In 2021, thousands of companies have adopted the remote work model, which has given employees the opportunity to work not only from home, but from anywhere in the world. This is a great opportunity for companies to fill their workforce skills gaps and attract talent, regardless of their location.
However, one of the greatest challenges companies face nowadays is how to attract the best talent, how to approach the hiring process, and how to build teams to meet business goals. Companies must face these challenges head-on with a solid global talent acquisition strategy.
Before companies can develop and implement the most effective global talent acquisition strategy, it is important to understand how to define the process and what it entails.
What is talent acquisition?
Talent acquisition is the process of identifying and acquiring talented employees to build a skilled team that will help your company meet its needs and objectives.
This concept differs from traditional recruitment, which consists of searching and finding personnel for specific positions quickly and in a cost-efficient manner.
Global talent acquisition, though it includes typical recruitment tasks, goes much further. It narrows down recruitment goals to finding people who can add value and make the company grow long term.
To successfully attract the right talent, it starts with the right strategy, and it must constantly evolve. Talent acquisition includes elements such as:
1. Strategy and planning: Ensures business alignment, examines workforce plans, requires an understanding of labor markets, and analyzes global considerations.
2. Workforce segmentation: Understanding the different segments of the workforce and the required positions within these segments, as well as the skills and experience necessary for success.
3. Employer branding: Activities that help companies discover and define their ideal image, organizational culture, key differentiators, reputation, and products and services. Employer branding can help advance an organization’s market position, attract quality candidates, and describe to top talent what it is like to work for the organization.
4. Candidate relationship management: Building a positive candidate experience, managing candidate communities, and maintaining relationships for candidates who are not currently selected against a particular skill set, but have other promising skills.
5. Metrics and analytics: Ongoing tracking and use of key metrics to drive continuous improvement and make better decisions to improve the quality of hiring.
These factors are important to developing your global talent acquisition strategy, especially when companies are expanding globally and want to hire international employees. Companies need to understand their markets, the skills they require, and their own culture to be successful in acquiring global talent.
7 tips to building your global talent acquisition strategy
1. Identify your company’s values
Employees who identify with your company’s values will be more attracted to joining it. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your values are clear and easy to describe. These values could include customer service policies, diversity and inclusion, equality, or leadership style.
You must take care of explaining and conveying your company’s vision, what you do, and how you convey it. This will ensure talent perceives your company as an attractive place to work.
2. Structure your onboarding process
According to LinkedIn, the first 45 days are essential for new talent. This means that structuring your onboarding process is key. Here is an example of a structured process:
3. Offer training programs
Offering training programs has a positive impact on your business and its growth. The importance of training lies in its objective to improve the knowledge and skills of employees — it’s through those skills that organizations grow and thrive.
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) states that companies that offer comprehensive training programs have 218 percent higher income per employee than companies without formalized training. Moreover, 76 percent of employees say that a company would be more appealing if it offered additional skills training to its teams.
4. Support career development
Seventy percent of U.S. employees say they would quit a company for another position at a company with more career development opportunities. You should think about a career path for your employees even before you hire them. Career planning and development aligns your employees’ goals with your company’s, and it increases motivation and productivity.
5. Adapt to new work models
Remote work and international mobility are two models that will dominate the labor market in years to come. Companies should adapt to these models and look for ways to support their employees’ development and keep them engaged regardless of where they are in the world. It is essential to create remote work policies and ensure compliance with changing laws and regulations.
6. Provide attractive benefits
Many would argue that benefits are more important than salary. Flexible hours, health insurance, daycare, wellness programs, and time off, enhance the employee experience, increase satisfaction, and contribute to emotional salary. According to Glassdoor, 80 percent of employees prefer additional benefits over a pay increase.
7. Stay on top of the trends
Change is constant and so are global talent acquisition trends. For example, hiring in emerging markets and a more flexible approach to job qualifications are two trends for 2021 that will constantly evolve over the coming years. Make sure you stay current on these trends, new tools, and best practices to build a successful international team.
Building a solid global talent acquisition strategy can be a complex and time-consuming process — but it can lead to incredible growth.
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