Turning recruiters in corporate talent advisors requires more than changing the name of their function or printing new business cards. It has to be based on a thorough critical evaluation of the corporate talent acquisition strategy and the processes, tools and technologies that enable the implementation of this strategy. It is necessary to clearly define metrics and actually measure them. The responsibility of all stakeholders to achieve the results set is important, too.
The reasons why recruiters often fail to become true talent advisors were summarized by the HR Development Blog as follows:
1. Unclear definition of the role of a "talent advisor"
You can hardly accomplish something when you do not know exactly what it should be. Talent advisors should help hiring managers with planning of recruitment and significant decisions. He/she should have the expertise and experience in talent acquisition and focus on the quality and efficiency of the recruitment process, not its speed and price. It is a trusted business partner involved in creating talent strategies.
2. Lack of recruiters' skills
Many recruiters are still sadly lacking deeper understanding of how their organizations are functioning, deeper collaboration skills and the ability to influence passive job seekers. A recruiter with these shortcomings can hardly convince a hiring manager to make a right talent decision for the company.
3. Insufficient support for recruiters
You cannot change your recruiters' work without proper support. The scope of their work will be different. In addition, they will need advanced technology, expert resources and excellent coordinators so they can handle the volume of work of a talent advisor. If you are not prepared to provide this, you are not prepared for talent advisors.
4. Unclear definition of the role of HR
The role of talent advisors (recruiters) often overlap with HR business partners. Conflicts arrise about who is responsible for the quality of recruitment and employee engagement. If you want to promote your recruiters to the role of talent advisors, clearly define this role in relation to other roles in HR.
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