Talent rising; people analytics and technology driving talent acquisition strategy

Journal article

Purpose

This paper aims to study the opportunities that have been created through technological advancement in the talent acquisition industry and how this links to strategic HR management (SHRM) and business strategy. It focuses on how an organisation can embrace the world’s leading technology and compose a unique technology stack to overcome its challenges in talent acquisition.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper opted for a blend of qualitative and quantitative data gathered through interviews, online questionnaires and the literature review of relevant secondary data. The justification of the primary research methodology was to gather valid and reliable data to inform decisions and address the research question.

Findings

The analysis of the data shows a significant improvement in all the key metrics related to the talent acquisition process after the implementation of “Talent Rising” model. The role of a recruiter and the talent acquisition team has radically changed and has now become an internal strategic partner with aligned interest, an advisor to the organisation. There is an increase in the use of new media/technology to attract candidates and with the increase in millennial candidates entering the workforce, social media will be increasingly important in talent branding and attraction; the digital by default generation is already here.

Research limitations/implications

The “Talent Rising” model has been specifically created and designed to be used by others: organisations, academics and policy makers. It is a “plug and play” tech stack model which can be used like an a la carte menu dependent on the actual requirements (and investment appetite) for each organisation.

Practical implications

This paper includes implications for the creation of a people analytics and talent technology framework to reduce cost per hire, reduce time to hire and increase quality of hire.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how people analytics and technology can drive talent acquisition strategy.

Authors: Walford-Wright, G; Scott-Jackson, W

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Journal: Strategic HR Review
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 226-233
• Publication date: 2018-11-01
• Acceptance date: 2018-08-27
• DOI: 10.1108/SHR-08-2018-0071
• EISSN: 1758-8537
• ISSN: 1475-4398
• Keywords: analytics; talent; human capital; human resource management; recruitment; technology