Let us start by demystifying what a digital mindset is, both in terms of an employee and an organization.  People today want to be able to work on different platforms, and everything that they do should have a certain kind of impact. They want to deconstruct the process and start challenging the existing methods to come up with new solutions.  From an organization’s point of view, a digital mindset is a very disruptive approach in the current layout. In short, a digital mindset is solving problems in real-time, personalization, and coming up with ideas that are more evolutionary than revolutionary.  

Here are some of the talent acquisition practices for a digitally savvy workforce:

Specify their work impact right from the beginning: 

While hiring, candidates need to be told what kind of impact their work will have on the business. Additionally, you should let them know how they can contribute above and beyond their roles. Anuradha Bharat, Head- People Operations, Razorpay, “We no longer go by very specific work they have done, but to us, it is more about the projects they have handled. What have they done outside their defined responsibilities? When you start screening in a personalized format, it will better help you define how well they could fit and create an impact.” 

Choose the right medium

If you’re looking at onboarding and engaging the best of the talent, you need to interact with them in the right places. This is where technology comes in. Are you reaching out to them through their preferred medium? Or are you still using job portals etc.? If you are still using traditional methods of hiring, you might not be able to onboard the kind of talent you are looking at. 

Develop meaningful hiring processes 

Gone are the days when candidates waited days to get a revert from companies. In this new age, when everything is working on speed, it is important for TA heads to get on that bandwagon. Candidates today not only look at a revert from the company but also feedback as to why they haven’t been selected or if they have what the areas they need to improve on are. Start using technology that gives them a real-time update on their applications and works towards making the hiring process more meaningful and worth their time.  

Give them more options 

Not every candidate that applies to your company may fit the role they have asked for, but that does not mean their application is entirely useless.  Some companies have an interface that can map the candidate’s skills online while applying so it can further suggest job options that fit their profile. This helps both the organization and the candidate to find a good fit. 

Use innovative ways to engage walk-ins 

Deepayan Sensharma, Director HR, JLT Group gives an excellent example used in his own company for walk-in engagement, “A lot of walk-ins candidates are usually sitting ideal in the reception area before their interviews. What we did is, we invested in VR tools. We got VR glasses and got a nicely done video of ‘a day in the life.’ Instead of sitting ideal, the candidate now gets a mini-experience of what it will be to work in our offices.” Most of the millennials want to work in “cool spaces,” so this becomes an excellent way to introduce your company to them. 

In conclusion, Talent acquisition functions as a team that brings in candidates that will build the future of an organization. It plays the role of a mother that brings a child into this world and nurtures and guides it. The best way to hire new age talents is for TA teams to move from a commoditized picture of hiring to a more human perspective that brings in the element of nurture and growth. 

(This article is based on a panel discussion on ‘Meeting the growing demand for Digital Talent’ conducted during TAC 2019 by People Matters.)