Innovation in Recruitment

2. Namita Bangera
Managing Innovation
in Talent Acquisition
T
alent acquisition as a process
is practiced by most of us HR
people. Resources for the process
are same, hence the question arises - do
we really need to innovate the process of
talent acquisition? If the answer is yes,
then what are the innovative techniques?
One of the most recent innovations was
the use of social networking websites for
sourcing candidates. Blogs and websites
are maintained by most companies these
days so that there is room for creating an
exclusive database.
But many of us are yet to ponder on how
to bring innovation to the process, and
also ensuring its effectiveness.
Innovation can begin right from the
time the candidate is approached for a
profile. I believe it’s a sound idea not to
provide an aptitude test to the candidate,
but a quiz with questions related to the
organisation. This would help assess
the level of interest in the candidate in
joining the company and whether he/she
has done her home work well. (Need to
specify to my readers that I have nothing
against the long, lengthy aptitude tests,
and I love correcting them).
Moving ahead, we interviewers love rating
our candidates on a rating card. Why not
let the candidate rate him/herself, as this
would help us assess what the candidate
thinks of him/herself, and may be an
instant feedback could be generated. It
goes a long way on the organisation’s
HR branding perspective.
Acquiring the right talent that suits the
profile and organisation culture coupled
with the ability to survive for long, is
no cup of tea. Hence, most of us do not
want to falter on the decision we take.
We all agree that keeping in view the
right academics and profile, we are all
looking out for that candidate who has
the “fire in his belly” or “would walk the
extra mile”. And this can be gauged with
the above mentioned tests.
As an HR professional, I have generally
observed that keeping the candidate
waiting for little more that 5 minutes
helps you know more about him. Some
quiet types may not do a thing, some
curious cases may assess and observe all
the certificates and awards displayed in
the lobby, some talkative types may find
a lot of information about the culture
from the front office personnel. It’s
your pick which candidate you would be
looking out for.
Of course, some key drivers that can
help attract the right talent would mean
Acquiring the right
talent that suits the
profile and organisation
culture coupled with
the ability to survive for
long, is no cup of tea
putting in place the right job description
as well as putting in writing the company
culture (this would enhance your chance
of finding an organisation culture - fit
candidate). Future prospects for the
candidate should also be crystal clear
while designing the same. There is
scope for lot of innovation in the above
mentioned activities that could lead to
effective results.
Let your current high performer be
the magnet to attract more talent like
him/her. Make him/her your brand
ambassador. If he/she is ready for the
same, let potential employees contact
these guys before the interview, as it
would save lot of HR time in explaining
what the company is about and also helps
the candidate be comfortable with the
possible work set up.
In my stint, most candidates are
successful when their senior is happy
with them. So hiring managers need
to understand how critical it is for the
candidates’ temperament to go at par or
with that of the manager he/she would
be reporting to (This may sound silly,
but is a very effective way of finding
“THE” candidate).
At the end of the day, every candidate may
be good but not “good enough” for me.
Hence, picking the good enough from
the pool will always be a challenge. ■
The writer is an HR Executive with Lexi Pvt
Limited.
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