We’re all feeling it. Business is tough right now.
Conflict, rising inflation, a stagnant economy, energy prices, cost of living, cyber threats, increasing customer expectations, a GPT for everything, the list is endless.
Some organisations are thriving, many are clinging on in survival mode.
Now, more than ever it’s integral that we not only hire but meaningfully engage the right people to steer the organisation through the changes ahead.
Yet, hiring is tougher than ever before, not only are HR and talent acquisition teams having to do more with less (people and budgets), but skills shortages are making it harder to find top talent.
In a world where disruption is a constant. Disruption in talent solutions is virtually non-existent.
Suppliers in most cases are driven to metrics of faster and cheaper, not better…where is the incentive for innovation that’s not cost reduction?
In 2023, we witnessed the disposability of TA teams as they weren’t seen as a strategic asset. If HR and Talent teams want a seat at the table long term we can’t carry on like this.
According to a CIPD survey, the global average ratio of HR professionals to employees stands at 1:117 respectively and shows that recruitment is just one of 14 diverse business activities under HR's remit. This makes talent acquisition is one of the most under-resourced teams in most small to mid-sized companies, likely representing no more than an average of 0.7% of the overall company headcount.
I suspect there are no other parts of a business where we would entrust something so vital and complex as talent acquisition to such a small team.
Change needs to happen.
Real disruption is not just about making something faster or more efficient (cheaper) - it's a fundamental shift in approach around how talent is found, engaged, persuaded, enabled, developed and rewarded.
Let’s Expect More.
The Vision
People are at the heart of any organisation. Talent Acquisition, Enablement and Development are not ‘to-do’ items, for businesses they are critical.
Our people past, present and future are our biggest shareholders, they should not be classed as assets.
Without the right team, navigating the current business landscape will be challenging, thriving, impossible.
We not only need experts to find the right team members, but to provide the right environment for them to achieve great things. Our people vote with their time, energy and passion – if they don’t feel supported and enabled, they will walk or worse, stay.
Who is integral to this success? We are. HR and Talent Acquisition teams.
The days of looking at talent acquisition in isolation need to be over, we need a holistic approach.
Let’s call it Talent (with a capital ‘t’), Acquisition, Development, Enablement and Reward.
It’s a tough job, especially when HR & TA teams are under-resourced.
Talent teams need to be engaging in transformative hiring by providing strategic direction and structure. It’s not just about the market it’s how we take that data, find a person, and enable them to be successful. Talent should not be seen as a back-office function, there to process hires or issue performance reviews, it should be a strategic partnership helping to shape the future of the business. HR practices need to be tied to business outcomes and we should be able to analyse ROI for changing people strategies.
So how do we do this?
Technology companies have been challenging the status quo for years, asking ‘what would happen if we started fresh with the knowledge we have now…’. We are seeing this move to banking and wider sectors, so why do we still use technology like a tool in Talent to solve specific problems? When used in the right way, alongside the human touch, it helps sure, but what if we started again knowing what we know now?
Could we meaningfully improve candidate and employee experiences and become more strategic, leveraging data insights to inform business strategy? .
We see technology as a huge part of our vision for a better world of Talent.
Fundamentally, we believe that technology shouldn't be used because we can; it should be used because it improves the user experience and process freeing up time for human-centred interaction. Our vision for Talent tomorrow is grounded in ensuring that we embrace the best of what technology can offer combined with the magic of human interaction.
We want to change the status quo and help shape a talent acquisition industry that we’re all proud to be part of, whilst providing a space to support and collaborate across the industry, whether in-house or solution providers, to win Talent functions a seat at the table.
We aim to improve the perception of talent acquisition both from within and outside the business. We want to be a catalyst for change and help to educate the market on the art of the possible.
Let's collaborate
That’s why, throughout 2024, we’ll provide insights and collaborative opportunities to assist those working in Talent to navigate this transformative shift. To help us work smarter, not harder.
We want to hear from you, and your experiences.
We’re creating a place where we can collaborate and learn from the best practices that talent acquisition has to offer. We will be hearing from a range of other HRDs, Talent Directors and industry influencers. Through this collaborative effort, we aim to disrupt talent acquisition.
We will be covering a range of topics, including:
- Process Optimisation
- Strategy & Strategic representation
- Technology
- Experience
- Mobility, retraining and skills enhancement.
- Employer brand
- Data, reporting and talent intelligence
My team have started planning the content, and we'd love to hear from you about the good, the bad, and the ugly of your TA experience. Your input will play a vital role in shaping our Expect More campaign.
We expect more, so you can expect more.
Expect More.
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