Having a core team of effective employees could fuel your business toward future growth. The key for organizations to move forward, build their brand and gain customer loyalty is to hire the right people. But how do you really get to employ the best candidate? Would you opt for recruitment or talent acquisition? Which of these two is right for you?
Recruitment and talent acquisition are usually used interchangeably. Traditional human resource departments see these two methods as an act of filling in a vacancy. However, with the evergrowing market for competitive candidates, HR specialists have envisioned recruitment to go beyond short-term objectives. Thus, the creation of talent acquisition.
Recruitment and Talent Acquisition Defined
Although they seem to be the same, recruitment and talent acquisition are totally different from each other.
What is recruitment?
Recruitment refers to finding a qualified person to fill in a vacant position in a company. Recruitment is a process that involves:
- Identifying the need for a new hire
- Attracting candidates to apply for the vacancy
- Interviewing qualified individuals
- Selecting shortlisted candidates
- Hiring the candidate that best fits the role
- Onboarding employees
At a glance, recruitment involves everything from the identification of the need for staff and then filling it.
What is talent acquisition?
Talent acquisition (TA) is a more complex form of recruitment. Although both talent acquisition and recruitment aim to fill in a vacant role within the company, TA looks beyond short-term goals. Recruitment’s main goal is to complete the head count. TA’s primary objective is to fill in the headcount with people that may potentially qualify for higher roles in the future. Thus, TA seeks to find someone with skill sets that could be honed for executive-level positions and leadership roles. 
Recruitment vs Talent Acquisition: What’s the Difference?
Again, both strategies aim to get people to occupy vacant seats. With recruitment, they hire people and move on to the next. Talent acquisition is a continuous process. Even when positions are already filled out, they maintain to build a relationship with internal and external candidates.
Recruitment is often a reaction to a vacancy. Once a role needs to be filled, recruitment begins. And if the role is filled out, the recruitment ends.
On the other hand, TA is an ongoing effort to build your brand and attract talent. Your branding, communication, and marketing efforts should be regularly refined not just for clients but also for those who seek employment.
Talent acquisition is a necessity for jobs that are difficult to fill. Technology is disruptive and TA specialists should know that most jobs that are hard to fill are those inclined with tech and IT-related jobs. TA is effective in hiring people for the long term and ensuring that the company hires more qualified candidates.
The Need for Efficient Recruitment and Talent Acquisition
Although COVID-19 is gradually getting out of the limelight, a lot of people are still considering quitting their jobs. This era is known to be the Great Resignation with more than 4 million people in the US quitting their jobs in June, almost 11 million job vacancies remaining unfilled in the US, and almost 900,000 unfilled job openings in Japan. Recruitment and talent acquisition is definitely any organization’s tool to make sure talents are maintained within and qualified candidates are onboard to fill in the gap.
Advantages of talent acquisition
Building a talent pipeline for future growth is no doubt a must for every organization. With talent acquisition you can:
- Reduce hiring risks - Your organization will refrain from just hiring people but will focus on employing those who really qualify. Candidates who understand your goals can easily adapt to the culture and make sure they do their best to stay.
- Improved work efficiency - Building your brand and ensuring you’re attracting the right candidates will improve hiring efficiency. In the long term, the right people will contribute to building the company and will serve as the core foundation of your winning team.
- Competitive advantage - With a talent pipeline, your company will have a competitive advantage against others. It will be easier for you to choose and hire talents without going through the reactive process of recruitment.
Advantages of recruitment
Effective recruitment process results in more engaged hires that contribute to your business performance. The HR team should implement an effective recruitment strategy to:
- Reduce attrition - More vacancies mean more tasks undone which could affect the growth of your business. With fast and effective recruitment, you get to immediately hire people to do the job.
- Boost productivity - Vacant positions usually trigger organizations to let people who are less knowledgeable in performing a task do the work. With effective recruitment, you boost productivity because you assign the job to the right person in the team.
- Increase profitability - A vacancy can hurt your numbers and filling it immediately will remedy the agony.
Improving your Recruitment and Talent Acquisition Process
Whether it is a recruitment or talent acquisition you require, it is helpful to know these best practices to get the right candidate onboard.
Establish your brand
Define who you are and what you do. Clearly use job ads and forums to let candidates know your culture. The brand is relevant in molding a candidate's hiring experience. Use your website and other platforms to let candidates see how beneficial it is to work for you.
Design a recruitment and talent acquisition strategy with retention in mind
Think of hiring people that will work with you for a long time. Make sure the job expectations are met by being realistic with your offers and company culture during the interview. New hires are not just looking at compensation. They search for a company that also provides them with an avenue for growth and learning.
Take advantage of technology
It is a competitive world out there and businesses are exploring how to optimize technology for their benefit. Recruitment software and other third-party resources like Zebra could help streamline the complexities of hiring the right people. Identifying the candidates for the job can be done seamlessly with applicant tracking software (ATS) and other pre-employment testing software.
Conclusion
Candidates are not just the ones trying to survive the competition. Even companies are now fighting a battle to win the right person for their team. Effective recruitment and talent acquisition processes can help you gradually build out a winning squad of qualified employees.
