Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/124894
Talent Acquisition It is imperative to be deliberate when creating localised messages. The more market data you have to thoroughly understand your labour pool and market trends, the better. This will help you accurately create a customised message. The more research done on the back end, the more effective your message will be to your target audience. Based on the market data that is collected, have your talent acquisition team customise your global message. Allowing your team to customise your global message in order to be more relevant for their local market will drive both better and more qualified candidates. Some examples: • Is the organisation near a number of large colleges and universities? If so, allow recruiters to focus efforts in university recruitment, creating internship programs and emphasising their message on training and growth opportunities. • Is it a family-oriented market? If so, highlight work/life benefits, job sharing, or flexible work arrangements. • Does the region have a high volunteer rate? If so, allow your recruiters to adapt your global message to giving back opportunities that your company offers. Social media has made the world a smaller place, and qualified candidates have more options. It is imperative to use social media and technology to your advantage by targeting specific audiences, groups, and locations. FourSquare.com, Google+, and Meetup.com are great examples of social media sites that your talent acquisition team can use to build relationships with potential candidates. Social media is also a great way to drive your glocal message. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are social media sites that have groups in which your team can drive customised content to their specific markets. Make sure your recruiters are developing and constantly engaging their local talent communities. They should be driving relevant content and creating opportunities for dialogue in order to engage, attract, and ultimately hire the best candidates. You've made it this far, and you have the finish line in sight, but do not ignore the most important element in the creation of a glocal talent acquisition strategy. Track and monitor your results! Is your localised message working? If not, gather more market research, and revamp. Is your social media driving the appropriate traffic? If not, analyse and reassess. How large and active are your recruiters' talent communities? Are they keeping their talent communities interested and engaged? Your applicant tracking system should have the capabilities to track the various ways, sites, and avenues that candidates use to find and apply on your career site. Analyse this data frequently and make adjustments accordingly. As social media quickly changes and evolves, your strategies will need to reflect those changes and advancements. Knowing where to invest your marketing dollars, specific to location, will increase your output tenfold. Glocal is the new bussword in talent acquisition and for good reason. When a company's brand is able to be glocal, more candidates will be interested. When putting together your customised strategy, keep in mind that market research and a properly aligned talent acquisition team will create a strong foundation. Educate your talent acquisition team so that they completely understand your global brand. Make them true brand ambassadors. This knowledge, along with the market research and local insight, will enable them to truly localise your message and attract the best candidates for your roles. At the end of the day, metrics matter. Keep accurate records of activity, talent communities, candidate slates, and candidate quality. You should see an increase in all of them. Bottom line: Measure results. A glocal talent acquisition strategy should enable your team to hire better quality candidates, increase their longevity, decrease their time to fill, and ultimately save your company countless dollars. Trust me, your organisation will thank you. Jill Kuhlman is director of partnership and strategy for WilsonHCG. WINTER 2013 | www.hroglobal.com [27]