In terms of Human Resource Departments, we have been hearing the two terms quite interchangeably. Are Talent Acquisition and Talent Recruitment the same thing? The answer is, not exactly. There is a lot of difference between the two. The terms have a bearing on your short and long term planning. Recruitment is all about short-term quick fixes, while Talent Acquisition is what would promote the long term benefits. How do they differ from each other is what we will be covering in today’s post.

Talent Acquisition vs Talent Recruitment – A Look at Them

Recruitment is all about filling up the vacant positions in an organization. It is what a hiring manager will go with if the vacant position is hindering the regular day to day proceeding of the firm. That would essentially apply to quick fixes. Talent Acquisition, on the other hand, is what would be a continuous process and aims at long term planning for the benefit of the organization.

Talent acquisition would ideally focus on finding the specialists and leaders for the betterment of the company long term. It will bring to the forefront the candidates with the most advanced skill sets. In fact, the talent acquisition will take a longer time as you will need to cover the specific areas suitable for the specialised positions and clear leaders. An average time taken would be around three-months, while it may take a little time beyond that for the positions that need the highly technical skill set.

What Should You Opt For?

Well, that would be something dependent upon the type of industry you are in and the immediate requirements. The specific sectors like technology, medicine, law, and financial management will essentially need to opt for Talent Acquisition. It also depends upon the skill sets that you are looking for.

The openings in the mundane areas of your organizational setup may not need a high degree of specialization. You can opt for a mere talent recruitment option in such cases. However, in case you have a few key areas that are critical to long-standing development, it would be advisable to go with Talent Acquisition. Of course, the niche market areas like those we mentioned already – it may not be possible not to opt for a Talent Acquisition concept.

If you are looking for the high degree of growth spread over the next few quarters, you should ideally go with the talent acquisition concept. You may also need to pay special attention to the type of industry you are in. Pay special attention to the following two factors –

• Your expected forecast for the future of the company.
• The nature of the competition in your chosen industry.

In fact, Greenhouse Talent Recruitment is the company who understand the client requirements efficiently and suggest the best option between the two.

How Do They Differ?

The above discussion should have made it clear how they are completely interlinked and that is one of the reasons why they have come to be used interchangeably.

The major difference between the two is the approach used to look for the best talent. The recruitment option relies on a linear approach while the talent acquisition shifts to a more cyclical approach. Talent recruitment is essentially about filling a position that has been vacated. It can be considered to be reactive in its functioning. The essential function of the recruitment process would be to find a candidate for the existing job within the company.

Talent Acquisition, on the other hand, needs to go through a host of steps that can spread over a few weeks, or even months. It would need the following specific directions, unlike a simple recruitment procedure –

• Planning – You need to have a clear understanding of the organizational structure you have and the need that may arise in the future. It is not based on any position that has been vacated, it will need more planning and strategy
• Best Metrics and Analytical Standards – Since in many cases, talent acquisition is more about having a skilled person for the company and not necessarily have predefined skill sets or responsibilities, it will need a host of metrics and analytics. It will ideally be a process that is improved in a continuous manner.
• Scoping the Talent –The talent you are looking for will not be available in one particular space. You need to research varied avenues from where you can source your talent. Once you have identified the potential candidates, you need to develop the long-standing relationships to foster the compatibility.

In essence, Recruitment may be something very important to fill up the vacancies on an urgent basis while talent acquisition would be something that will and should continue as part of an ongoing strategy. If you want to thrive, you need to be in a position to attract the very best talent.

When all is said and done, talent acquisition is essentially a process that may take a long time, but will help you build the best possible team so that you can take your business to greater heights.

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