Talent Acquisition V/S Recruitment

It is costlier to replace than retain talent, especially when it comes to high performers. But there will always be a need for companies to have a viable process for recruiting and hiring whether due to growth or attrition. This leads to questions about talent acquisition vs. recruitment, which are often confused with each other.

The terms “talent acquisition” and “recruitment” are often confused and are thought to be different terms for the same process that can be used interchangeably. An often-used synonym for talent acquisition is recruitment, strategic recruitment, or corporate recruitment. Simply understanding the key differences between the two processes can help you hire the most qualified talent and create a sustainable hiring process for your organization.

The biggest difference is that talent acquisition is a more strategic process aimed at finding highly qualified employees whereas recruitment is the more operational task of filling vacancies.

RECRUITMENT:

Recruitment is about filling a vacancy or open position within a company quickly. The process is typically more linear and reactive, meaning that if a position is either vacated or created, a person must be found to fill it. Recruitment is all about finding candidates for existing jobs. Recruitment is a short-term fix.

TALENT ACQUISITION

Talent acquisition, on the other hand, is the process of strategically looking for specialists, leaders, future executives, or other qualified professionals for a specific position.  This strategy is common among niche industries such as, medical, technology, legal, and even translation services. This is more of a cyclic process and long term solution

WITHIN TALANT ACQUISITION ARE SUBSETS THAT INCLUDE :

• Planning and strategy
•  Workforce segmentation
• Recruiting
• Candidate relationship management
• Employment branding
• Metrics and analytics

Recruiting is a subset of Talent Acquisition and includes sourcing, CV screening, interviews, assessment, selection and hiring (and in some organizations the early stages of onboarding). There’s no Talent Acquisition without Recruiting but it is possible to do Recruiting without a clear Talent Acquisition strategy.

WHEN TO USE RECRUITING:

Recruitment is a more immediate, reactive process, essentially focused on finding candidates to fill roles that are currently available. You need to recruit when you have a vacant role that needs to be filled as soon as possible. When you choose to recruit, it’s likely you’ll already have a clear understanding of what and who you’re looking for, as well as an established list of tasks the new employee will be performing once hired. One of the most common scenarios companies face is having to find a replacement for someone who has left. In this situation, you will know exactly what tasks and responsibilities the new recruit will have to take on, and the experience and attributes they will need to do the job properly.

WHEN TO USE TALENT ACQUISITION:

Talent acquisition is a more in-depth process that comes into play when you are looking at the bigger picture of how your business wants to grow and evolve in the years to come. Talent acquisition is a more specific approach to finding potential candidates to join your company. Whether they’re more niche roles or job titles that haven’t previously existed, there are certain instances where it’s the better fit.

• You need niche talent: This usually occurs when working in specific technology industries like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, virtual reality, and cloud infrastructure.
• You’re looking to grow: If it’s time for your company to expand, talent acquisition can help you look for new skills and higher levels of expertise.

Finding the best talent and qualified with such clear differences between these two concepts, there should be little doubt about when you need to recruit and when you should be focused on talent acquisition. Finding the most effective and reliable strategies in both areas will help your business overcome its challenges and prepare for the future..