Actionable Advice From Talent Acquisition Leaders on Navigating Current Recruiting Challenges

It’s been a tough year for Talent Acquisition teams across industries. If your team is struggling to meet hiring goals with limited resources, you’re not alone! Now is the time to evaluate your hiring process, focus on key metrics and identify areas to improve efficiency. 

We asked a few of our TA leader friends to share some actionable, practical tips on how to help your team succeed this year. Here's what they had to say.

What advice would you give to other talent acquisition leaders struggling to meet their hiring goals this year?

“Focus on a few things you can implement to make incremental impact instead of trying to solve everything all at once.” - Angela Pointer, Director of Talent Acquisition at Sentara Health

“There is a great shuffle of talent going on right now and it's important now more than ever to break down HR silos and partner on retention and nurturing internal pipelines.” - Matthew DePaso, Recruitment Marketing Manager at Amtrak

“Check the product you are selling. Make sure it's a job that in the end is desirable. And if it's not, try to get creative in making the product better. Could you get leadership to add PTO? Could they create their own schedule? Also, focus on your employer brand and brand reputation. Job seekers are just savvy consumers, and they have options. Make sure your Glassdoor or Indeed profiles have your best foot forward.” - Brandon Prideaux, Head of Talent Acquisition at Physical Rehabilitation Network

If you had to report to your board about the health of talent acquisition, what would be the 1-3 metrics you'd focus on?

“CPA, CPH and the internal and external hiring mix.” - Jen Tracy, VP of Talent Attraction & Acquisition at Spectrum

“Referral rate, time to fill, and applications per hire.” - Matthew DePaso

“Fill rate for 30 days, 60 days and > 90 days, candidate and hiring leader satisfaction, and Recruiter/TA engagement, specifically looking at the correlation between engagement and performance.” - Angela Pointer

What advice would you give to other TA professionals in order to find balance in their lives?

“Block out Monday mornings before 11 and Friday afternoons after 3 from meetings for you and your staff. It creates a more balanced culture and gives you time to debrief and reset each week.” - Matthew DePaso

“Eliminate your self-inflicted pressure as much as you can. Did you put a deadline on a project, but only you know about that deadline? Now you're stressed about getting it done in time. Well, stop that nonsense immediately. You have enough pressure without putting pressure like that on yourself. You'll get it done when you have time.” - Brandon Prideaux

“Balance is a choice, and it helps to be intentional about establishing your own balance and boundaries. There is no "one size fits all" approach. Find what works for you and make it happen.” - Angela Pointer

How has Brazen helped your team hit their hiring goals?

“It allows our recruiters to reach a bigger audience virtually.” - Jenn Tracy

“We've had a large number of both virtual and in-person events in the past year. Brazen has been helpful for the efficiency of our virtual events.” - Angela Pointer

“Brazen allows our team to focus on the quality of hiring events with diversity & inclusion initiatives and helping candidates meet hiring managers, while their team takes care of the technology, reporting and advertising.” - Matthew DePaso

How the right technology can boost your recruiting team's morale during challenging times 

Boosting morale can be difficult when your organization has lofty hiring goals but fewer recruiting resources. It's now more important than ever to ensure your team feels they have the tools they need to get their jobs done. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when determining how to best support your team:

1) Does my team use too many platforms? 

Does your team use several platforms that all offer different solutions and benefits? If so, it's worth considering how to consolidate and simplify the hiring process by relying on fewer tools. At Brazen, many of our customers eliminate the need for other software by relying on our platform to manage virtual hiring events, in-person career fairs, video interviewing, recruiting chatbots, sourcing, candidate follow-ups and communication. 

2) What technology does my team have access to?

There may be specific areas of the hiring process where your team is struggling and could use a new tool to help them meet their goals. Ask your recruiters if they struggle the most with sourcing, candidate ghosting, video interviewing, employer branding or anything else. Think outside of the box and look at solutions that go beyond your standard ATS or CRM. 

3) Does our technology provide positive ROI?

When budgets are tight, it's vital to ensure the technology you're investing in is providing positive ROI. Evaluate the recruiting software your team is using to determine how much time it saves and whether it helps your recruiters hire faster. Use metrics such as time-to-fill, time-to-hire and cost-per-hire to compare how your hiring process has improved with the use of certain tools.

Want to learn how Brazen is helping Talent Acquisition Directors and Executives meet their recruiting goals using less resources?
Let's talk. 

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