Rapid changes in 2020 have fundamentally changed the business landscape and forced many organisations to adapt their recruitment and talent strategy. In their latest report, Talent Table and PageUp share their strategic recommendations for navigating the new world of work. Here are the top three takeaways.
At Next Wave Talent, Talent Table’s first ever digital event, recruiters, business leaders and talent acquisition professionals came together to explore concepts around the future of talent acquisition.
The bottom line? While many organisations have experienced disruptions in recruitment this year, talent acquisition is, and will continue to be, a critical function in the new world of work.
Organisations still need top talent. That means talent professionals and business leaders need to understand the best ways to articulate their organisations’ employer brand and develop their talent strategy to get the best ROI.
If you’re a business leader or talent acquisition professional, recruiting in the new world of work means you must become a subject-matter expert not only in acquisition, but in talent mobility and development as well. The report states that while no one has a crystal ball to see what the future holds — there is a way for organisations to head in the right direction.
Here are the top three actions from the report you can take today.
Review and strengthen your employer brand
After so much change this year, you may need to review the employer brand messaging you’re putting into the marketplace. In particular, many organisations are offering people new benefits, including flexible working arrangements and learning opportunities. You may even be onboarding employees remotely and offering additional training to boost engagement.
What’s changed for your organisation this year? When reviewing and strengthening your employer brand, consider the following three areas in particular:
- flexible working arrangements
- health, safety and wellbeing
- learning and development.
Remote work will increase by 278% compared to pre-COVID.
62% of employees state they will be working remotely.
– FlexCareers annual Flex report
Can you incorporate any new benefits into your employer brand messaging?
Remember, getting your messaging and EVPs right is just the beginning. To make your employer brand and EVPs work to your best advantage, embed it across your entire employee life cycle – not just in attraction and recruitment.
Share authentic and transparent content on your careers site that showcases what’s happening in your organisation and how you’re positively impacting and supporting your people. Focus on employee experience and continue to nurture your talent pools by developing a proactive sourcing strategy underpinned by engaging content tailored to your ideal hire.
Check out our article about how developing a “speak up” culture can improve your employer brand.
Develop your talent through online learning
Candidates and employees want to understand how their organisation will help their career growth and prepare them for the future of work. Career and industry changes will become more common, so keep this in mind when recruiting. Can your job ads shift focus from industry experience to transferable skills?
Promote your Learning Value Proposition (LVP) prominently on your company careers site, but don’t just embed it in the attraction phase. Use it to support retention too.
68% of people in work intend to pursue professional education independently of their employer.
– FlexCareers annual Flex report
L&D is fast becoming a major player in supporting organisations’ growth and strategic goals. A solid understanding of L&D is critical to future-proof your organisation for the new world of work.
Make diversity and inclusion a strategic priority
Another crucial aspect of your talent strategy should include diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). Why? Because you can bring in great people, but ensuring belonging is the key to making them stay.
Many talent professionals think DE&I is out of their scope; but it’s time to reframe this belief. A strong DE&I strategy will allow your organisation to continue to attract top talent and drive results (not to mention, increase profitability).
While recruitment teams may not be 100% responsible for D&I, it is definitely something you can influence.
Here’s how PwC lives diversity and inclusion.
“The most diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform less diverse peers on profitability.” – Mckinsey, “Diversity Wins” report, 2020
In developing DE&I in your organisation, develop strong relationships between talent acquisition, HR, L&D and your leadership team. In doing so, teams can work better together to promote DE&I initiatives, influence culture, hire the right people, promote the right messaging (internally and externally), add more value to your organisation and achieve success through your people.
Remember, however, diversity quotas don’t automatically instill inclusion.
Recruiting in the new world of work will require you to add some additional skills to your toolkit. Developing your employer brand, increasing learning opportunities and prioritising D&I may seem like big projects to tackle; but they’ll go a long way to ensure your success over the long term.
For more strategic recommendations, check out the complete report.
Have you reviewed and refreshed your employer brand messaging this year? Are you offering additional learning opportunities or prioritising D&I? Share a commend below.