Insights from a Cross-Industry Round Table
At a recent lunchtime round table session I hosted for talent leaders, I was joined by 15 talent leaders from various companies, including Fintechs, large and small tech consultancies, and publicly listed tech unicorns.
Together, we discussed the current and the ever-evolving landscape of talent acquisition (TA) amidst the recent economic turbulence. This is a breakdown of the key discussion points and the big-ticket items that came from them.
The Evolution of Talent Teams:
- It seems that some talent teams are shifting their focus from purely traditional recruitment tasks to more strategic initiatives. With some of them for once having the time, they are engaging in workforce planning, and their businesses are recognizing its value in anticipating and addressing talent needs proactively. This can only be a good thing.
- During the discussion, several talent teams mentioned that they have ventured into supporting business development (BD) activities. They also mentioned that by aligning closely with sales teams, they can better understand how those teams operate and therefore hire candidates who can bring value to the team. This made real sense to me, as an internal recruiter I sat amongst the product teams I was hiring for, I went to the stand-ups and got immersed in the teams. There’s no better way to hire for teams than to be in them as much as possible.
Talent Partnering: Integrating Talent Development and Learning & Development (L&D):
- A common theme seemed to be that talent acquisition teams are evolving into more of a talent partnering function, extending beyond pure recruitment to encompass talent development and learning & development (L&D) initiatives. As a result, talent teams are actively involved in fostering employee growth and skill development to meet evolving business needs.
- By partnering closely with other departments, such as L&D, what I heard was that talent teams are getting better equipped to work with the business to identify and address skills gaps, which therefore enables more effective talent acquisition and retention strategies to be planned and executed.
Adapting to Hybrid Work Arrangements:
- The conversation around hybrid work arrangements was insightful. It appears that many businesses are implementing mandated days in the office whilst also exploring the concept of Team anchor days, flexible hours and also regional hubs to facilitate collaboration and innovation.
- However, challenges persist in new staff onboarding within a hybrid work environment. While some organizations have adopted buddy systems to provide support and guidance to new hires, there is ongoing effort to refine best practices and optimize the onboarding experience.
Utilizing Technology for Hiring:
- Remote interviewing remains prevalent, supported by the use of tools such as psychometric tests and profiling to assess values alignment and diversity of thought within teams.
- It’s clear that technology continues to play an important role in streamlining the hiring process. However, there was a recognition and healthy championing of the importance of maintaining a human-centric approach to ensure a positive candidate experience.
Reflecting on the insights shared during the round table discussion, the overarching sense I got was the evolving role of talent acquisition in driving strategic initiatives and getting even closer to the business. As businesses adapt to changing work dynamics, talent teams can be at the forefront of shaping organizational success through proactive workforce planning, talent partnering, and the balanced use of technology in hiring.
This was a great session with healthy debate coming from teams with a range of different experiences. It was brilliant to see people so readily sharing their experiences and thoughts. I’m already looking forward to the next one.
