There’s a common saying that “health is wealth.” And while the original intent of that message relates to our physical wellbeing, the sentiment rings true across a variety of areas … including the talent acquisition funnel. Each stage of the talent funnel represents its own system, requiring specific inputs to be able to function at its most optimal level. When one system is unwell or underperforming, the impact can be felt across the remaining systems.
Given that the core of any successful talent acquisition strategy is the intent to build deeper relationships with candidates and move right-fit individuals through the hiring process faster, talent teams must consider the variables that lead to success and speed, or challenges with costly delays. With the right approach, rich data insights, and purposeful technology in place, teams can amplify their effectiveness at every stage of the talent journey, from reach to retention.
Unfortunately, many organizations are resource-constrained, which may lead to an imbalance in talent acquisition activities and lackluster results. However, with the right approach and support, you can optimize your entire talent journey, from reach to retention — even with limited resources.
Talent acquisition health check
As the name suggests, a talent acquisition health check looks at the various stages of your talent journey – awareness, connection, qualification, and retention – to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. Where there are areas of underperformance, the next logical step is to develop and implement a treatment plan to bring it back to health.
In our eBook, Talent acquisition health check: Tips for assessing, diagnosing, and treating your talent acquisition lifecycle, we break the talent journey down into specific stages and outcomes so you can focus on one area at a time. We provide guidance on how to assess and diagnose issues within your existing processes, strategies, or tactics, and empower you with recommendations for optimization.
Awareness stage performance assessment
Getting in front of the right people and piquing their interest in your organization is the first step to any successful talent acquisition strategy. Gaining deeper insights into the candidate (and eventually the employee) is essential to your success as a talent acquisition professional. Candidates want to feel connected and aligned, but if you don’t know who they are or what they’re interested in, your message and ability to convert is likely to fall flat.
When assessing the awareness stage of your talent journey, you may notice:
- Low volume of career site traffic
- Low application rates
- Poor cost-per-impression / cost-per-application media ROI
- Poor quality of talent
- Misalignment or misunderstanding between candidate and employer expectations
Digging in even more, you may ask probing questions, such as:
- What channels are we using to share our open positions and brand message?
- Have we audited our existing channels? Are they all still in use, or do we need to retire any of them?
- Are there new channels that we should consider?
- Has our budget changed in recent months? If so, how has that impacted our results?
It’s this level of assessment that will illuminate the areas your team can (and should) focus on to bring things back to optimal levels of performance. To explore the treatment plan recommendations for underperformance in your awareness stage, download your copy of the eBook.
Full talent funnel performance
To achieve the results your organization cares about most, it’s critical that you take a proactive approach to your talent acquisition strategy, processes, and the solutions you use to ease the burden on an already resource-constrained team. The first step is to conduct a health check on your existing talent journey, from both the talent team and candidate perspective. Then, take the necessary steps to bring it to peak health to drive better, more consistent results.
As with any health and wellness journey, this is not a one-and-done situation. It’s important to have regular check-ins on your processes, messages, and more to ensure you’re aligned with current market needs, candidate expectations, and hiring goals. That’s where the Talent acquisition health check comes in as your sidekick and helpful reference guide.
It’s time to take back control of your processes and results … which starts with a health check of your talent funnel.
