Talent acquisition FAQs guide

If you work in HR or recruitment, you’ve probably heard the term ‘talent acquisition’ thrown around a lot. When discussing HR strategy, many companies are keen to find out the latest and most effective ways to hire top talent. Here we discuss the ins and outs of talent acquisition, and answer some of the most common questions on the subject.

Talent acquisition: your questions answered

A talented workforce is the key to building a successful business. Here we answer some frequently asked questions relating to attracting and hiring strong employees.

What is talent acquisition?

Talent acquisition is the process of sourcing, interviewing, selecting, and hiring strong employees. This is a long-term HR strategy, recognising the role that new talent plays in the ongoing success of your business.

For any company to expand successfully, it must be able to acquire a strong team of diverse talent. This requires careful thought, and clear strategy – ensuring your company recognises its resourcing goals, and knows how to fulfil them.

What is the difference between talent acquisition and recruitment?

Recruitment comes down to filling existing vacancies to meet your company’s needs. Talent acquisition, on the other hand, refers to the long-term goal of hiring more strong employees to grow and develop your business. These are usually specialists in their sector – future leaders, whose skills are sought-after, and whose positions are often hard to fill. 

While recruitment strategy is enacted to fill positions as they become vacant, talent acquisition is an ongoing effort to bring new skills to your business.

What are the best talent acquisition strategies?

Talent acquisition is all about recognising the kind of employees your business needs to hire in order to thrive. Like any form of resourcing, this requires a well-planned candidate attraction strategy, smooth hiring journey, and calculated selection process. Some key strategies include…

#1 – Identify the qualities of your ideal employee

Identify your ideal employees before beginning your search. Recognise the kind of talent your business needs, and work out the best way to engage these professionals. Which are the hardest roles to fill within your business, and how can you find the right fit?

#2 – Build an advertising strategy which attracts compatible talent

Focus your advertising strategy on attracting your ideal candidates. Showcase your company’s values, achievements, and long-term mission. Start filling your most influential roles with the strongest, most compatible talent.

#3 – Strengthen your employer brand to attract like-minded professionals

Your employer brand plays a crucial part in attracting like-minded talent. What makes your strongest employees want to work for you? Showcasing these values is the key to sourcing more of the best talent.

#4 – Reduce bias in your selection process – hire talent, not faces

Unconscious bias can enormously impact your ability to hire strong talent. By using blind hiring tactics, involving more decision-makers in employee selection, and improving your D&I strategy, you ensure candidates are hired for their true skills and values.

#5 – Look for key talent internally; engage your top performers

Sometimes the best talent comes from within. Focus on your top performers; could they be the future business leaders you’re looking for? Respect, mentor, and upskill your employees – their talents could be a strong asset to your company’s future. 

What is talent acquisition software?

Talent acquisition software allows employers to manage and automate various aspects of their hiring process, including attraction, screening, selection, and onboarding. This helps to streamline the hiring journey for both candidates and HR managers, as well as promoting positive hiring decisions. Software solutions include:

• Applicant tracking software.
• Recruitment advertising suites.
• Video screening/interview tools.
• Onboarding/induction support.

With Talos ATS, you gain access to all of the above features, compiled into one user-friendly dashboard. This makes resourcing easier for your HR team, and promotes a positive hiring journey for candidates – helping your business acquire the best talent.

How do I attract the best talent?

Talent attraction comes down to showcasing your employer brand and its values to potential applicants. In order to do this, you must define your company’s culture, benefits, and goals to best resonate with your ideal candidates. Things to consider include:

• Analyse and define your employee value proposition (EVP).
• Showcase your company’s values and benefits in branded advertising.
• Use employee testimonials to boost the reputation of your employer brand.
• Provide an engaging, candidate-friendly hiring journey.

Strengthening your employer brand, and delivering a positive candidate journey, will help to secure your position as an ‘employer of choice’. This increases the chance of top candidates choosing your company over any other, ensuring you are able to acquire the best talent.

Introducing…

Talos ATS: The all-in-one talent acquisition suite

Want an easier way to attract, manage, and hire the best talent? Talos ATS is the answer!

Talos ATS is an all-in-one solution for in-house recruitment, giving you all the tools you need to achieve fast & effective hiring. 

Time-saving automations

The platform provides a range of easy-access automations to promote speed and efficiency in your recruitment process. These include:

• Intelligent CV screening automations
• Automatic progression of your strongest applicants
• Email/SMS communication automations
• ATS-integrated application forms/careers site for seamless data capture

Intuitive Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

With Talos, it has never been easier for employers to confidently recruit new talent using their own HR team.

The next-generation ATS allows for a cost-effective, streamlined approach to attracting, managing, and hiring the best talent.

Talos ATS includes:

• Intuitive Applicant Tracking Suite 
• Video screening/interviewing platform 
• Automated SMS/email communication 
• Recruitment advertising management 
• Job-posting tools across multiple platforms 

Discover our quick and easy recruitment software toolkit:

In summary

Talent acquisition is the long-term process of attracting and hiring strong employees. While recruitment is focused on simply filling vacancies, talent acquisition aims at growing and developing your business by bringing strong leaders and like-minded professionals to your team.

By ensuring a streamlined hiring process, strong talent attraction strategy, and defining your employer brand, you can promote your company as an ‘employer of choice’ for top talent.