Whether you’re looking into hiring a talent acquisition specialist or want to become one yourself, you may wonder how that role fits into the structure of an organization. How does a talent acquisition specialist compare to a recruiter? And what do these roles have to do with the overall strategy of any organization?
Because of today’s job market, organizations are thinking intensely about how to recruit the best candidates and invest in the long-term success of the employee to increase retention rates. With things as competitive as they are now, finding and retaining good talent can be difficult, and talent acquisition is a more and more intriguing idea to employers. Read on to learn more about talent acquisition and recruiting and where these professionals fall under the human resources umbrella. and in the average organization.
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What exactly is talent acquisition?
Put simply, talent acquisition is the process of seeking out skilled individuals to fit open positions in any organization. This may sound an awful lot like the idea of recruiting, but here’s the main difference. Recruiting is usually a faster system, as a recruiter looks to fill roles quickly and as efficiently as possible. Talent acquisition is a longer, more detailed process that involves understanding the goals of an organization and seeking out employees who can take this organization into the future.
Are talent acquisition specialists full-time employees?
Recruiters, more often than not, do not hold permanent positions within a company. A firm is usually hired to help fill vacancies on a short timeline, working as a liaison between the organization and the applicants. Recruiters filter through the under-qualified individuals and bring only the best in for interviews with hiring managers, saving the organization time.
Alternatively, talent acquisition specialists are usually a permanent part of the organization because they’re not just interested in filling vacancies, they’re invested in the future of the company in a deeper way. Because of that, they work hard to choose the right candidates that align with the values of the organization and help propel it forward toward tangible goals. A talent acquisitions specialist works not only with hiring talent, but onboarding new hires as well as helping current employees get access to job training that can help them better their career and, in turn, make the organization a bigger success.
Working with Human Resources
So, is talent acquisition part of human resources? The answer is, sometimes. Talent acquisition, in many organizations, falls under the umbrella of human resources because of their investment in the “life cycle” of each employee, from their first day at the company until their last. However, for some organizations, it makes sense for talent acquisition to be part of its own department. In this scenario, the talent acquisition specialists work hard in tandem with the efforts of the HR department.
If you’re looking to create a talent acquisition department in your organization, where you place it is entirely up to you. Placing it under the HR department can be beneficial, but no matter what you do, it’s important that these parts of the company work in harmony to create the best experience for employees from start to finish.
