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Olivia
Tech Enthusiast
Olivia is a dynamic tech enthusiast and passionate blog writer with over seven years of experience in the tech industry.
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In the rapidly changing landscape of tech business, talent acquisition is more than just a buzzword. It’s an imperative function that goes beyond merely filling vacancies; it’s about finding the right people with the right skills at the right time. A well-thought-out talent acquisition strategy can significantly influence your company’s future success, and not having one could be detrimental.
But what exactly is talent acquisition? How does it differ from regular recruitment? And what are innovative talent acquisition strategies and best practices you can employ to ensure your company attracts and retains the best talent? Have no fear, as I’ve been blogging about tech for a long time, this post will answer all those questions, plus I’ll share a case study of how the best of the best are using talent acquisition to scale their growth. But before we get to that, let’s start at the beginning.
Need skilled tech talent?
It’s essential to understand the distinction between talent acquisition and recruitment. Although they’re frequently used interchangeably, they’re not synonyms. In fact, understanding the nuances between them can significantly impact your hiring process.
Recruitment is a reactive, short-term solution focused on filling immediate vacancies. It’s often a speedy process aiming to find someone who can perform the job at hand. On the other hand, talent acquisition is a strategic, long-term approach aimed at attracting highly skilled individuals to meet the current and future needs of the organization. It involves not just hiring but also retention, which is vital for maintaining a stable, committed workforce. This fundamental shift in your approach all starts with a bit of planning.
From my experience, it all starts with the development of a talent acquisition strategy. A talent acquisition strategy is a comprehensive plan designed to identify, attract, and onboard top talent to efficiently and effectively meet your tech talent needs. A robust talent acquisition strategy is vital for tech companies to ensure they remain competitive by securing innovative, skilled, and experienced professionals capable of driving technological advancements and business growth. Creating an effective talent acquisition strategy involves several vital steps.
First, you need to have a clear understanding of your company’s needs and objectives. This includes identifying the exact skills, experience, and cultural fit you’re looking for in potential candidates. It may involve evaluating your current staff, considering future projects, and aligning with the company’s long-term goals.
The next step is to develop a compelling employer brand. This is your company’s reputation as an employer and can significantly influence whether top talent will want to work for you or not. A strong employer brand can attract high-quality applicants and reduce hiring and marketing costs.
Lastly, leveraging technology can streamline your talent acquisition process. This can range from using an applicant tracking system (ATS) to manage applications efficiently, to utilizing social media for sourcing candidates, to deploying AI for pre-screening applicants.
Once you have a well crafted strategy, you move on to the execution.
The talent acquisition process is a cycle that typically involves several stages: planning, sourcing, screening, selecting, hiring, and onboarding.
In the planning stage, you identify the specific skills and qualifications needed for a role, often involving collaboration with hiring managers. During sourcing, you search for potential candidates through various channels such as job boards, social media, professional networking events, and even employee referrals.
Screening involves reviewing resumes and conducting initial interviews to assess candidates’ suitability. Selection is when you conduct further interviews, assessments, background checks before making a final hiring decision. Finally, onboarding is a critical phase where the new hire is integrated into the company, affecting their productivity and retention.
Although this sounds like a simple one, two, three, let me assure you there’s more to it than meets the eye.
There are many best practices for talent acquisition, three of the key ones I recommend you focusing on are:
Now that I’ve planted the seeds of creation, let’s shift over to who can best help you implement your talent acquisition strategy.
Offshoring can be a powerful tool in talent acquisition. It allows companies to tap into a larger, global talent pool and save on costs. However, managing offshore teams can be challenging due to differences in time zones, cultures, and communication styles.
So what’s the solution to this quandary? I believe the key is to look for an offshore partner with real-world experience. TurnKey Labs, a Silicon Valley Offshoring Company, offers an excellent service that handpicks and assembles tailor-made offshore software development teams for you. They specialize in sourcing developers for companies looking for remote developers and programming teams, demonstrating the immense value offshoring can bring.
As I promised earlier, here’s some of TurnKey’s hands-on experience of talent acquisition for an industry player you likely know.
A shining example of successful offshoring is the partnership between TurnKey Labs and R1. R1 is a developer of workflow automation software sold to large enterprise health systems in the U.S. Given strong customer growth, R1 needed to aggressively expand its development team across all key roles.
Facing the expense and lengthy timeframe of local hiring, R1 turned to TurnKey Labs. TurnKey facilitated the hiring of 40 full-time staff across UI/UX design, DevOps & Infrastructure, Implementation & Integration, Customer-facing professional services, and Customer support. As a result, R1 dramatically boosted their productivity, now boasting 51 releases per year. Moreover, R1 has enjoyed less than 5% average annual churn over the past 3 years, ensuring minimal disruption to their engineering needs.
Company
Need
Solution
Outcome
R1
Aggressive expansion of development team
Offshoring via TurnKey Labs
Boosted productivity, 51 releases/year, <5% annual churn
The future of talent acquisition lies in embracing technology and innovation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly being used to automate and improve the hiring process, from sourcing to screening to interviewing.
Moreover, with the rise of remote work, companies will need to adapt their talent acquisition strategies to effectively attract, engage, and retain remote employees. This will involve creating a seamless virtual hiring process and fostering a culture that supports remote work.
Talent acquisition is a strategic, ongoing process that involves attracting, sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding top talent. A successful talent acquisition strategy requires a clear understanding of your company’s needs, a robust employer brand, and the effective use of technology.
Offshoring, as demonstrated by companies like TurnKey Labs, can be an effective strategy for acquiring talent. However, it requires selecting a strong offshore partner who has careful management, clear communication, and a focus on building relationships to succeed.
Sources: 1
Recruitment is a short-term solution focused on filling immediate vacancies, while talent acquisition is a long-term strategy aimed at attracting highly skilled individuals to meet future business needs.
A talent acquisition strategy is a plan for attracting, sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding top talent based on your company's needs and objectives. It involves understanding your company's needs, developing a strong employer brand, and leveraging technology.
Offshoring can be an effective talent acquisition strategy as it allows companies to tap into a larger talent pool and save on costs. However, it requires careful management due to differences in time zones, cultures, and communication styles.
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