analytics that can’t be
    beat and a single system that works across all channels to funnel candidates and recruits
    back to one centralized location (your ATS, recruiting CRM, etc) and allowing organizations to
    market and manage prospects in a talent network.



       Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
4                                         Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
    Trend 3:
    Proactive Sourcing
      U.S. unemployment rates are at some of the highest levels in history, but somehow sourcing
      quality candidates who have the necessary skills, education and training and who fit in with the
      corporate culture seems as though it has never been harder.

      While recruiters have expressed concern about sourcing candidates at all levels, the Talent
      Technology survey identified executive (senior management, not C-level) and skilled positions
      (manufacturing, trade, etc) as the most difficult; participants cited entry-level and administrative
      roles as easiest.

      Though it has long been a task for specialists, sourcing is an area where recruiters are spending
      more time than ever. The same survey found that the average recruiter was spending 15 hours a
      week (37 percent of his or her time) on sourcing.


              Sourcing is evolving into a core competency that all
              recruiters need to understand and be able to execute.

      This substantial amount of time is contributing to the third trend in talent acquisition: simplified yet
      strategic sourcing. The days of the post-and-wait strategy have ended. Recruiters are now using
      the Web, online databases and their internal CRM or applicant tracking systems more strategically
      to identify candidates faster and more intelligently than ever before.




      Deep Web/Integrated Search

      Relatively few integrated search products currently exist in the HR technology ecosystem, but
      more are on the horizon. The products already released allow a recruiter or sourcer to log into one
      system and search all deep Web sites, password-protected sites (social network, job boards, etc)
      and internal databases (ATS, CRM, HRIS, etc) from one centralized tool. Users can track results,
      saving search strings and working more efficiently.

      Products like Talent Technology's Talemetry, will even allow for recruiters not trained in Boolean
      search to write requirements in natural language - limiting the training and learning curve required
      for standard deep web searching.

       Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
5                                         Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
    Even with advancements in user experience, it takes time for practitioners to learn to
    manage and source multiple access points properly. Advanced techniques, such as working
    with complex Boolean strings, take skill and practice to master. If an organization’s needs
    are complicated, the job of translating those needs into a sophisticated search of multiple
    sources can be overwhelming, leaving valuable resources untouched.

    Linkedin is a great example of something that can
    fall to the way side when recruiters are
    overwhelmed. In the Talent Technology
    Corporation’s survey while a majority of recruiters
    surveyed have a presence on Linkedin, roughly 40
    percent fail to use the site for recruiting.             Not
    actively sourcing, going out and proactively
    searching for candidates that haven’t applied to
    the company, leave untold numbers of potential
    candidates on the table. Potentially increasing
    both time and cost to hire.




             Talent Networks

             Strategic sourcing has long been associated with building talent pipelines or pools to
             maintain a network of prospects for positions that may open because of a strategic hire or
             high turnover. Of late, the conversation has shifted toward talent communities, also known as
             talent networks. These networks allow potential job candidates to opt in or be added by a
             strategic recruiting team to specialized groups that match their skill sets or career goals
             versus the responsibility being on a recruiter or sourcer to opt them in.


             While you can technically create talent networks manually,
             most organizations are turning to Talent Relationship
             Management or Recruiting Candidate Relationship
             Management (Recruiting CRM) tools.


      Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
6                                        Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
     Talent Networks/Community                              Such tools make it easier to track, manage and search these
         Technology Features                                networks properly. The concept isn’t new, but the industry
                                                            specific technology designed to execute it is far newer than
    •     Create Talent Pools from
                                                            most traditional ATS solutions.
          Multiple Sources (Job Boards,
          Social, Marketing Campaigns,
          Referrals, Recruits, Career Site)                 These tools often roll up traditional candidate relationship

    •     Ability to Search & Source                        management functionality, email marketing, talent pools and
          Easily (Across Multiple Sources)                  advanced searching techniques into one process designed with

    •     Targeted Marketing                                the recruiting process in mind. Sitting in front of a traditional
          Campaigns to Segments                             ATS, you can look strategically at your current employees,
          (Email, Web, Social Media)
                                                            alumni, current and former applicants, referrals, future recruits
    •     Easy Point of Entry for                           and other people who aren’t ready to apply, but want to be
          Candidates (Less than three
          minutes)                                          notified if an opportunity arises that matches their skills.

        Source: Sarah White & Associates, LLC
                                          You can organize these prospects in folders, or networks, that
    spotlight what they have in common. When an opening arises, groupings are ready to contact directly
    or target with a marketing campaign that invites network members to update their résumés, apply
    again or even conduct a video interview.

    Large, global organizations like AT&T talk frequently about the success they have had in filling openings
    at all levels after implementing a talent community, but the strategy isn’t just for big companies. Small
    to mid market organizations are finding the value in maintaining networks of prospects to tap when
    openings arise, often saving money by filling a position with a quality candidate sooner, not letting a
    key seat sit open.



                                                                                       Trend 4:
                                                                           Candidate Experience
    Over the last 18 months we have seen more interest than ever before — from organizations of all
    sizes — in making sure job candidates have a positive experience. Organizations recognize the
    reality that attracting candidates through marketing or networking is where some of the hard work
    of talent acquisition begins, not where it ends. Providing a positive experience, active
    engagement and “wooing” candidates is becoming a standard - particularly as we look forward to
    increases in hiring. Only 12 percent of recruiters who participated in the Talent Technology survey
    thought it would be easy to rehire for positions that had been downsized over the past 18 months.



          Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
7                                            Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
                      Pre-applicant Phase

                      Before applying for a role, candidates seek a solid understanding of your
                      organization and what it is like to work there. Recognizing that static career sites
                      offering only basic information does not satisfy prospects curiosity, many
                      companies are building and directing candidates to dynamic micro sites that target
                      distinct sub segments of the market (recent graduates, veterans, executives, etc.).
                      These micro sites often include videos, articles or event blog posts by current
                      employees doing the types of roles they may be interested in exploring. In addition,
    detailed descriptions of the company’s culture, how the hiring process works and a clear
    understanding of benefits — especially the ones that are unique to the organization makes a
    difference to passive candidates. Prospects at this stage are paying attention not only to the
    information they actively seek, but also to the general information that an organization chooses not
    to divulge.

    Candidate Capture

    For many organizations in the late 1990s and 2000s, the goal during candidate capture was to
    gather as much information as possible upfront — regardless of how long it took. This strategy
    resulted in online applications that took candidates 45 minutes or more to complete. The candidates
    willing to go through that process were generally active job seekers. Lost were                            passive candidates
    and referrals who were already employed in similar roles — because, while perhaps interested, they
    weren’t interested enough to jump through so many hoops before finding out enough about the
    position and company to take the risk.
    Today’s trend is to request the information you need
    in a way that is easy to provide. For an applicant, that
    might mean a résumé or profile upload and answers
    to a few questions. For a talent network/community
    member, it would likely mean basic information that
    will let you continue to market and engage that
    person for future openings.

    For an employed workers, or passive candidate, it’s far more common for them to have only a
    Linkedin profile, as opposed to a traditional résumé now. Best practices suggest designing
    application process requiring 10 minutes or less - the new CRM or talent networking systems are
    developed for basic candidate capture in less than three minutes.


       Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
8                                         Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
      Post Application
      After applications are in, the talent acquisition process involves three types of people: those who
      aren’t qualified, those who are qualified but don’t make it through the process, and those whom
      you hire. Each type needs to be addressed and any technology you use should make that simple
      and painless.


      For candidates who aren’t qualified, they often are equally has happy just to know they are no longer being
      considered, it is the “black hole” effect that tends to have the most negative response. In the 2011
      Candidate Experience Awards Survey of more than 8,500 candidates, the top complaint was employer’s
      failure to communicate their status. While important for those that are not qualified for the role, it is vital for
      those who have had an interview. The effects of good marketing can easily be reversed for employers who
      handle this phase poorly and provide a negative candidate experience.




    Trend 5:
    Proving Return on Investment

      HR professionals in general and specifically those in talent acquisition are becoming strategic partners with
      business leaders in many organizations. Quantifiable metrics and outcomes are expected to determine how
      corporate budgets — of both money and time — should be spent. Every part of the sourcing or recruiting
      process should be measurable so that organizations can evaluate returns on investment (ROI).


      Different talent acquisition methods have different potential outcomes. For example, part of the ROI of a
      particular marketing or social-networking process might be improved brand awareness, whereas the
      outcome of a job board posting might simply be the number of applicants or hires.


      Recruitment marketing platforms, as well as some of the more strategic applicant tracking systems, can
      routinely gather certain information and come equipped with an array of analytics and reports that users
      can run in tracking that information. Perhaps the most important business metrics is the ROI of a particular
      talent acquisition source. Combined with next-generation source tracking you can quickly and easily see
      how each source is performing at each stage. Compared to traditional source of candidate, self select drop
      down option, the next generation source tracking using custom code during posting distribution so the ATS
      or other system can ‘read’ exactly where the candidate came from when they clicked over to apply. This
      information can help you to determine which efforts provide the greatest benefit for various work groups or
      lines of business and how time and money should be spent going forward.



       Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
9                                         Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
     Conclusion
                                      Strategic talent acquisition has evolved from simply filling an open position, to
                                      partnering with multiple disciplines across an organization. Today’s strategic
                                      talent acquisition role encompasses branding, marketing, networking,
                                      sourcing and business analytics as well as the traditional interview and
                                      selection responsibilities.

      While companies cannot expect to develop expertise in all of these disciplines overnight, recruitment
      platforms of tomorrow are already rolling out to help companies accelerate their processes and plans more
      efficiently.


      By studying the business trends discussed in this paper, organizations of all sizes can gain insights that will
      help them to streamline and enhance their current processes, choose the tools best suited to their needs,
      and build the best possible talent acquisition teams.


      For talent acquisition and human resource leaders, building awareness of the industry and business trends
      that are driving decisions in best-of-class organizations can help to guide both short-term and long-term
      efforts and investments.




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        Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
10                                         Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation
           About Us:
           Sarah White & Associates LLC is a consulting and advisory firm focused on helping integrate
           technology in human capital; and owners of the HR Tech Blog. Sarah White founded the firm after
           leaving Bersin & Associates in 2011, aiming to help organizations to improve in their efforts to utilize
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           With more than a decade in this space, White has built an exceptionally strong team of human capital
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                                           Sarah White & Associates, LLC
                                           www.SarahWhiteLLC.com
                                           sarah@sarahwhitellc.com
                                           o 414.671.9680




                                            www.HRTechBlog.com




     Five Strategic Trends in Talent Acquisition                     Copyright 2012                  Sarah White & Associates, LLC
11                                      Licensed for Distribution by Talent Technology Corporation