When discussing hiring, the terms recruitment and talent acquisition are often used interchangeably. However, there are some subtle differences between the two practices, and understanding these nuances can impact how effectively you hire.
We’ll explain the difference between talent acquisition and recruitment and outline some situations where one tactic may be superior to the other for your particular needs.
What is Recruitment?
Recruitment is the process of finding, attracting, screening, interviewing, and hiring candidates for a company’s open roles. It takes place over a short time frame and aims to fill vacancies as quickly as possible with strong-fitting candidates. Recruitment activities include posting job openings, reviewing resumes, scheduling and conducting interviews, and making job offers.
What is Talent Acquisition?
Talent acquisition is a strategic practice for forecasting vacancies, attracting talented candidates, and forging relationships with those candidates before jobs need to be filled. It’s a long-term approach heavily focused on creating a strong talent pipeline. Talent acquisition activities include staffing analysis, succession planning, employer brand building, and candidate relationship nurturing.
The Difference Between Talent Acquisition and Recruitment
Though the activities involved in recruitment and talent acquisition overlap somewhat, the two processes vary in several key ways.
Time frame
Recruitment is focused on near-term results to fill vacant roles efficiently. Recruitment activities are action-oriented and meant to deliver qualified candidates quickly. Talent acquisition, on the other hand, has a longer lead time. Initiatives aim to deliver long-term results and require more time to plan and execute.
Scope
Though both recruitment and talent acquisition involves finding qualified candidates to meet a company’s staffing needs, recruitment has a more narrow scope that is focused primarily on the tasks that are directly associated with the hiring process. Talent acquisition duties are broader and include things like crafting recruitment marketing campaigns, running employee referral programs, planning initiatives to boost retention, conducting candidate feedback surveys, and analyzing and acting upon recruitment data.
Objectives
The narrow versus broad distinction also applies to the unique recruitment and talent acquisition goals. Recruitment’s primary goal is to fill open positions efficiently. Talent acquisition, on the other hand, aims to utilize staffing to achieve the company’s strategic vision.
When to Use Talent Acquisition
Employing talent acquisition strategies is a smart approach if your organization:
Hires a large number of employees every year
When you’re hiring continuously, it’s inefficient to start from square one each time. Building a talent pipeline that’s continuously filled with strong candidates will enable you to hire quicker and with greater accuracy.
Is in a niche field
In industries like technology and law, hiring requires a specific skill set that’s not always readily available. Building talent relationships over time can give you faster access to the niche skills you need when an opening becomes available.
Is focused on long-term growth
If your sights are set on hitting key performance and growth targets, you need the right staff in place to get there. Talent acquisition will help you attract and retain top professionals in your market for a competitive advantage.
Struggles with high turnover
In some fields, like healthcare and the call center industry, turnover is a persistent challenge. If this is the case, finding qualified talent on an ongoing basis will ensure your operational needs are met and help avoid service disruptions caused by inadequate staffing.
Is in a highly competitive market
In a strong candidate’s market, it can take several months to fill a single posting. Anticipating likely openings and seeking out candidates to fill them in advance can put you ahead of the game and avoid extended vacancies.
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When to Use Recruitment
It may be to your advantage to use recruiting if the following are true:
You only hire a few employees every year
If you’re a small business that only has a vacancy every couple of months, building a talent pipeline is not an efficient use of your time. Instead, your efforts would be better spent identifying reliable sourcing channels to find local talent and using them to reach candidates when openings become available.
Turnover is low
Do your employees tend to stick around for many years? First, congrats on the great retention! Second, it may not make sense to devote the time and planning that talent acquisition requires if attrition is rare.
You have a one-time need
If you’re looking to fill a niche position like an executive seat or a highly technical role, you don’t need to have a steady stream of qualified applicants. Instead, you should focus on identifying a handful of candidates who possess the required skills and are available immediately.
You hire a high volume of entry-level roles
When conducting volume hiring for entry-level jobs, posting on job boards may be the only recruitment channel you need. In this case, you can keep costs down by focusing on what works and spending most of your time on screening and interviews.
Tips for Deciding Whether to Use Recruitment or Talent Acquisition
1. Analyze organization’s goals
Based on the factors we’ve outlined above, you should have a pretty good idea of which camp your needs and goals fall into. Talent acquisition will be the stronger choice if you’re invested in building a strong employer brand and dedicating the effort to nurture candidate relationships. Recruitment is a more effective choice if you’re looking to hire immediately to meet short-term needs. Keep in mind that many organizations utilize a mix of recruiting and talent acquisition strategies to achieve their goals and that, in time, talent acquisition simplifies recruitment.
2. Assess your bandwidth
Think about an old house. It requires maintenance to keep it in good condition, and each repair delivers immediate results–a new coat of paint and a fixed boiler. At a certain point, though, if the repairs become excessive, it may be more cost-effective to bulldoze the house and build a new one with materials that are designed for longevity.
There’s a similar cost-versus-benefit situation between recruitment and talent acquisition. There’s no doubt that talent acquisition requires a significant investment of time and resources, while recruitment delivers faster results. At a certain point, however, the repeated efforts required by recruiting will become inefficient. Transitioning to talent acquisition will produce better long-term results and be more cost-effective.
Analyzing your current and future bandwidth for recruiting activities will help you determine whether you’re using your hiring resources optimally.
3. Consider company culture
Everyone needs to agree on the overarching goals when engaging in talent acquisition. One of those goals is building a cohesive culture. So, before you get too far into planning talent acquisition initiatives, it’s crucial to define your desired culture and identify individuals who fit within it.
4. Leverage a specialist
Professional recruiters and talent acquisition specialists can be valuable members of your hiring team, both to supplement your in-house staff and outsource activities entirely. Enlisting an expert can save time, keep costs down, and prevent hiring mistakes.
Talent acquisition and recruiting are important parts of an organization’s strategy to attract top talent. One supports the other. By choosing the strategy (or a combination of both) that fits your organizational goals and staffing needs, you’ll be better equipped to handle changes in the market while maintaining strong key performance indicators.
