Collaboration is crucial for success in any process, and talent acquisition is no exception. To create an effective workforce plan, HR teams must work closely with various stakeholders, including managers, finance, and employees. This teamwork ensures that all perspectives are considered, leading to better decisions and enhanced talent acquisition success.
How HR and Talent Acquisition Work Together for Better Hiring
The process of finding and retaining highly qualified employees is talent acquisition. Talent acquisition teams in companies consist of a group of human resources and talent acquisition specialists who are focused on hiring employees and increasing employee retention. Ensuring that the right staff are employed at the right time and at the right cost is what workforce planning is all about.
However, creating an effective workforce plan is challenging for HR because of the number of inputs they must depend on from various sources. The finance department must give the budgetary inputs. While finance provides the headcount limits for each department, HR must work with other departments, like sales, product, or marketing, to understand the talent needs for each department and then work on the plan.
Once HR and finance have approved the plan and ensured that it meets the stakeholders’ needs, the plan’s output is passed on to the talent acquisition team. Talent acquisition is responsible for delivering the headcount outlined by the plan. They must deliver appropriately, as over-hiring can create a cost burden while under-hiring will reduce productivity.
Strategies for Aligning HR and Talent Acquisition in Workforce Planning
A realistic plan that meets the company’s targets will require that workforce planners in HR align with the talent acquisition teams. They can do this in three ways; let us explore how this is possible.
Account for a Flux in Talent
It is no secret that in some companies, certain departments provide new talented hires a gateway into the company. For instance, new hires join this department but soon move on to positions that are more desirable within the company in other departments. A software company may have new hires who join the quality and assurance department but have their sights set on a role in software development. It is possible for companies to lose about 25% to 30% of their talent to other positions within the company.
Of course, these employees may leave the company, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Such a sudden flux in talent within the company can significantly change the hiring requirements. Workforce planners must collaborate with various departments to account for these internal movements and predict employee departures. Without proper collaboration, it can be easy to underestimate the required hiring capacity to fill these gaps.
Account for Teams that Act as Magnets
In some companies, specific departments act as magnets for talent. New hires in gateway jobs eventually move to these departments. For example, it is possible that the sales team in a company staffs their positions for account executives not just through external hires but also through internal hiring from their sales or telemarketing teams. It is a great way to achieve hiring targets by people moving in from within the company.
If unsure of internal fills, the department may struggle to estimate external hiring needs. A department that meets its recruitment needs internally may not need to expand the recruiting team for external hiring. To create a strong hiring plan, workforce planners must inform the recruiting team about the expected internal hires for each department.
Monitor Hiring, Movement, and Exits
Workforce planners must account for how many people will move within departments and exactly how many will leave the company. Based on these details, they can create a forecast. However, that forecast may not be very accurate. Therefore, they need to track internal movement, exits, and hiring continuously.
Large companies invest in workforce planning technology to handle the complex, overall company-wide workforce plan. Despite that, the recruitment team risks over or under-hiring, putting either profits or productivity at risk. Workforce planners must communicate with the recruitment team to determine exactly how many external hires are needed based on internal movements.
The Importance of Collaboration in Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning
A successful talent acquisition process relies on strong collaboration between talent acquisition specialists, hiring managers, HR professionals, and other departments. For effective workforce planning, it’s essential that recruiters and planners work closely together and stay connected with different teams across the company. This teamwork reduces risks, improves the accuracy of the workforce plan, and ensures the company makes the right hires at the right time.
