Talent acquisition professionals are increasingly measured on new hires' retention and job performance, according to a study by the Futurestep division of Korn Ferry,
In Talent Forecast, Futurestep’s global survey of more than 1,100 hiring professionals, EMEA respondents said that while time to hire was the top priority metric (63%) , it was followed closely by the longer-term metrics of new hire retention (51%) and job performance up to 18 months after being hired (42%).
Richard Shea, managing director EMEA of search at Korn Ferry Futurestep, said the role of the hiring professional is changing. “Traditionally the job of a talent acquisition professional ended when a position was filled,” he said. “But in today’s competitive marketplace the focus has shifted to finding, hiring and retaining workers who are not only effective in their roles today, but who can also be the leaders of tomorrow.”
Those polled said that hiring professionals’ biggest worries regarding their role were the competition for talent (chosen by 29%) and the qualities of their hires (selected by 26%). Fourteen per cent said that their biggest concern was alignment with the wider business' strategy.
When asked why they might be facing talent shortages, talent acquisition professionals cited a lack of candidates who can move up the leadership pipeline (27%) as the top reason. This was closely followed by competition from other sectors (24%).
Shea reported that some organisations are implementing new reward structures to incentivise talent acquisition professionals to think longer term.
“We’ve seen members of the talent acquisition team receive bonuses based on the performance of candidates they brought into the organisation – particularly for sales positions and other jobs where performance can be easily quantified,” he said. “While this is not a common practice, it very likely may become more popular as organisations seek to reward the recruitment of high performers.
“Non-stop advances in technology and rapidly changing business strategies have led to the creation of jobs that didn’t even exist a few years ago,” he added. “In addition, there are demands for new skillsets in virtually every profession. Hiring and retaining workers who are agile and can adapt to the fast pace of change is critical for staying ahead of the competition curve.”
