An Essential Guideto Talent AcquisitionPlanningAn essential roadmapfor TA leaders in using AI,automation, andsegmentation to drivee�ciency and experiencein your hiring andrecruitment
A white paper sponsored by IBM
January 2021
Introduction
1 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
The purpose of this paper is to assist talent acquisition leaders in major enterprises in planning by providing a roadmap for using AI, automation, and segmentation to drive enhanced e�ciency and experience in their hiring and recruitment.
This paper is based on interviews with talent acquisition leaders & conversations with NelsonHall clients in major enterprises across North America, U.K., and Europe and identi�es:
Where percentages are shown within an infographic, they indicate the proportions of talent leaders that perceive the characteristic to be “highly” important.
The key challenges faced by talent acquisition organizationsHow talent acquisition leaders intend to address the high levels of hiring volatility resulting from the pandemicThe key characteristics to aim for in optimized talent acquisitionThe key technologies and the role of analytics within a reimagined talent acquisition capabilityThe key selection criteria in choosing a services partner to assist in transformation of talent acquisition operationsThe keys to successful talent acquisition optimization
Di�culty in understanding current organizational skill levels & hence talent gaps
90%
Di�culty in forecasting future talent acquisition requirements
85%
Skills gap analysis65%
Lack of information
Talent acquisition leaders are currently faced with reduced recruiting levels combined with the need to increase the e�ectiveness of recruitment and sta� retention and deliver a more resilient workforce.
In particular, to meet the challenges of COVID-19 and its aftere�ects, talent organizations are looking to:
Build resilience into the workforce through enhanced use of part-time employeesReduce the risk to employees and particularly new hires through remote delivery of interviewing, training, compliance assessments, and onboardingDevelop enhanced training and assimilation/support for new hires and a robust onboarding experience to ensure low rates of attritionAttract the best talent and ensure their retention at a time when it is di�cult to deliver normal functioning of professional relationships
Challenges Faced byTalent Acquisition Organizations
2 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
Slimmed down internal recruiting
capability
95%
Ability to �ex talent acquisition sta� to
manage peaks & troughs in hiring volume
85%
Use of digital workforce tools & AI to
free recruiters from transactional & admin
tasks
Shortfalls in internal capacity
70%“We need to attract and retain the best talent, ensuring their retention through improved training for new hires and providing a robust onboarding experience.” Talent acquisition leader in a global high-tech company
The pandemic has acerbated the challenges faced by talent acquisition organizations:
The pandemic has also led to a fundamental shift and increased variability in the talent acquisition mix, emphasizing the use of contingent workers and the need to adopt an integrated total talent management approach to talent acquisition.
Making the assessment of future talent requirements and skills gaps much more volatile and challenging than previouslyCompounding this recruitment volatility with reductions in internal recruiting capacity and hence the need to automate basic recruitment tasks to decouple the number of recruiting personnel from recruitment volumes Highlighting any shortfalls in the candidate experience as recruiting and onboarding shift to more virtual environments. The need for signi�cant change has become most apparent in virtual event management, interview logistics management, and onboarding.
Challenges Faced byTalent Acquisition Organizations
“Main challenge is in onboarding and interviewing. We hold more frequent meetings with the business to monitor their satisfaction with services.” Talent acquisition leader in major manufacturer
Increased emphasis on use of contingent workers
95%
Flexibility to vary mix of permanent & contingent recruiting
65%
Integrated total talent management
70%
Shortfalls in candidate experience
Shortfalls in adopting total talent management
Virtual event management
Onboarding
Interview logistics management
A balanced digital & high-touch candidate experience
90%
75%
55%
80%
3 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
“We need to build resilience into the workforce; need a better balance of part-time employees to enable us to ramp up capability more rapidly.” Talent acquisition leader in major healthcare insurance �rm
Ninety-�ve percent of talent acquisition leaders expect their organization’s talent acquisition requirements to be highly volatile over the next 24 months, typically with a moderate fall in permanent recruitment and a signi�cant increase in the contingent workforce.
Talent acquisition organizations are also commonly increasing their use of contingent labor to support talent acquisition surges while also temporarily redeploying other HR sand business unit sta� and making greater use of third-party services.
Automation is also key to improving talent acquisition agility within talent acquisition organizations, with talent acquisition leaders evaluating ways to automate more and reduce the extent to which applications are manually reviewed
Handling Hiring Volatility
Increasing levels of automation/use of digital workers to reduce transactional & admin
50%
Improving the e�ectiveness of talent acquisition work�ows
45%
Increased automation
4 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
Scaling back to a core level of internal recruiters
70%Having a bank of �exible
internal resources who can support recruiting during
hiring peaks
100%
Internal
“We are looking at ways to automate more to reduce the number of applications we manually review and process” Talent acquisition leader for a major healthcare provider
Overall, �fty percent of talent acquisition leaders will take a signi�cantly more �exible approach to the types of personnel employed within the talent acquisition team, with all of these placing a much higher emphasis on the use of home workers, and 40% placing a highly increased emphasis on each of �exible workers and use of bots/digital workers.
“We are gradually shifting the main recruitment tasks to third-party delivery…with a decline in our talent management department numbers” Talent acquisition leader in a major automotive manufacturer
Handling Hiring Volatility
NelsonHall perspective:Talent acquisition leaders need to develop mechanisms that are highly responsive to handling unpredictable peaks and troughs of hiringThis is likely to necessitate reduced permanent sta�ng within the talent acquisition department with outside resources providing additional ramp-up capacityAutomation is critical to provide hybrid human/machine delivery and reduce the impact of scaling on talent acquisition
External
95%Increased outsourcing
of talent acquisition
75%Using outsourced talent acquisition
services to manage peaks & troughs of recruitment
100%Adopting a hybrid operating model with
increased use of third parties
5 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
“We would use a services vendor to deliver the additional manpower and then we may be able to use some automation under their service to absorb some of the work.” Talent acquisition leader at a major insurance �rm
Characteristics of Reinvented Talent
However, the redeployment of personnel is insu�cient on its own. Organizations are also taking the opportunity to reinvent their talent acquisition processes, and forty-�ve percent of talent acquisition leaders perceive that it is highly important to reimagine and adjust talent acquisition processes in the light of COVID-19 and its aftere�ects.
The key talent acquisition & optimization characteristics important to talent acquisition organizations include a strong candidate experience, a total talent focus, and a high agility level.
Use of digital workforce tools & AI to free recruiters from transactional & admin tasks
Ability to handle peaks & troughs in hiring volumes
95%
65%
Flexibility to vary mix of permanent & contingent recruiting
100%
A truly digital candidate experience
Integrated total talent acquisition across permanent & contingent personnel
Integrated total talent management (permanent & contingent hiring & employee upskilling)
A balanced digital & high-touch candidate experience
80%100%
100% 90%
Candidate experience Total talent focus
Agility
6 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
NelsonHall perspective:The pandemic has dramatically tilted the scales in favor of contingent personnel, increasing the importance of an integrated total talent management approach to hiringCandidate journeys need to be mapped to deliver excellent candidate experience across roles from junior (largely digital) to executive (largely high-touch)Intelligent work�ows are key to speeding up the talent acquisition process and appropriate work allocation between humans and bots
Process digitalization is key to the adoption of a hybrid talent acquisition workforce. However, it is important not to approach automation as a series of individual bot implementations. An intelligent work�ow allows for improved and faster end-to-end application processing, integrating the talent acquisition process, and routing basic and transactional tasks to bots while routing more complex judgments and exceptions to talent acquisition personnel.
Characteristics of Reinvented Talent
Process digitalization
Use of intelligent work�ows to enhance recruiter productivity & speed up talent acquisition process
Use of intelligent work�ows to integrate talent acquisition process
Use of digital workers/bots to process admin tasks
Ability of recruitment organization to work as a virtual team
100%
85%
85%60%
7 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
“We need to reduce the time taken to process line manager hiring/recruitment requests” Talent acquisition leader for a major insurer
“We need to improve the handling of large quantities of applications, reducing the number of candidates that make it through initial screening to reduce the amount of interview and downstream selection” Talent acquisition leader for a major bank
NelsonHall perspective:Virtual agents should be used not just for candidate support but also to add value in support of onboarding and employment developmentBasic transactional and administrative tasks such as candidate progression, interview self-scheduling, onboarding and requisition administration should be considered for automation as part of candidate journey mapping & reinventionAnalytics should be used both to optimize recruitment strategies and improve talent targeting and also to identify talent acquisition process improvements
Key Technologies within Reimagined Talent Acquisition Capability
In response to this need to transform their talent acquisition processes, the majority (60%) of talent acquisition leaders have a strong emphasis on increasing their application of automation over the next 12 months.
The most appropriate technologies within a reimagined talent acquisition capability have a high emphasis on candidate and employee-facing virtual agents and on the use of digital workers to automate administrative tasks.
Analytics are regarded as highly applicable for both analysis of talent data and improvement of talent acquisition processes. Seventy percent of talent acquisition leaders regard analytics as highly important for improved segmentation of recruitment strategies, 85% to identify of talent acquisition process ine�ciencies and bottlenecks, and 90% to monitor learning paths within the organization.
Virtual agents to support candidates
24/7
Virtual agents for employee develop-
ment & career coaching
Automated chat & job matching services on
career sites
60%
100%
65%
Virtual agents
Analytics for analysis of talent data
To identify patterns/trends in permanent hiring data
To identify patterns/trends in contingent hiring data
To better understand depth of learning & talent within the
95%
95%
65%
Automation of administrative tasks
Automated requisition processing support
Automated search-match tools to identify potential candidates
Digital workers for acknowledgement of receipt of
applications
Automated support for promoting candidate
progression
Automated onboarding administration support
Automated reporting95%90%
60%100%
100%40%
8 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
NelsonHall perspective:Talent acquisition reinvention is a journey, not a project. Accordingly, talent acquisition leaders should strongly consider using the same service provider for initial process reinvention and ongoing elements of service deliverySimilarly, talent acquisition reinvention is an ongoing partnership between talent acquisition leaders and the vendor dependent on co-creation, co-execution, and co-operationFlexible framework agreements are important to enable talent acquisition leaders to turn
What To Look For in a Services Partner
The main drivers for using a services vendor to assist in talent acquisition operations over the next year are:
The reinvention of talent acquisition operations is key in addressing both shortfalls in internal talent acquisition capacity and productivity and shortfalls in the candidate experience, where areas such as virtual event management, interviews logistics management, and onboarding have come under considerable pressure from work-from-home and social distancing.
When choosing a vendor to assist in transforming talent acquisition operations, key vendor selection criteria include an ability to combine consulting with delivery, platform & automation capability, and commercial agility.
At the service delivery level, thirty percent of talent acquisition leaders express a high intent to use services vendors for end-to-end talent acquisition on behalf of departments or business units. At the tactical level, talent acquisition leaders are particularly seeking assistance over the next year in application handling/management, including
To access expertise, particularly in process and technology, for developing internal processes to stay ahead of developments in best practiceTo improve responsiveness and ensure timeliness of service to the businessTo meet capacity requirements, particularly surges and peaks & troughs in demandTo extend geographical reach.
Ability to support total talent management combining permanent
& contingent workforce expertise with employee development
80%
Use of design thinking to reimagine talent acquisition processes & operations
80%Ability to combine
talent acquisition process consulting
with TA delivery
65%
Ability to use existing systems of record/
engagement for TA operations
Ability to o�er cloud-based talent acquisition solutions alongside talent acquisition services
Breadth of automation & cognitive capability
80%
95%
55%
Flexibility to switch services on and o�
Ability to o�er range of commercial models 65%
100%
Ability to combine consulting with delivery
Platform & automation capability
Commercial agility
9 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
IBM Case Study:Global Healthcare Organization Integrates AI, Automation, and Segmentation to Drive Improved Outcomes and Experience
Choice: taking a di�erent approach for di�erent categories of hireE�ciency: through better use of technology and human resourcesScalability: to manage peaks and troughs in demandConsultation: expertise to advise on continuous improvement initiatives.
Need for New Operating Model
Started as �rst level of support with augmentation services (project-speci�c)Evolved to an end-to-end enterprise model focusing on junior roles (bronze)Then to a full end-to-end model hiring middle managers (gold) and executives
Background
The Consult to Operate approach analyzed hiring patternsIBM categorized hiring into four segments of express, active, advanced, and hyperIBM Service Essentials platform minimized client’s time spent on mundane administrative tasksService Excellence Team moved the client to virtual tools for hiring due to the COVID-19 pandemicCandidate experience adjusted to allow a single custodian for the end-to-end recruitment to
Approach
Outcome
Time to �ll improved 10%Hiring manager time per head reduced by 30%Hiring manager NPS increased by 40%New hire NPS of 58 achieved
We interviewed an IBM client to �nd out about their talent acquisition model and strategy and to share their best practices with you. The enterprise has moved beyond project-speci�c talent acquisition augmentation services and reinvented its talent acquisition operating model to deliver improvements in the candidate and hiring manager experience, productivity and time to hire, and its ability to manage peaks and troughs of hiring.
10 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
Ask the ExpertIf you would like to organise a friendly chat to ask for advice, seek guidance or if you have any questions about your recruitment strategy or model in the current time, please contact Tom directly:
Partner - Talent Acquisition O�ering Leader, IBM Talent & [email protected]+44 7721124622
Tom Mason
To learn more about optimizing talent acquisition, please visit: ibm.com/services/talent-acquisition
O�er a candidate experience continuum from fully digital to high touch according to the role being hiredUse tools such as AI microservices for talent matching and to adjust and enhance the candidate experience from initial talent attraction through to onboardingProvide automated onboarding support with strong training programs for new hiresExpand services beyond Talent Acquisition to encompass ongoing employee development
Place increased emphasis on contingent and part-time personnelMove recruiters to value-add activities by using digital workers to reduce the transactional and administrative workloadAdopt a hybrid operating model with increased use of third-partiesEnable the talent acquisition organization to work as a virtual teamTake the opportunity to reimagine talent acquisition
Optimize use of technology& digital workers
Intelligent work�ows are critical in integrating & speeding up the talent acquisition processUse digital workers to reduce transactional & administrative workloadsUse analytics to identify and remove talent acquisition process
Use third parties for scalingand reimagination
Scale back to a core level of internal recruitersUse a third-party with both consulting and operational expertiseUse vendors to provide process and technology transformation expertiseUse a third-party provider (such as IBM TAO) to manage highly volatile hiring & scaling needs
Build resilience & scalability
Ensure a strong talent experience
The Keys to Successful Talent Acquisition Optimization
11 Talent Acquisition Reinvention
NelsonHall is the leading global analyst �rm dedicated to helping organizations understand the 'art of the possible' in digital operations transformation. With analysts in the U.S., U.K., and Continental Europe, NelsonHall provides buy-side organizations with detailed, critical information on markets and vendors (including NEAT assessments) that helps them make fast and highly informed sourcing decisions. And for vendors, NelsonHall provides deep knowledge of market dynamics and user requirements to help them hone their go-to-market strategies. NelsonHall's research is based on rigorous, primary research, and is widely respected for the quality, depth, and insight of its analysis.
Nikki is a Principal Research Analyst with NelsonHall’s HR Technology & Services practice, covering research in Total Talent, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Managed Service Programs, and Learning. She is a highly experienced HR practitioner with almost 30 years' experience across industry sectors and with a wealth of operational experience across the entire HR function – including talent acquisition and development, employee engagement, employee relations, compensation, bene�ts, payroll, employment law, and HR systems.
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AboutNelsonHall
About the Authors
Nikki Edwards John is the founder and CEO of NelsonHall. He has over 30 years’ experience of high achievement in the business and IT services market research industry and is widely regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on the digital transformation of business operations. Well-known for his detailed analytical approach and pragmatic style, he is in great demand to assist major enterprises in establishing outsourcing viability and identifying vendor delivery maturity, as well as helping technology and service vendors to develop and re�ne their go-to-market strategies.
John Willmott
