Talent Acquisition

Understanding Innovation

New research examines key areas where talent acquisition leaders can make the biggest impact.

The Editors

What innovation concepts are most relevant to the talent-acquisition function? A recent study from Alexander Mann Solutions and HRO Today seeks to answer that question -and to understand innovation and what are the driving forces behind a failure among organizations to innovate.

In the quest to understand innovation, the research study discovered that talent acquisition professionals are facing a challenge that is termed here as “non-novation.” This occurs when HR is executing initiatives with the intent to drive new and meaningful change, but somehow the change does not happen. Innovators implement change. Non-novators take a detour.

The research also examined different areas of talent acquisition where innovation comes into play. There was great interest in several types of metrics and workforce planning concepts (See Figure 1).

Among them:

• predictive analytics designed to assess a candidate’s potential success

• strategic workforce planning

• leveraging unstructured data

While interest was high around these concepts, fewer than 10 percent of respondents were implementing any of the top metrics.

Two-thirds (66.7 percent) of respondents report the best way to evaluate new technologies is by seeing them in action – and in person. This means attending in-person user group meetings. In-person user group meetings or conferences allow participants to actively engage with potential solution providers and their existing users. The research finds that the quality of the interactions, and the resulting takeaways, also depend heavily on the background and capabilities of the event attendee.

Candidate engagement techniques associated with candidate experience was a top area for implementing innovation (See figure 2). Simplified applications and automated onboarding were the first and third most frequently cited techniques in terms of interest among respondents.

Looking forward, predictive data and analysis was rated as an innovation area with the greatest potential. Understanding upcoming trends through the use of data correlates with respondents’ interest in innovation in recruiting and retention applications. HR departments that are not looking to embrace predictive analytics are likely going to fall behind their competitors in the coming years.

It’s never been easier for candidates to get information about a potential employer, and HR departments plan to try to manage that information by enhancing their employer brand with significant investment over the next 12 to 18 months. Other areas with the most planned investment are strategic workforce planning and analytics (see Figure 3). These are the kinds of areas that lead to quantifiable return on investment (ROI) metrics -the kinds that can help HR department leaders in their quest for resources so that they can become truly innovative. Overwhelmingly, study respondents report that ROI is the most important factor that influences degree to which senior leadership is willing to invest in innovation.

The full report is available at https://www.hrotoday.com/marketintelligence/ research/hr-innovation-look-ahead-2017-part-ii/

Tags: Talent Acquisition

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