5 ways talent acquisition is different from recruitment

Before we get into how talent acquisition is different from recruitment, let’s define both terms.

5 ways talent acquisition is different from recruitment

Recruitment: this is a linear process where the recruiter searches for a specific candidate for a specific job. The main objective of recruiting is to find suitable candidates for vacancies that are currently vacant. It is a reactive and recurring system: when a position becomes available, a new person is found to fill it. When another position opens up, it is filled and so on.

Talent acquisition: this process focuses on building relationships with potential candidates, anticipating a company’s future hiring needs and creating a group of candidates that will suit the future role. It is more strategic with a long term frame of mind.

Now onto some more of their major differences:

Planning and strategy: as mentioned in their definitions, talent acquisition is a lot more strategic, requires long term planning and takes a much deeper look into the needs of your company than recruitment does.
Workforce segmentation: it is extremely important for you to understand the inner workings of your business if you make use of talent acquisition as they use a forward thinking approach. You as the business owner need to know exactly what each position requires including experience and skill levels.
Employer branding: great brands want to attract great talent, and they are throwing a huge amount of budget towards the cause. You want to make your business attractive to potential new employees. Ensuring that your company branding and culture is a positive one is high on the priority list of a talent acquisition service.
Talent scoping:one thing that acquisition is brilliant at, is discovering talent in places you wouldn’t think to look. All potential future employees understand the fact that the objective is not to employ them immediately, but rather to build a relationship and that they could fill a role in your business further down the line.
Analytics: collecting and analysing information is one of the biggest tasks when it comes to a talent acquisition strategy. It is by sifting through this information that you will be able to make the best decisions for the future of your business.

It is important to note, that while recruitment and talent acquisition are very different, there is an element of recruiting involved in talent acquisition.

Have you ever considered your talent acquisition strategy?

At Soloman Associates, we have a range of Talent Advisory and Consultancy that can help you define your Talent Acquisition Strategy, alternatively you may wish to utilise our Smartsource offering where we do all of the heavy lifting for you.