It doesn’t take a huge amount of analysis to see that technology is no longer just a helpful tool for talent sourcing specialists, but a vital part of the job. Where as in the past online may have been considered just another channel of communication between organisations and talent, now it is the only channel. In effect, online is engagement.
In a recent Ochre House think tank it was revealed that 70% of companies are using social technology of which, 90% report some definite business benefit. As this number continues to rise, finding the right talent for the digital arena will become more and more important.
But what does this mean for talent acquisition?
Clearly, now that talent is immersed in technology on a day to day basis, communication needs to be as quick as possible. Research suggests that 42% of candidates now expect us to get back to them within one hour of our first contact with them, another statistic that we would expect to rise in the future as technology becomes more advanced. Recently LinkedIn revealed that they expected 50% of their traffic came from mobile devices. This means that if we are not operating in this sphere, or our own site is not mobile friendly, then we are perhaps likely to be left behind by our competitors.
And it is not just the channels which you use to interact with individuals that have changed, but the way you engage with them. In the past we had access to a huge wealth of information which they did not have. However, now that everyone is online, your audience can research everything about you and the role you are offering. This means that the focus has shifted towards finding the right cultural fit rather than simply ‘selling a position.’
It is important that not only do we in the talent acquisition industry understand this, but also that we make sure our clients, either internal or external do too. The Ochre House think tank took specialist website Stack Overflow’s well publicised 2012 survey of more than 2,000 programmers as a case in point. The survey revealed that 9 out of 10 of developers would accept an offer that pays 10% less to work at a company that fits their other criteria better. This means that, when searching for digital talent, we cannot just throw money at it, we must be aware of its true motivators.
However one of the things that we must establish before we look for this new generation of online talent is what it is defined by and what do we hope to achieve by going digital. Does it simply refer to a group of geeky computer programmers who can look after all the technical aspects of a company?
As Ronan Dunne, Chief Executive of O2 was recently quoted as saying, “Now more than ever before, digital offers the chance to drive sustained economic recovery, but this will only be realised if we become a nation of digitally confident businesses with a digitally literate workforce.” This idea of being digital applies not only to the IT department of the company, but to all disciplines. Therefore when sourcing digital talent, we should not just be sourcing it for technical roles but for every role.
