As technology speeds forward, the HR tech market evolves and the demand for talent heats up, talent acquisition transformation is everywhere. According to Aptitude Research Partners, only 12% of companies are not going through some form of TA transformation at the moment.
What separates a sustainable TA transformation from one that falters? At an HR Tech session moderated by Aptitudeās Madeline Laurano, three TA professionals sounded off.
3 key considerations for TA transformation success
1. Invest in change management strategies
āChange is hard. You have to remember change management,ā said Melissa Thompson, executive director of global talent acquisition at Ford Motor Co.
Thorough change management strategizing goes beyond messaging, she noted.
āEmails are not change management. Communication is not change management,ā she said. āChange management is a broad journey, and you have to carry your people with you on that journey.ā
2. Stakeholders may need to change.
TA transformation will often āfundamentallyā change how an HR organization operates within the business, said Kelly Cartwright, vice president of global people acquisition, technology and operations at software firm Splunk. That process will likely shift the role of the recruiter away from a transactional focus to one as a āsteward of the processes and tools,ā working more closely with hiring teams.
āDonāt be surprised if some people donāt want to move forward,ā she said. āYou have to make changes to drive transformation.ā
3. Have tough conversations with your vendor partners.
Vendors in a TA transformation should be considered partners, but TA and HR leaders still need to stay focused on the outcomes vendors will bring, said Jennifer Tracy, vice president of talent attraction and acquisition at communications corporation Spectrum.
āNegotiations [with vendors] should be tough, should be hard,ā Tracy said. āYou should both be pushing each other to make stuff better and great. Iāve done my best work when I had a strong partnership that was really honest. Thatās how we got to great.ā