In our Lexicon, we define Talent acquisition as “a strategic approach to identifying, attracting and onboarding top talent to efficiently and effectively meet dynamic business needs.” 

The term Talent Acquisition (TA) is often used synonymously with Recruiting. However, these are two very different things. Recruiting is a subset of TA, and includes the activities of sourcing, screening, interviewing, assessing, selecting and hiring. In some organizations this extends to the early stages of onboarding, which then becomes a shared responsibility between HR and the hiring manager, with support from the learning organization.

Talent acquisition includes recruiting, but it is inclusive of other strategic elements as follows.

• Talent Acquisition Planning & Strategy – ensures business alignment, examines workforce plans, requires an understanding of the labor markets, and looks at global considerations.
  
• Workforce Segmentation – requires an understanding of the different workforce segments and positions within these segments, as well as the skills, competencies, and experiences necessary for success.
  
• Employment Branding – includes activities that help to uncover, articulate and define a company’s image, organizational culture, key differentiators, reputation, and products and services. Employment branding can help advance the market position of organizations, attract quality candidates and depict what it is truly like to work for that organization.
  
• Candidate Audiences – necessitates defining and understanding the audiences in which an organization needs to source for specific roles.  Different sourcing strategies should be applied based on the understanding of the jobs and where the audiences will come from to fill them.
  
• Candidate Relationship Management – includes building a positive candidate experience, managing candidate communities, and maintaining relationships for those candidates not selected.
  
• Metrics & Analytics – is the continuous tracking and use of key metrics to drive continuous improvement and to make better recruitment decisions, to ultimately improve the quality of hire.
  

Within each of these core elements of TA are many other sub-activities and best practices.  And, of course, the selection of tools, technology and outsourcing partners is a key element of a company’s talent acquisition strategy. 

Recruiting is what many people want to dive into; however, that is what we call putting the cart before the horse.  The elements listed above are necessary for doing recruiting well. To use an analogy - the design and implementation of leadership programs is only a piece of a leadership development strategy, following an understanding of business goals, defining leadership competencies, and integrating with other talent management process.   In other words, a leadership program is to leadership development what recruiting is to talent acquisition.  Alone, neither will drive their highest value to the business.

In early Spring we will be publishing a new, more comprehensive Talent Acquisition Framework.  In this report, I will help you make sense of what is arguably the most complex area within HR/talent management. Stay tuned! 

Finally, be sure to join me at our annual IMPACT conference April 10-13 in St. Petersburg, FL.  I will be facilitating/delivering four sessions that address the topics of next generation recruiting, employment branding, improving quality of hire, and high-impact global recruiting.  In these sessions will be senior-level TA leaders from UnitedHealth Group, Turner Broadcasting, Accenture, Eaton Corporation, Halliburton and Royal Caribbean.