INSIDER

Analyst Outlines Strategy for Winning War on Talent

By George Miller

Proactive pursuit of a “ready now” workforce is one characteristic of the companies that are succeeding when it comes to sourcing and assessing top talent.

Tarquinio

In today’s global economy, all companies are challenged to develop the next generation of leaders, according to Boston-based Aberdeen Group. The current market has too few qualified employees to fill necessary job roles.

As a result, companies are struggling to get the talent they need. But successful companies are also taking action.

“These companies focus on the long term and they know that they need to make talent acquisition a priority,” said Madeline Tarquinio, Aberdeen research analyst for human capital management, in an interview. “The best-in-class companies that have improved [in talent acquisition] are those who have looked at the long term, invested, and made it a priority. They created a strategic plan to make it a priority.”

Tarquinio reported in a white paper, Talent Acquisition Strategies: Sourcing and Assessing the Best of the Best (June 2006), that 59% of best in class companies reported an increase in overall company performance after implementation of a talent acquisition strategy, compared to only 41% of industry average companies and just 33% of laggard companies.

The research, conducted in partnership with the Human Capital Institute, indicates a shift in company perception of human capital as an asset rather than a commodity. “Companies have been talking the talk but not walking the walk,” said Tarquinio. “With global competition, you can no longer do that.”

Companies have begun to “recognize the criticality of investing in a talent acquisition strategy as a way to identify, attract and engage high performers,” she added.

Following the paper’s top recommendation, some 90% of best-in-class companies reported that they have aligned talent acquisition efforts with their company’s strategy.

Another recommendation: Measure workforce performance based on the quality of the hire rather than cost per hire and time per hire.

Additional recommendations from the white paper include the following:

• Recognize that a talent-acquisition approach that works for one company will not necessarily work for all companies.
• Eliminate paper and spreadsheet-based processes and use such technology solutions as online assessment tools and job boards that enable faster and easier ways to source and assess candidates.
• Focus on a long-term plan for talent acquisition, such as improving the company’s brand and creating a strategic pre-hire workforce plan to save time and cut costs for sourcing and assessing candidates.

The white paper is free for free for a limited time.

George Miller
Site Editor
gmiller@questex.com