With an aim to take the recruitment function to the next level, the first half day conclave of the TA Leadership League 2014, happened on the 24th of June at The Leela, Gurgaon. The attendees experienced four power packed sessions organized in different formats of discussions and focused on different themes around recruitment.
The opening session was focused on ‘Business Mandate for the Recruitment Team’ and the speaker Suvamoy Roy Choudhury, Regional Director HR SEA, Reckitt Benckiser highlighted the fact that soon enough, the non-linear trends in disruptive technologies will change the nature of skill set requirements. He said, “What business schools do not teach, is the ability to be able to look at present data and project future trends and requirements and that itself is a very important trait that organizations require”.
The second session was what can be related to the concept of speed dating, bistros etc. as it had five round table discussions where the participants could switch tables to discuss on different topics or areas of their interest. The topics were focused around process, technology, metrics, structures and skills & competencies required for a successful Talent Acquisition Team. Each discussion was led by a table host, each one of whom summarized the whole discussion to the entire audience. This session not only offered an opportunity to the delegates to touch upon various challenges and solutions but also brought forward insights and best practices from different organizations. This was followed by two power sessions, the first one on the theme ‘The year of the candidate’ and the second one on ‘Impact of Social Recruiting on Employer Branding’. The various challenges faced by the recruitment functions that were highlighted during the discussions were:
- The biggest existing loophole in the current education system is that most people are forced to study something that they are not passionate about and henceforth, end up struggling in their jobs.
- Management education does not train people for the most crucial sub-skills that recruiters are looking for. These skills could include the ability to project future requirements with the help of data analytics.
- A lot of organizations face huge challenges in achieving sustainable longevity of talent.
- Lack of integration amongst the TA and L&D functions leads to huge skill gaps for organizations hiring from campuses and even otherwise.
- TA in most organizations is still forced to function in silos, without having the flexibility and authority to select or reject candidates as they are only treated as a tool to source candidates.
- It’s difficult to identify the right fit during campus hiring as all the graduates seem to be clones of each other and it’s difficult to find unique traits.
- The basics of psychology have gone missing in recruitment.
Key Takeaways:
- In order to build a strong employer brand, organizations first need to do a consumer analysis and understand that an employer brand could be portrayed differently for different levels.
- Exits can make or break an employer brand, therefore treat people who are exiting as you welcomed them when they were recruited.
- Social media hiring and brand building tools should be utilized differently based on their specific functions. For example, Linkedin can be helpful in sourcing while Facebook can be useful in reference checks.
- It’s very important to ensure that the internal employees live the employer brand as they could be the worst ambassadors. Internal evangelists can also manage negative communications on social media.
- The way you assess a candidate while hiring, even the candidates, your employees and alumni are rating you and hence, don’t let people make opinions.