Improving the talent management process for employers is not a simple feat. To create a fruitful strategy to navigate the talent pool, employers first need to understand each component of the process. Breaking this down into simple steps can help to save time and make things easier for hiring managers. To learn what it takes to streamline the tasks that lie in store, it helps to understand the difference between talent acquisition vs talent management.
Many of us confuse these terms, using them interchangeably when in fact they have very different yet equally important meanings. Let’s discuss each of these stepping stones of the talent pillar to break things down.
Talent Acquisition vs. Talent Management
Talent management compiles all of the processes that involve finding, assessing, selecting and onboarding a candidate, then setting them up for prosperity within your company by teaching them how to succeed. Creating a powerful team entails so much more than equipping new hires with phones, paperwork, projects and asking them to fill empty desks. It’s about teaching them to become leaders and encouraging them to grow.
Talent management is an essential tool to engage employees and ensure they are successful in fulfilling their roles within an organization, and it begins with talent acquisition. After recruiting ends and managers have resurfaced from their talent search with top candidates, the real work begins. The next most important phase involves integrating new employees and training them to be part of a team, which ends up being the most important aspect of all.
Before HR administrators get to that point however, they must move through the stage of talent acquisition.
So, what exactly is talent acquisition?
What is talent acquisition?
When referring to talent acquisition vs talent management, we think of the plan that takes place during which employers select a skilled candidate to join their organization. Many of us are using the term talent acquisition incorrectly without even realizing it. Often confused with recruitment, talent acquisition is much more than that. Recruiting is just one piece of the talent acquisition puzzle.
Talent acquisition incorporates all the dynamic processes surrounding recruitment, candidate selection and onboarding.
Once the needs of a role are clearly established, employers can begin to attract and retain top talent and recruit through their unique branding, social media campaigns, talent searches, and interviews before making their selection and beginning to onboard their new employee.
Talent acquisition is a time for hiring managers to take action to find and then nurture the best possible candidates for your team. This time period can last from months to even years. Even the wisest of HR executives know that this process is an ongoing loop. It never really ends, and with the constantly changing and growing number of candidates diving into the talent pool, why wouldn’t you continue to dip your toe into the water every now and again?
Staying stagnant in the world of hiring is a dire mistake. It could mean missing out on individuals who will make the difference in achieving your company’s goals this year, or not.
Elements of talent acquisition
Talent acquisition is much more than hiring. When we consider all of the elements that make up talent acquisition, we can begin to understand what it really means and how those unique elements can each help the talent management process in their own way.
Employer branding
Cultivating your employer brand is key in attracting and retaining top candidates in today’s talent market. This is initially what will make you stand out against competitors and help persuade applicants to give you their time by applying.
In essence, your brand is who you are. It is the first impression you give, the culture behind your company, and will wind up being the main reason a candidate applies, and later accepts or declines an offer for a position. The importance of conveying employer brand is not to be overlooked. It communicates an incentive for someone to decide to commit to you.
Let’s face it; when a candidate chooses to accept a job offer, they are opting to exchange most of their valuable time, skills, energy and a huge chunk of their life to work for you.
Employer brand is essentially your voice, message, culture, reputation, perks, quirks and how potential employees see themselves fitting in with your organization. It gives candidates a feel for why they would want to work for you. Showcasing the ways in which your brand is different and unique offers applicants an incentive to commit to.
People want to invest their time and passions into a company which goes beyond offering a typical 9- to- 5 with a decent paycheck. Top talent today searches for careers which offer them a positive, fun and unique culture, creative benefits packages and other assets.
Sourcing, recruiting and onboarding
During this part of the talent acquisition phase, recruiting managers will need to weed out the candidates who are not serious or right for the open position from those that are leaders and will stand out from the rest. After laying all the cards on the table, it’s time to decide who will be the perfect fit. You certainly can’t fold, so it’s a good thing there are tools and steps to take to make sure sourcing, recruiting and onboarding are all a breeze for employers and employees alike.
Sourcing is a time for employers to collect contacts, make connections, and create a database of potential candidates, for now and for later. These potential hires are all individuals who could make up your team one day, should they pass through the interviewing and screening process. Most administrators are jumping on the trend of using advanced HR technology software to support operations during sourcing, recruiting and onboarding.
Recruitment can merely mean finding an individual to serve as a placeholder in an open vacancy. It is simply one tool that can be used within the entire talent acquisition process. Employers searching for candidates who will significantly impact and contribute to their team understand that acquiring talent is so much more than that. It takes time and a clever strategy.
Talent acquisition recognizes that finding individuals to build teams is not something that can be so easily rushed. It integrates finding skilled individuals, choosing one who will fit into the company’s culture. It also searches for prospects showcasing strong work ethic, potential to advance, and the willingness to chase personal goals, as well as the goals of the organization.
Onboarding is an opportunity for managers to help new additions blossom into future team leaders and skilled employees. This is so much more than a window to complete trainings and learn policies. While those items are important and have their place on an onboarding agenda, they only play a small part.
This is the chance for an employer to make their one-and-only first impression, reassure the new hire they want to stay with the company, integrate them into the culture, prepare them for their role, align them with company goals and give them all the tools they will need to flourish.
HR administrators should begin to think of talent acquisition as a continuous, long term project with an objective, outline and campaign. Instead of rushing through the motions, the elements of talent acquisition vs talent management should be seen as the beginning of a long and harmonious employer-employee relationship. They say you reap what you sew, meaning a little hard work on the part of your hiring managers will only benefit your organization in the long run as you create a winning team.
The Arcoro Talent Management System
Arcoro offers a fully automated, cloud-based HCM platform with scalable modules. The solution features a built-in integration with over 300 partners which allows for a more customizable talent management experience based on evolving requirements.
The platform refines the flow of data for clients between their HR, HRIS and HCM platforms, payroll providers, insurance carriers, ERP systems, and/or any third-party applications they are connected to currently, or want to connect with in the future.
The Arcoro platform offers innovative technology solutions for all talent management processes, and includes the following modules:
- Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
- Onboarding
- Performance Management
- Learning Management
- Succession Planning
By automating key workflows, each module can help administrators save valuable time on critical tasks and enrich processes.
For example, the ATS has multiple facets which, when implemented, can drastically save time and increase workplace efficiencies during the recruitment process.
The ATS can be configured to post to job boards, pre-screen and track candidates and send automated communications through every step of the recruitment process.
The platform features enhanced workflows to help cover every step of your talent management process.
Say goodbye to outdated and manual processes with Arcoro.
