Amongst the sunshine and socialising at RecFest 2022 our founder, Sam Newell, also managed to soak up the inspiring content and came back to the office bursting with enthusiasm and insights.
A session that stood out was How to Build a Hiring Culture to Drive Great Hiring Results presented by Kevin Blair (VP Talent Acquisition Celonis & Co-Founder, Join Talent), Annabel Nichols (Global TA Director, Avanade), and Yasar Ahmad (Global Vice President of Talent, HelloFresh). Here Sam reflects on the conversation and shares some tips on how to embed hiring culture into the DNA of your organisation:
In the early 2000s, when Talent Acquisition as a business function was in its infancy, our goal was to standardise the recruitment processes to provide the control, quality, and visibility that businesses didn’t previously have. Putting in place this rigour allowed us to demonstrate the undisputable value that a high-quality Talent Acquisition function can add.
Cut to 2022 - Talent Acquisition has matured as a discipline and our challenge is less about controlling the process and more about attracting and engaging talent in an overheated market. Today we see ourselves as business partners, asking our clients and stakeholders to be accountable for their hiring, with our support, guidance, and expertise. However, not everyone has moved with the times, and we still happen upon the occasional stakeholder who still thinks of us as the process police.
So, how can we help our stakeholders understand and make this shift?
1. Loosen the reigns
For people to feel like they have a genuine role to play in achieving the business’ recruitment goals, they need accountability. Talent Acquisition becomes a trusted adviser or business partner when all parties come to the table and co-create the talent strategy. We need to collaborate with not dictate to the business.
2. Create talent champions
Scour your business for the people who best engage with and support Talent Acquisition projects and create a network of champions who can role model best practice. Invite them to strategy and planning meetings as well as extended team briefings and updates, so they’re truly embedded and invested in the process.
3. Communication is key
Leave no room for assumptions by laying out clear expectations on both sides with your stakeholders. This might also mean building in sessions as part of new joiner onboarding which clearly outlines ways of working and objectives around supporting the hiring process.
If you need help weaving hiring culture into your organisation, get in touch with our team who’d be delighted to have a chat.
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