What is talent acquisition?

Talent acquisition strategy is the process of identifying, attracting and acquiring the right candidates to meet an organization’s current and future staffing needs. The core of talent acquisition is to attract potential candidates to an organization and hire the ones that meet the qualifications of open roles and are a good fit within the organization. A survey found that 48% of organizations said that talent acquisition was a top priority for 2024.

Strategic planning is used to help ensure that the organization hires the right job seekers at the right time for the right roles to drive success. An effective talent acquisition strategy aligns with the human resources strategy, which in turn reflects the broader strategy of the organization.

McKinsey estimates that replacing a new employee costs organizations USD 55,000.¹ Improving talent acquisition strategy minimizes the cost of finding and hiring new employees.

The process of talent acquisition typically includes job analysis, sourcing, screening, interviewing, selecting and onboarding new employees. Successful talent acquisition also often incorporates organizational branding because talent is more likely to be attracted to employers with a positive brand image. Recruitment strategies used for outreach with potential candidates include online job boards (for example, LinkedIn, Indeed), professional networks and social media.

In addition, an engaging and efficient candidate experience is needed to help ensure candidates move smoothly through the hiring process. Advancements in technology have enabled the use of applicant tracking systems (ATS), artificial intelligence (AI) tools and data analytics that can streamline the process, help identify strong candidates and improve the clarity of employer-candidate interactions.

Talent acquisition also plays a critical role in helping ensure diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) within the workplace by encouraging hiring managers to seek out a diverse pool of applicants and promote a fair and inclusive hiring process.

The terms talent acquisition, recruitment and HR are often used interchangeably. However, in reality, they are interconnected but distinct components within an organization’s human resources framework. Talent acquisition is a long-term strategic approach to finding, attracting and hiring qualified candidates for specific roles within the organization. It is a comprehensive process of identifying the talent needed, sourcing candidates, assessing their qualifications and ultimately onboarding those candidates who are hired. Talent acquisition is proactive and focuses on aligning the organization’s long-term goals with the skills and capabilities of potential employees. In most organizations, it is now a separate team or an essential part of the HR department.

Recruitment is a subset of talent acquisition that focuses on filling near-term job vacancies and actively attracting and seeking candidates for open positions within the organization. The recruitment process involves creating job postings, reviewing resumes, conducting initial screenings and conducting interviews. While recruitment emphasizes filling current job vacancies, talent acquisition takes a more holistic approach by considering the organization’s long-term talent needs and its potential growth.

Human Resources (HR) is a broader organizational function that encompasses various aspects of employee management, including talent acquisition and recruitment. HR professionals oversee benefits administration, employee relations, performance management, training and development and compliance with labor laws and regulations. Talent acquisition and recruitment are functions within HR. HR, as a whole, focuses on creating and maintaining a positive and productive work environment, managing employee contentment and fostering the overall development of the organization.

Talent acquisition has evolved significantly over the past century, especially with the introduction of the internet and other technical innovations. In the early 20th century, recruitment was relatively simple, a predominantly manual process that relied on newspaper advertisements and word-of-mouth referrals. As industrialization and technology progressed, recruitment methods gradually incorporated the use of employment agencies and job fairs.

Recruitment was revolutionized with the rise of the internet in the late 20th century, which enabled online job boards and digital platforms that allowed for a wider reach and faster candidate sourcing. This development changed talent acquisition, making it more accessible and efficient. The emergence of professional networking sites such as LinkedIn and social media platforms in the 21st century has created more opportunities for recruiters. It improved their ability to connect with potential candidates, expanding the scope of talent acquisition strategies.

More recently, a focus on data-driven decision-making, candidate experience and employer branding has become inherent to talent acquisition strategies. Advanced technologies such as ATS, AI and predictive analytics have further transformed the process, enabling recruiters to discover and engage with top candidates more effectively. This ongoing evolution continues to shape how organizations attract and retain the employees they need and has emphasized the importance of aligning talent acquisition strategies with the organization’s overall objectives.

The talent acquisition process typically involves the following steps:

• Establishing job requirements
• Candidate sourcing
• Candidate screening
• Interviewing
• Candidate selection
• Job offer
• Employee onboarding
• Talent relationship management

Determine the requirements of the position, including its responsibilities, necessary qualifications and skill sets.

Actively search for qualified candidates by using job boards, the ATS, conferences, networking events, employee referrals and social media (including current employees’ social media where possible).

Review applications and resumes to shortlist candidates who meet the job criteria and core competencies and who might have the ability to perform the job well and are a cultural fit for the organization. Written tests, skill assessments, background checks and drug tests can be used to further narrow the candidate field.

Conduct phone screenings and preliminary and in-depth interviews (including behavioral and situational interviews, if relevant), whether on the phone or in person, to assess candidates' skills, qualifications and cultural fit within the organization.

Determine the most suitable candidate for the role by evaluating feedback from the screening and interview processes.

Extend a job offer to the chosen candidate, including job title and job description, compensation details, start date and information about benefits and other relevant terms.

Integrate the new hire to the organization by using an effective orientation and onboarding process. Onboarding provides them with necessary information, resources and training to smoothly adapt to their role and understand their responsibilities and the organization and its mission and values.

Monitor and support new team members’ experiences within the organization to extend talent management beyond the acquisition phase. Maintain communication, engage them in their work and use talent development tools to encourage learning, increase skills and evaluate them for internal mobility. Keep in touch with promising candidates who were not selected to build positive relationships and add to the organization’s talent pipeline.

Using technology, data and analytics can optimize the talent acquisition process, making it more effective and efficient. Throughout the process, provide a positive candidate experience and support principles of diversity, equity and inclusion to create a welcoming and fair environment for all candidates.

An effective talent acquisition strategy typically includes several elements. These elements collectively aim to attract, assess, identify and retain the best talent for the organization’s current and future hiring needs.

Creating a talent acquisition strategy involves several important elements: 

• Assessment of current and future needs
• Building relationships with potential candidates
• Candidate experience
• Continuous assessment
• Data-driven insights
• Diversity, equity and inclusion 
• Effective screening
• Employer branding
• Improved technology
• Succession planning
• Targeted sourcing

Evaluate the organization's overall staff and leadership and assess current and future talent requirements, considering elements such as skills gaps, business goals and projected growth.

This tactic allows talent acquisition specialists to create a well-structured talent pipeline with a readily available talent pool of potential candidates for current and future job openings.

Design an engaging and efficient candidate experience that gives applicants clear communication, transparency and feedback as they move through the hiring process.

Review and assess the effectiveness of the talent acquisition strategy regularly by collecting feedback from candidates and stakeholders and making adjustments as needed to improve the process and outcomes.

These insights enable a talent acquisition team to analyze various metrics, helping it make more informed hiring decisions, predict future talent needs and identify suitable candidates for specific roles.

Ensure that efforts are made to cultivate a fair, diverse and inclusive hiring process that embraces people of diverse backgrounds, identities and experiences.

Implement effective screening processes to prevent bad hires and make better selection decisions. Review resumes, develop useful interview questions, conduct phone screenings, interviews and assessments to evaluate candidates' qualifications and potential contributions to the organization and company culture.

To attract top talent, develop a strong outward branding message that highlights the organization’s purpose and include its values, culture and benefits.

Use talent acquisition software that enables the entire process to be managed more effectively. ATS, AI-powered recruitment tools and data analytics streamline the hiring process, identify the best candidates and improve decision-making.

Only 28% of talent acquisition leaders² consider existing employees a major source of candidates for open roles. Organizations that improve their training and learning and development strategies can open up their pool of prospects to include more internal candidates and improve succession planning.

Good succession planning fosters organizational resilience through the strategic preparation of internal talent for leadership roles. It encourages growth from within and promotes employee engagement and retention and reduces the risks associated with sudden talent shortages or leadership transitions.

Target potential candidates by using multiple channels, including job boards, professional networks, employee referrals and social media to attract candidates with the right skills and qualifications.

AI changes talent acquisition like it does for other industries. There are now several powerful use cases for talent acquisition professionals to use the advanced technology. It helps better manage the entire talent acquisition process, improves efficiency and helps to find the best candidates.

• Candidate chatbot
• Interviewer copilot
• Messaging amplifier
• Onboarding workflow automation

While AI chatbots do not replace all candidate engagement, they can serve as a good starting point for prospective employees who want to learn more information about a company.

It’s a great way to ask candidates to supply some basic information that helps an organization learn about them. That information can help the person who might interview them in the future know what questions to ask.

Generative AI can help HR professionals better interview candidates during the recruitment phase by giving them a library of answers to the most common answers. For example, gen AI can produce specific call scripts that talent acquisition professionals can use to guide conversations. They can also use it to suggest answers to potentially tricky questions asked by the candidate. The talent professional should exercise judgment on which suggestions are best, but it can help them work through various answers to find the best one.

Recruiters can use generative AI to draft multiple versions of follow-up emails based on what was discussed in the call, personalizing that communication to the right candidates. This approach enables them to scale their communications ³ while customizing their messaging to be more effective.

AI and automation can expedite the onboarding process and most importantly, eliminate the need for talent acquisition professionals to do time-consuming manual work. It can complete information for form letter templates, such as offer letters and contract terms. It can send out reminders if the candidate forgot to complete every document provided to them.

This automation provides insights into job requisition complexity, ideal matches and strong candidates and automates résumé screening, which reduces the workload of recruiters.