With 2023 upon us, talent acquisition and management remain ongoing challenges for organizations worldwide. HR leaders must figure out how to staff their companies with the best people, even as they face an ongoing talent shortage and increased employee expectations.
As leadership and HR experts look at the trends in hiring and managing talent for the coming year, here are six things for talent acquisition and management professionals to keep in mind.
6 Things for Talent Acquisition and Management Pros to Keep in Mind
1. Be Cautious About Overreliance on AI Tools
AI tools can greatly benefit talent acquisition professionals who may be overwhelmed with applications and resumes. Still, an overreliance on them can mean missing out on great candidates.
“This is one of the biggest challenges for candidates because if they don’t have the right keywords, they’re not even being considered,” says Tyra.Bremer, Director, Business Development and Executive Coach. “But a corporate recruiter needs some way to whittle down applicants. Unfortunately, they may be missing out on some amazing applicants because they’re removing the human element. The best candidate may not have the best resume.”
It’s fine to use AI tools, but be careful not to depend on them too much, and when possible, take a look at candidates who may not immediately rise to the top with the right keywords. Keep the human element in your hiring process.
2. Make Internal Mobility Easier
Organizations should look at how to make internal mobility easier for people they’ve already hired. “I’m hearing more and more about companies holding internal job and career fairs, but managers also need to be trained on how to help their direct reports build careers,” says Peter Stewart, Managing Partner. Companies can and should find ways to help employees develop their careers, such as the Lead Your Career Framework, and then educate them on how to search and apply for positions internally.
Talent teams can “empower employees with a better understanding of internal processes and expectations,” says Taura.Prosek, Director, Business Development and Executive Coach. Answer questions like:
- ‘How do I access the job board?
- What are the requirements for an internal resume?
- How do I talk to my boss about what I’m looking for?
- Establish a talent system for managers and employees to take full advantage of.”
3. Bring Internal Talent Acquisition and Talent Management Teams Together
Often, talent acquisition and talent management teams operate separately from each other. One way companies can reduce the disconnect between the two teams is to “pool the teams together, align goals, and create a talent supply chain,” says Kristin.Derwinski, Executive Consultant and Coach. When all candidates, employees, and data are connected and embedded in one system, “you are less likely to lose candidates as they are going through your internal systems.”
“There are a lot of times when the candidate pool is right at the company’s fingertips, and all they need to do is get better access to the data that talent management typically has,” says Erin.Ellis, Executive Consultant and Coach. Internal talent acquisition professionals can work with talent management to access data such as performance ratings, career aspirations, reviews, and so on to look for ideal candidates internally.
4. Give Wide Latitude with Work-Life Issues
The friction between leaders who want a return to work conditions of 2019 and employees who prefer working in hybrid or remote work models continues to present challenges for HR professionals. Ultimately, most employees cite work-life integration as a requirement for their employment arrangement.
As organizations try to find a path to optimal work arrangements, Nolan Godfrey, Regional Director and Executive Consultant, suggests a balance between clear guidelines and personal autonomy. “Lay out some clear guiding principles and give employees as much freedom as possible,” he says. “The less prescriptive, the better. Most people end up working more when they work from home; most employees want to do a great job and want to deliver. Approach work-life integration from an abundance mindset where you give employees clear guidelines and allow as much latitude as possible.”
Of course, clear communication is vital to addressing work-life integration. “Each person has to define what balance means,” says Taura.Prosek. “Is it flexibility? Is it that you don’t want to be on call for weekends or work evenings? Is it that you want to step away at 3:30 to coach, but you’ll finish your work after seven?” Employees and managers should be able to work out these work-life integration questions one-on-one.
5. Understand the Difference Between Stress and Burnout
Both leaders and employees continue to report rising feelings of stress, overwhelm, and burnout. Often, employees at all levels will cite work-life “balance” or lack of it as a reason for staying at or leaving a position, but the concept of balance may be misnamed. “The idea of balance is unbalanced itself because you’re constantly balancing something, so it’s constantly driving stress,” says Tim Davisson, Director, Business Development. “I prefer to use the word ‘harmony,’ where regardless of what’s going on, you’re in a state of harmony. What does harmony look like? And from there, we can talk about resilience, mindfulness, meditation, and things like that.”
“It’s helpful to understand the difference between stress and burnout,” says Peter Stewart. “Stress means there’s a lot that needs to get done, but it feels like it’s actually realistic. Burnout is when there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. You keep churning and churning, and it’s never going to get better or improve.” By clarifying whether employees are undergoing stress or genuine burnout, they can better understand how to address staffing needs.
6. develop employees
HR professionals, managers, and leaders should always look for ways to develop employees help them achieve their career goals. “Some managers and leaders will ask, ‘Why would we support people with their resumes and interviewing skills? We’re just arming them to leave.’ No, you’re preparing them to stay,” says Taura.Prosek. Helping current employees develop their skills and manage their careers leads to improved retention and better employee experience.
Talent acquisition and talent management professionals don’t need to despair of finding and keeping great employees. By aligning internally and facing the coming challenges with intention and planning, they can position their organizations to manage talent for the best outcomes in 2023 and beyond.
Self-check:
- Do we have a clear, easy to navigate system for internal job seekers?
- What is one way we can better align our talent acquisition and talent management teams?
- What is one thing we can do to improve internal development for all employees?
