It’s all about quality

It was one year ago that US-based research and consulting company Aberdeen Group released its study on the global war for talent. In that report the company predicted that the issue of getting the right people in the right roles would only become more difficult in the year ahead.

As most human resources executives will attest, Aberdeen was right on the money with its projection of deepening talent challenges. And while many are quick to point to the usual suspects – aging workforces, large-scale demographic shifts, globalisation, education deficits and other external forces – as the causes of ongoing talent and skills shortages, there are many changes occurring within the organization, and particularly within the HR function, that are compounding the problem of identifying, hiring, retaining and developing top talent.

While I could offer bullet points of the internal pressures that are complicating HR’s ability to focus on bringing the right people into the organization, the list would be too long to include in one article of commentary. I’d have to list out everything from a heightened regulatory environment and the implications that has for HR’s workload, to the increasing complexity surrounding the administration of benefits to a global workforce, to changing performance management and compensation systems.

At the same time that HR’s responsibilities are increasing dramatically, so too is the recognition of how critical it is for companies to increase their investment in quality people – a job that falls largely to HR. Every company today understands that investing in good people pays enormous dividends in terms of competitive advantage and long-term business growth. To help manage these intertwined challenges, companies around the world have begun taking a more-strategic approach to workforce planning and those workforce planning needs are driving an interest in new approaches to talent acquisition. This trend is particularly pronounced in the EMEA region.

In fact, according to the Aberdeen study, EMEA-based companies are twice as likely as best-in-class companies to categorise their talent acquisition strategies as “reactive or emergency driven”. What’s interesting about EMEA companies, however, is, according to Aberdeen, they are just as likely as best-in-class companies to be investing in talent acquisition software to help them manage the growing challenge of finding good workers.

Talent acquisition in the EMEA region differs from that in, say, the United States in that in general business unit leaders share ownership with HR, which is less likely to happen in the United States, and also in that EMEA-based companies generally place a premium on solution providers with global capabilities – meaning the solution can handle different languages, cultural settings and country-specific legislation and regulation.

In addition, according to Aberdeen, 70 percent of EMEA-based companies have implemented or plan to implement a well-defined process to measure quality of hire and EMEA-based companies are nearly twice as likely as the best-in-class companies in the Aberdeen study to want to turn their websites into tools that promote their companies as attractive places to work.

While those data points underscore how tuned in to the current HR environment EMEA-based companies are at present, they also provide those of us in the business of developing HR technology solutions for Global 1000 companies a mandate for the future. This is not just in terms of developing the appropriate applications and solutions, but also in counselling these companies about what they should be thinking about as they develop their workforce planning strategies. 

From my point of view, the first steps EMEA-based companies should be taking include placing a greater emphasis on making the talent acquisition strategy tightly aligned with the greater human-capital management plan. They should also be considering how online tools can facilitate more rapid posting of jobs and how online assessments can not only streamline the categorisation of candidates, but also support the selection of higher quality candidates.

The notion of using new processes and tools to improve the quality of hires is new, and critically important in the current landscape. At the most basic level, hiring is expensive and of course every company wants to get the most bang for its buck and get the best candidate every time it hires. But there are many other reasons that quality of hire is taking centre stage these days. The wrong hire can damage morale within your workforce. And, as many high-profile media stories have shown us in recent months, the wrong hire can damage outsiders’ perception of a company and a company’s reputation.

While most understand the importance of making quality hires, few understand what it entails. How, for instance, do you measure it? We have devised our own secret formula for that and it’s one that we are actually quite happy to share: Calculate a new hire’s output and performance, including such hard gauges as how quickly it takes the new hire to begin performing productively and how long that new hire ultimately stays with the company.  Also consider such soft gauges as how the new hire fits in with and collaborates with other workers and the company’s overall culture.

Once a company has figured out how to calculate the quality of hire, it becomes possible to conduct other important measurements, such as which job sources are providing the best candidates. That information is critical because it allows companies to spend their time and invest their capital wisely and effectively.

Automation solutions such as applicant tracking systems, assessment tools, screening functions, career portals and competency management tools are emerging to help companies improve not just the speed and efficiency of the hiring process, but ultimately the effectiveness and intelligence of hiring. It’s a great advance for pressured HR leaders, particularly those heading EMEA-based companies.

But not all providers are alike, of course. There are many great tools out there, but HR leaders must take the time to understand what their needs and priorities are and choose the provider best suited for delivering them. The wrong decision, unfortunately, will result in yet another obstacle to talent acquisition success.

With over 18 years of experience in operations and business development, Paige Vesuvio, VP of First Advantage Employer Services, has led the strategic planning and tactical execution for both start-up and mature companies. At First Advantage, Vesuvio manages the strategic business functions to develop and promote the company’s value proposition globally, internally and externally.