3 Habits of Highly Successful Talent Acquisition Leaders

The brains behind the strategy, the minds behind the direction, the people behind the teams – successful talent acquisition leaders can make all the difference to your organization. Interestingly, there are a few traits this rare breed has in common, that makes modern organizations stand out in a competitive hiring landscape.

Recruitment is a difficult space today. To overcome common recruitment challenges, recruiters and talent acquisition Opens a new window professionals have access to a variety of solutions, tactics, and strategies. These, when combined, drive better results, improve hiring metrics, and widen the available talent pool. However, all of this must be driven by a strong leader with a focus on the big picture, the ability to connect with one and all, and the technical know-how to drive quality, while containing costs and timelines.

Also read: 2018 Recruitment Trends According to ExpertsOpens a new window

Well, for US CHRO for Gympass, Nikki Salenetri, great leadership – like working out – is a habit and needs to be embedded into the day-to-day. “The key to improving performance in endurance athletics is setting goals that ultimately contribute to you achieving your best time. As an HR team, we can be vocal about the goals our employees are striving for, and partner with managers to define the steps necessary for employees to achieve them,” she said, in conversation with HR Technologist.

(You can read about her 5 training habits for the modern HR leader hereOpens a new window .)

So, what helps one spearhead a truly effect talent acquisition program? Clearly, every manager brings a unique sense of leadership and must be given the space for creativity and innovation. Here are 3 must-haves for every talent acquisition leader:

1. They understand how relationships matter, over everything else – using next-gen solutions to drive continuous communication lines.

“When you speak to them, don’t appear distracted and disrespectful and always make sure that any problems are solved by communication and not by arguing. This way, your employees will have a hint at what they should do if they run into a disagreement. Encourage good interaction outside of work – building these relationships is important,” recommends Opens a new window Freddie Tubbs, Recruiting Manager at Academized.

The modern workplace isn’t a cold, hard authoritatively segmented office. Everybody works in close connection with their teams, and a talent acquisition manager understands the importance of building close connections with every member on the team. From the junior-most employee to direct leads, from first level applicants to rejected candidates, a talent acquisition manager must realize the criticality of crafting relationships with every internal stakeholder.

Tools like Slack are often the go-to medium for recruitment teams, offering a singular platform for multiple conversations, assignments, and files sharing. A dedicated and feature-rich solution like StaffcircleOpens a new window , could also be an intelligent option, as these are geared to connect employees across various levels, divisions, and hierarchies. “We want to give workers a new voice through a tool that connects them directly to the leaders in their organization. We also want to give leaders a better channel of communication with their employees, so that they enhance their visibility and increase their insights into their employees’ work lives,” said Mark Seemann, StaffCircle’s Founder-CEO.

Also read:

Talent Acquisition vs Recruitment: Key Differences and SimilaritiesOpens a new window

2. They are aware of the need to delegate – and which tools will help get it right.

No matter how talented, experienced, or versatile, no leader can do it all on its own. In fact, the stronger his or her team building capabilities, the greater their leadership impacts. In fact, not delegating is among the 5 top leadership mistakes to avoidOpens a new window !  Many leaders are unwilling to delegate a part of their function’s work. The reason for this may vary, from a sense of losing power to a compelling need to exert control to a micromanagement tendency. Such behavior sets the wrong precedence, justifying that it is okay to complete only 75% of one’s work and let the leader complete the rest.

A truly effective talent acquisition leader, will evaluate a team’s core advantages, demarcate strengths and skill sets, and assign tasks accordingly. There’s a slew of workforce management solutions out there which make assigning goals and checking for completion, an easy task. Using the right technology, talent acquisition leaders can maintain a macroscopic overview of what’s happening, while also guiding and empowering on-ground recruiters. ClearCompany, for instance, provides a very useful tool that helps align hiring goals across your team. Designed as a recruiter management solution, this could make all the difference for high-volume hires, led by talent acquisition managers eager to delegate.

Also read: Leadership Traits to Look for While HiringOpens a new window

3. They know listening is half the battle won – and translate the data into insights, for smarter decision-making.

An ear on the ground is, more often than not, a foot towards the future. Great talent acquisition managers are constantly monitoring the chatter – both external and internal. Is your team happy with the work at hand, or overburdened with responsibility? Are applicants and candidates aware of the company’s value proposition? Do people understand what your organization’s true goals and motivating factors are?

Also read: Four Strategies to make Data-Driven HR LeadersOpens a new window

Technology allows hitherto unquantifiable chatter, to finally ‘make sense’, using AI to accurately delineate a company’s value proposition in the job market, pain-points for applicants, and job-board performance. Consider 1plusXOpens a new window , a niche recruitment data management solution built specifically for the tech-empowered talent acquisition leader. Leveraging candidate behavior data and hiring ad metrics, it allows talent acquisition managers to take strategic decisions, giving employers a clear advantage in a highly competitive hiring environment.

There you have it! Talent acquisition, like any other business function, calls for an acute sense of market realities, business objectives, employee needs, and team productivity capacities. Any talent acquisition manager must create a healthy balance of the above, knowing when to share the fall, lead from the front, or distribute authority and responsibility, adopting technology as an enabler (and not a replacement!) for these essential leadership traits.

Also read: The Comprehensive Buyer’s Guide to Stand-alone Recruitment and OnboardingOpens a new window