There is no denying that managing a group of personnel for an organization, however large or small, is a demanding task.
Now, imagine having to manage a team whose sole responsibility is hiring talents, bringing them on board, and retaining them. They are the Talent Acquisition Team.
How difficult can it get, right?
There are several factors associated with managing a team of ‘talent recruiters.’ It is almost like managing a group of managers.
If you lead or manage a team such as this, then it is imperative that you stay at the top of your game. You must be able to visualize and build a team with similar foresight. Remember, it is the job of a talent acquisition recruiter to spot weaknesses and strengths!
You can take this article as a crash course on managing a talent acquisition team.
We are going to look at:
- What Talent Acquisition Management is about
- What is the meeting point between ‘talent acquisition’ and ‘talent management process
- And tie it up with how you can manage your talent acquisition team effectively.
Most times, professionals draw a fine line between talent acquisition and talent management.
In some cases, others argue that they cannot be separated from each other.
Acquiring talent, training, and managing them to the very point they settle in seamlessly within an organization is a unified process. – This in other words is called Talent Acquisition Management.
Although this broad term is the highlight of this article, defining each process and then summing them up would make it easier to understand.
First, talent acquisition involves:
- Outsourcing
- Identifying
- Assessing
- And attracting qualified candidates
This is a summary of the process involved in filling a vacancy in an organization.
While talent management involves every action taken to develop and keep an already hired talent. These actions may include;
- Seminars
- Appraisals
- Salary increments
- Setting an attractive work environment
- Visions and missions to actualize e.t.c.
This involves ensuring new or existing talent is well kitted up for the job. Basically, upskilling old employees and training new employees.
So, Talent Acquisition Management is a combination of processes involved in both talent acquisition and talent management.
5 Helpful Tips to Effectively Manage a Talent Acquisition Team
The following are essential tips that can help you manage a team of seasoned talent recruiters
1. Make Resources Available
A major turn-off for a group of talented recruiters is difficulty in accessing resources. Data management tools, access to a pool of candidates open to opportunities, and so on.
An HR complete software kit will be of great value to the team. The hiring and training process can be easily optimized with such a tool.
If this is not affordable as a start-up, you provide the talent acquisition team with other basic tools they need to do a fine job.
Provide them with cutting-edge technology that makes recruitment easier such as:
Automated reference checks
- Assessment software
- Resume checkers
- Personality checkers etc.
If affordable, you can also get artificial intelligence tools that make it easier to analyze personnel performance. This makes it easier to easily categorize personnel based on work efficiency. Now, it is easier to cut loose ends and incentivize highly productive arms.
2. Let Team Roles be Stated
The team’s chances of failure are close to zero when the roles and responsibilities of every individual in the team is clearly specified. One of the biggest don’ts when managing a team is outlining what needs to be done without properly assigning responsibilities to each individual.
Unless team members assign roles for themselves, without any guess, the chance of failure is higher.
For you to get the best out of your team, divide the task processes into stages and assign a special unit to attend to them. And, don’t forget to give these units cool names!
For example, the CV and assessment reviewing department must do their job well. They will hand their reports over to the Interview and Personality experts unit.
The IPE team does its job. The Remuneration and Incentives department takes it up and then hands it over to the Personnel Retainment and Micromanagement!
An example like this should summarize what the day-to-day actions of the Talent Acquisition Management team should look like.
3. Encourage the Team
Sometimes, the talent acquisition teams of many organizations are ignored. Especially, when the performance of the various departments of the organization is being applauded at the board level.
Actions like this do not go well with talent recruiters as this means their efforts are undermined and not well appreciated.
As a team lead, you may be the only voice they have at that level of organizational structure. You should stand up for the team and ensure they get the applause they deserve.
Give them incentives, pay increments, bonuses, and a leave package that are on equal grounds with other units of the organization.
4. Allow Constructive Feedback
For any reasonable development to be made, Constructive Feedback is needed. A non-toxic working environment encourages team members to talk.
It may be difficult for team members to give feedback, especially to superiors if the work culture doesn’t favor it.
Work on creating an open and friendly environment. Let your team know you are open to feedback. Don’t just mention it, make it obvious in the way you act, especially when feedback comes during debrief meetings.
Get comments from other departments also. And, let your acquisition team know what other sections of the organization think about them.
At the same time, there are also technical tools available to identify performance improvement, strengths, and weaknesses in an organization. You can make use of this.
5. Develop your Team
Your team deserves every opportunity for professional development.
They need to grow!
The Talent Acquisition Management field is rapidly evolving and changing. You need to intentionally engage your team members in development exercises. It could be a paid course, seminars, team bonding exercise, and so on.
Expose your teams to training, take the willing and the best for courses, let the team be on their toes.
Conclusion
Effective leadership in a Talent Acquisition Management team will, without doubt, improve the overall performance of an organization.
So, it’s important that you create a friendly environment that encourages everyone to communicate freely where they can learn from each other. Ensure team roles are role-appropriate and fair. Finally, everyone needs to unwind. Give your team members breaks as and when required.
