Talent & Growth presented by The Animo Group
Setting Up A Talent Function From Scratch with Lea Mendonca, Hannah Buckley & Oliver Lochhead
Thu Jul 13 2023Description
This episode discusses how to set up a talent function from scratch. The conversation covers topics such as branding, candidate experience, managing stakeholders, diversity and inclusion, employer branding, budgeting, forecasting, metrics, and key insights for talent experts.
Insights
Creating a foolproof, scalable model
Creating a foolproof, scalable model for long-term success is crucial when hiring and scaling a team. Utilize different models and resources to fill short-term gaps while planning for the long term.
Aligning with hiring managers and founders
Aligning with hiring managers and founders to clearly define what they're looking for is key. Learning fast, iterating, and starting small are important strategies when scaling.
Managing expectations and candidate feedback
Managing expectations and being honest about the organization's journey can help create a positive candidate experience. Taking feedback from candidates and allowing space for improvement is essential in perfecting the candidate experience.
Investing time in defining the hiring process
Investing time in defining the hiring process for each role sets the foundation for a good candidate experience. Flexibility and transparency with candidates are key to attracting top talent.
Balancing priorities and aligning with company goals
Balancing priorities and aligning them with company goals is crucial for managing all aspects of talent management. Having a few solid basic tools and platforms that can be scaled up is better than having too many options.
Promoting diversity and inclusion in hiring
Anonymizing the hiring process can promote diversity and inclusion. Using gender-neutral language in job descriptions can help overcome biases. Software tools can assist in identifying and addressing biases that may be missed by human reviewers.
Building relationships internally and externally
Building relationships internally and utilizing different skill sets within the business is important. Recognizing and highlighting achievements and milestones within the organization can also contribute to talent acquisition success.
Budgeting and forecasting for talent function
Budgeting and forecasting for the talent function based on specific needs and objectives of the organization is crucial. Set expectations, work back from a budget, and engage with stakeholders to align goals.
Optimizing the hiring process and tracking metrics
Optimizing the hiring process by combining stages and reducing time between stages can help solve the problem of hiring the best people. Predefined metrics and KPIs are important in talent acquisition, but each business will have specific needs.
Key insights for talent experts
Key insights for talent experts include prioritizing tasks, choosing the right partners, trusting yourself and your team, and embracing the journey of being a talent expert.
Chapters
- Setting up a Talent Function
- Building a Talent Team and Managing Stakeholders
- Candidate Experience and Hiring Process
- Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Hiring
- Employer Branding and Sourcing Tools
- Building Relationships and Budgeting for Talent Function
- Budgeting, Forecasting, and Metrics in Talent Acquisition
- Key Insights for Talent Experts
Setting up a Talent Function
00:00 - 07:24
- Assess the business's growth plans and create a hiring forecast model
- Analyze historic data to identify hiring needs and allocate resources accordingly
- Create a scalable model for long-term success
- Discuss the feasibility of implementing this approach when needing to quickly hire multiple people
Building a Talent Team and Managing Stakeholders
06:54 - 13:55
- Align with hiring managers and founders to clearly define what they're looking for
- Learn fast, iterate, and start small when scaling
- Identify the correct support network internally and externally
- Manage expectations and be honest about the organization's journey
- Take feedback from candidates and allow space for improvement in candidate experience
Candidate Experience and Hiring Process
13:36 - 20:39
- Make candidate experience a top priority
- Invest time in defining the hiring process for each role
- Be flexible and transparent with candidates to attract top talent
- Balance priorities and align them with company goals
- Have a few solid basic tools and platforms that can be scaled up
- Consider the long-term impact and cost of tech decisions
- Efficiency in reporting is important for small talent functions
Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Hiring
20:28 - 27:08
- Anonymize the hiring process to promote diversity and inclusion
- Use gender-neutral language in job descriptions
- Utilize software tools to identify and address biases
- Evaluate the problem before investing in new technology
- Tools like Evidanced and Screen Loop can remove bias from the interview process
- Metaview provides transcribing and summarizing capabilities for candidate conversations
- Screen Loop integrates with ATS to automate surveys and provide benchmarking data
Employer Branding and Sourcing Tools
26:50 - 34:15
- Employee referrals are emphasized as a key aspect of employer branding
- Platforms like built-in, the Muse, and welcome to the jungle are recommended for employer brand exposure
- Be active on social media and encourage employees to mention and tag the organization
- Participate in webinars, panels, podcasts, and engage in niche networks
- Use sourcing tools like Source whale and gem, while LinkedIn recruiter is considered less impactful
Building Relationships and Budgeting for Talent Function
33:54 - 40:46
- Build relationships internally and utilize different skill sets within the business
- Recognize and highlight achievements and milestones within the organization
- Use external support as a career progression opportunity for internal talent
- Encourage engineers to write blog posts to attract talent
- Make the company website a shop window for potential employees
- Budget and forecast for talent function based on specific needs and objectives
Budgeting, Forecasting, and Metrics in Talent Acquisition
40:23 - 48:14
- Set expectations and work back from a budget for talent acquisition success
- Engage with stakeholders and align goals for budgeting and forecasting
- Be flexible and adaptable in dealing with people forecasting variables
- Communicate clearly with finance teams to stay in sync
- Track the ratio of interviews to hires to identify process breakdowns
- Use data to understand blockers and iterate on processes for optimized time to hire
- Optimize the hiring process by combining stages and reducing time between stages
Key Insights for Talent Experts
47:44 - 53:54
- Predefined metrics and KPIs are important, but each business will have specific needs
- Key metrics include time to fill a role, sourcing channel effectiveness, quality of hire, turnover rate, and cost per hire
- Trust yourself and your team while tracking metrics consistently
- Understand the difference between urgent and important tasks for workload balance
- Choose the right partners internally and externally for success
- Prioritize tasks and chase excellence rather than perfection as a talent expert
- Get support from agencies, co-founders, leaders, hiring managers, and interviewers
- Trust the process that got you into your role as a talent expert and build trust within the business
- Plan ahead and analyze accurate data before making decisions
- Embrace the journey of being a talent expert and enjoy yourself