The Current State of Talent Acquisition at ERE's Fall Conference

Next week I will be emceeing ERE’s annual conference in New Orleans. To say I'm excited would be an understatement because the theme for the event is something near and dear to my heart. The theme this year, “Transform Your TA Department, Transform Your Business,” speaks volumes as to the current state of talent acquisition and why I started Proactive Talent Strategies.

In the past decade or so, the role of a talent acquisition leader has evolved from your traditional butts-in-seats focus to someone now in charge of building an external employer brand and being a true business partner to business leaders.

The talent acquisition function is transforming the way companies operate and now plays a crucial part in the strategic direction of a company. The importance of the TA function has been emphasized so much that a recent study published on the Harvard Business Review shows that, aside from the COO, the executive whose traits align most similar with the CEO is the CHRO, who is becoming more and more focused on recruiting and employer branding as much of the HR administration function is being automated.

The Evolution of Candidate Expectations

What used to be a world consumed by job boards, applications, automation, and job hunters is now a place of social recruiting – one where referrals, analytics and integrated recruiting strategies rule. Candidate expectations have shifted drastically, too. Today, more than half of workers were born after 1980. And by 2025, more than 75% of employees will be of the “social media generation” and will have grown up with real-time social communication as the norm. Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and other apps, social networks, and mobile technologies have reinvented the way that job seekers research companies as well as search for and apply to jobs.

Sourcing and Pipelining Talent

Finding talent has never been easier than it is today. With the increasing adoption of social networks and with the use of open web sourcing tools, automation and now artificial intelligence, finding talent with the skills you're looking for is just a click away.

The modern, digital world has become smaller and people more accessible. It’s important to recognize, however, that while these new technologies make it easier to find talent, this boost from the constantly changing social media landscape is also making sourcing for talent much more complex and candidates more segmented across the web. In turn, the role of a recruiter has evolved to that of a marketer, technologist, detective and the best salesperson at the company. With 96% of the online population on at least one social network, having a multi-channel sourcing and talent attraction strategy has never been more important.

Sessions related to Sourcing and Pipelining Talent at ERE’s Fall Conference:

How Talent Can Drive Business Performance and Change, Tues, 910a - 10a (click here)
Christine Deputy, EVP, Chief HR Officer, Nordstrom

Be Global - Act Local: The History & Evolution of GE’s Talent Acquisition Model, Tues, 11-12a (click here)
Steve Knox, Head of Global Talent Acquisition, Strategy & Operations, GE

The War for Talent is Dead: Is Open Source the Future of HR?, Tues, 130p - 2:15p (click here)
Panel discussion with Ambrosia Vertesi, Andrew Carges, Lars Schmidt, and Will Staney

Session: Zero Days To Fill — The Elusive TA BHAG TTF (Bogus Hairy Audacious Goal), Tues, 230-315p (click here)
Brad Cook, Global Talent Acquisition, Informatica

Why The Movie “Minority Report” Is Tomorrow’s Recruiting Reality, Tues, 5p - 530p (click here)
Dan Hill, President, Sensory Logic

Hiring The Best And Brightest College Grads: From The Horse’s Mouth, Wed, 9:15 - 10:15a (click here)
Panel discussion with Dan Black, Dawn Carter, Gerry Crispin, Lisa Downs, Marie Artim

Design Thinking Workshop For Recruiting, Wed, 1:30p - 4:00p (click here)
Kevin Wheeler, Founder & President, Global Learning Resources

Employer Branding and Talent Attraction

Employer branding is maturing and the need to "consumerize" the way you market your culture is becoming as important as marketing your products and services. Social has made employer branding extremely complex, which means you need a dynamic content marketing approach to your talent attraction strategy. Employer branding today is all about content and conversations, so it's time for companies to tell their story!

Sessions related to Employer Branding and Talent Attraction at ERE’s Fall Conference:

Space To Innovate; TA At Wells Fargo; Transforming Lowe’s, Tues, 345p - 5p (click here)
Panel discussion led by Chris Van Bavel, Christie Gragnani-Woods, Thaddeus Jones

Building A Great TA Function; Increasing Credibility Among Leaders, Wed, 130 - 230p (click here)
Discussion led by Bruce MacLane, Tom Maria

Diversity At Nestle And Vodafone, Wed, 3 - 4p (click here)
Discussion led by Tiffany Ligon, Stephen Leach, Todd Raphael
 

Candidate Experience and Engagement

At the beginning of the web era, when job boards ruled, recruiting was transactional and impersonal. Now, social and mobile applications can be accessible and extremely user-friendly. People have always talked about your company, but social technology and online communities have transformed talent acquisition by enabling candidates to join the conversation. Engage talent and gather insights to help make your company culture something worth tweeting about! In today’s connected and mobile world, candidate expectations are high, which means it's time to focus on making their lives easier on mobile.

With social also comes the need for transparency. Real-time communication is not necessary, it's essential to building a proactive recruiting strategy. We help companies engage with their audience and encourage them to learn more about their company and brand. In short, it’s about building talent communities and leveraging your employees' networks to shift away from reactive recruiting environments towards a proactive approach.

Sessions related to Candidate Experience and Engagement at ERE’s Fall Conference:

Innovative High-Business-Impact Approaches To Talent Acquisition That Most Should Be Doing, But They Are Not, Tues, 230p - 315p (click here)
Dr. John Sullivan, Professor, San Francisco State University

Using Data; Resetting Your Customer Relationships, Wed, 130p - 230p (click here)
Discussions led by Jason Hopkins, John Ricciardi

Recruiting Analytics and Metrics

The great thing about a content rich digital and web marketing strategy for recruiting is that every bit of it is measurable. It’s no longer just about time-to-fill or cost-per-hire -– recruiters have to start thinking about candidate engagement metrics, reputation, brand impressions and source analytics. You need help from employees and buy-in from leadership to make your recruiting strategy successful and that takes a data-driven approach. Getting employees engaged and signed on as ambassadors is a must to succeed, and so is communication from leaders to the organization as a whole explaining the mission and plan.

Sessions related to Recruiting Analytics and Metrics at ERE’s Fall Conference:

Talent Acquisition’s Seismic Shift, Tues, 10-1030a (click here)
Tracie Montgomery, Director of Talent Acquisition & Diversity, Sedwick

Running Your TA Team Like a Business, Tues, 1:30p - 2:15p (click here)
Jennifer Shappley, Director, Talent Acquisition, LinkedIn

Successful Hiring; Talent Analytics; Talent Advisors, Tues, 345-5p (click here)
Panel discussion led by Carol Hamasaki, Charles Telep, Dawn Mitchell, Scott Walker

Using Data; Resetting Your Customer Relationships, Wed, 130p - 230p (click here)
Discussions led by Jason Hopkins, John Ricciardi

We live in a very exciting time. The TA role is constantly evolving and companies are taking to new heights to become the destination for the best employer brand out there. With TA playing such a crucial role in the overall strategy of a company, it’s important that as leaders we stand together to keep pushing the boundaries forward, whether it be through the Open Source HR movement or through sharing insights and thoughts at conferences like the ERE Fall Conference next week.

While not everyone will be able to join me in New Orleans next week, we would love to chat with you about how Proactive Talent Strategies can help your business achieve success with your talent acquisition and employer branding strategy.

Make sure to follow along with us on Twitter at #ERE16.