I started my HR career in recruiting for a large bank and later went to work for a large advertising and marketing communications company recruiting top talent. Things have changed a great deal in the world of talent acquisition over the last 30-plus years. I am still interested in how we find the best people for a role and create a value proposition that entices them to take the role.
For as interested and immersed in this world as I am, I am always striving to make sure that I know the leading practices, the new technology, new theories, and what makes for successful talent acquisition practices. But, as with anything, you don’t know what you don’t know. So, I attend conferences, watch webinars, entertain new software platforms, talk to people working in this space, and try to learn so that we can bring those practices to bear fruit for our clients.
One of the most energizing things about working as consultants is that we get to work with a huge variety of clients, from diverse industries and with a variety of needs. We also learn from these clients. What is working in their industry? What have they tried that didn’t work? What systems are making their processes more efficient? What practices are creating a “wow” candidate experience? These observations inform us and help us to help all of our clients.
When something for a client isn’t working in their recruiting, it’s often difficult for them to step back and see what is broken or what tweaks can help them be more successful. Most HR professionals are pulled in many directions and can’t really sink their teeth into finding recruiting solutions. Here are a few things that take up an HR leader’s time: employee relations issues, benefits administration or enrollment, coaching and counseling managers, performance management, succession planning, compliance, training and development, compensation issues… the list goes on. They don’t know what they don’t know about recruiting because they are swamped with a host of other important tasks and initiatives.
If this sounds familiar, consider a recruiting assessment. This can be done in-house if you have someone with the bandwidth and expertise. If not, consider hiring a third party to come in and look at your processes and candidate experience to see what is going well and maybe where there is room for improvement.
Here are a few things that you should look for in a recruiting assessment:
A good recruiting assessment should culminate in a report stating top opportunities to improve, areas of concern such as compliance or risk, and suggest other changes that might affect the success of the talent acquisition process.
As always, I’m on a quest for new knowledge and learning so we can support our clients as they seek to build strong, creative, and diverse teams. I’ll be heading to the national SHRM Talent Conference and hope to bring back the latest and greatest.
As many things continue to change, there are still some things that haven’t:
If you need help with a recruiting assessment, Purple Ink is here for you. Reach out to learn more.