Sevenstep Team | October 30, 2019
“As organizations adopt new technologies, org structures, and sourcing
strategies, it is imperative that the talent acquisition function also evolves.
Continuous changes to the way business is done mean that the talent acquisition
strategy must also adapt to find and compete for the right candidates—people
who will succeed today and into the future.” – The Conference Board
The 6th
Annual Talent Acquisition Conference explored strategies and innovations
for attracting top talent to stay ahead of the competition. As we head into the
new decade, 2020 is already being dubbed the “Decade of Disruption,” or the
“Decade of Mega Disruption” depending on who you talk to, and there is little-to-no
doubt that we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s to come. There
will be both new challenges and incredible opportunities.
Talent Acquisition Trends: 2020
Everyone is
valuable.
TA teams and those
providing TA services – like Sevenstep’s solutions
– have to continue to evolve the way we think about the role of talent in an
organization. I was struck by a particular session, “Untapped Talent Pool:
Refugees,” which talked about the global refugee population – now over 25
million and rising – and how they constitute an untapped pool of talent in many
labor markets with smaller populations or for work not requiring a highly skilled
or technical background. To be honest, I hadn’t thought about them as a source
of talent before, and I wasn’t alone. The purpose of the session was to provide
an overdue primer on refugees and their legal status, highlight the opportunity
for companies to hire refugees into their workforce, and unpack some of the
benefits that companies hiring refugees have seen. Key takeaway: Consider
the potential in everyone. People aren’t a commodity. Let’s regain our
sense of humanity. Shout out to Dr. Rohini Anand, SVP for Corporate
Responsibility & Global Chief Diversity Officer, Sodexo, and Gideon Maltz, Executive
Director, Tent Partnership for Refugees,
for this important reminder.
Transformation
starts with actionable to-dos – first.
I loved the honesty
at this year’s conference. Attendees seemed less interested in maintaining a
facade and more interested in having meaningful conversations, like “How do I
actually go back and do this? How do I transform and do better?” I enjoyed the opportunity
to interact with attendees at the Sevenstep booth. I fielded questions about
what we do but people really demonstrated they had done their homework. Instead
of asking what RPO is in general terms, people posed questions like, “I know
Sevenstep offers Enterprise
and Project
RPO and that you recently added MSP to
your service offering, but how can I apply them to a business like mine?” Or, “Do
you have a use case for RPO in a small-to-mid-sized manufacturing company like
mine?” These are just a handful of examples, but the tactical application of what
transforming talent acquisition means in practice was really inspiring. Key
takeaway: TA is serious about getting transformation right, and good leaders
are starting to ask the right questions to make transformation possible in
2020.
Culture matters.
Even at the HR
Technology Conference & Expo last year, where technology was the main
focus, people were still at the heart of delivery and strategy. The same can be
said for the Talent Acquisition Conference. There were a lot of great HR
technology vendors in attendance, including our partners at Avature who
presented with L’Oreal on what it takes to deliver a world-class sourcing
function. And nobody seemed to forget the importance of people, community and
culture – soft factors that can sometimes easily be put on the sidelines when placed
next to the bright and shiny new pieces of technology. Vendors, providers and
buyers all seemed in sync about technology, and the way it compliments and
enhances critical things like a company’s employer brand, and candidate and
employee experience. Key takeaway: Building a cohesive strategy that
accounts for all types of workers and permeates throughout a company’s culture
requires people and technology.
Closing Thoughts
In addition to being an Associate Sponsor, Sevenstep was fortunate to present
at this year’s Talent Acquisition Conference. Executive Vice President Greg
Karr outlined ways to build a business case for TA transformation by connecting
the dots between talent acquisition strategies and business outcomes. ‘Transformation,’
as he explained it, is a ubiquitous term in TA for good reason; the complexity
of the function demands discipline, rigor and most importantly, innovation. But
by prioritizing the actions of TA, measuring successes, and executing on
defined timelines, transformation in TA is possible – and the results for the
business will be very real.
Hiring will continue. Fortunately, we’re evolving past the “war for
talent” and “how do we get the most out of people," but getting
organizations to truly think about talent within the business differently will still
take some doing. Going from ideation to transformation isn’t an overnight success
story. But based on the people, the concepts and the technology from the Talent
Acquisition Conference, I’m encouraged by what’s in store for TA in 2020.
Thank you to John Gillis and The Conference Board team for a great
event.
Check out where we’re heading next: Sevenstep Events.
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