Planning for Recruiting Starts with One Word: TALENT

If you haven’t started planning for next year (2013), and you think it’s OK because hiring this year has been slow, you should think again. And the one word you should be thinking about is: talent.

Now if you think my use of an obvious word like talent is a bit simplistic, read on. Because today, it takes a lot more than just a few recruiters and a job board account to find great employees.

Related: Establishing a social media recruiting strategy

In the past, finding talented individuals to hire into your company was a fairly straightforward task for human resources (HR). That was before the explosion of technology and communications. Now, it takes multiple resources with multiple skills to source, screen and hire the right people.

So why is “talent” the key word? Because you need:

• Talent at all levels in your organization to keep your business moving forward (the obvious one).
• Talent in your social recruiting and sourcing resources to leverage your brand and network in the various social spheres to find good people.
• Talent in your recruiting resources to take those social networking connections and turn them into qualified, receptive candidates.
• Talent in your HR ranks to on-board and retain those good people.
• Talent in your executive levels to understand and support your on-going talent acquisition efforts, even when you are not hiring.

That’s a lot of talent. But more importantly, you’ll note that talent is needed in multiple areas to enable a sustainable recruiting practice. It’s not OK anymore to just have a static recruiting practice that posts jobs, takes in resumes and schedules a few interviews.

For example, the level of expertise and effort required in sourcing has increased dramatically. The upkeep of social networks, the building of talent communities and understanding of where the right talent can be found, is a specialized skill. And that’s before you even start recruiting them for your open positions!

The same goes for recruiting once you find the talent. Especially as you get into recruiting for many professional level positions. They expect a good, efficient experience throughout the hiring process and then an even better experience once they are hired.

Do most companies have this kind of talent within their organization today? Probably not. Are they thinking about it in terms of all the different kinds of talent required? Again, probably not.

That’s where recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and other workforce solutions come into play. Companies need to figure out what core processes they can support internally (the talent they have), and then look outside for further help (outside talent) to fill in the gaps or provide coverage or support to areas they lack.

So, when you think about planning for 2013, think about talent. Not just the talent you need from your list of openings, but the different types of talent you are going to need to get those jobs filled.

Related: 4 Best Practices for Hiring C-Level Executives

About the author: Matt Rivera is the Director of Customer Solutions for Yoh, a leading provider of recruitment process outsourcing and staffing solutions. He writes for their blog at www.blog.yoh.com