How to create a winning talent strategy, from screening to retention

With a fiercely competitive job economy and an unbalanced talent supply chain, HR leaders must-have tools and strategies to ensure they aren’t ostracizing their talent pool.

Equally, with remote and hybrid working models here to stay, HR leaders can expand their talent horizon and hire more globally than ever before. But with so many factors impacting global hiring realities, it’s not surprising that HR leaders are still hesitant to open their talent pools in this way.  

Listen to Kerstin Bagus, Chief Knowledge Officer at Netforce Global, and Michelle Smith, Director of Solution Management at Cisive, as they consider the challenges of an evolving workplace and discuss key trends affecting HR technology and talent acquisition in 2022 and beyond.  

Here are some of the key takeaways.  

Screening intersects the challenges and opportunities of a hybrid world

Now, your recruiting landscape is worldwide. 

Kerstin Bagus

Kerstin Bagus, the Chief Knowledge Officer at Netforce Global, a US-based international background screening organization, touts the benefits of our newly remote or hybrid world. Two years ago, professionals had to relocate to be near their place of work, and issues of culture fit (both locally and professionally) were a significant threat for hirers. But now, organizations have become much more proficient at integrating and managing remote professionals. As organizations have adapted to hybrid or fully remote teams, the hidden benefit of a global talent market has presented itself, according to Kerstin: “There’s an incredible amount of talent that’s available to employers that they previously just would not have had.”

Michelle Smith, Director of Solution Management at Cisive, a US-based employment screening service, agrees. She cites the globalization of the talent market as a key benefit of remote work, noting that while some teams have been remote-optional for years, adaptation has occurred in previously unimaginable fields. But she recommends a continued focus on the human component, even in the new world of work: “We all are human at our core, so we do still look for human connectivity.” 

Interview screening can help bridge that gap. Screening can help you access and validate the global talent market while adding greater efficiency, allowing you to prioritize human connection where it really matters. Comprehensive screening technology lets you streamline box-ticking and verify candidate credentials without sacrificing your hiring team’s time and energy for the most crucial part of the interview process. For concepts like culture fit, for example, tech can never replace direct interaction. Instead, it enables your team to make time for assessing the human components of the hiring process where they are indispensable. According to Michelle, “technology can definitely help the hiring process, [but it] can’t ever replace the human aspect of it.” 

Resist the temptation to scrimp on the hiring process

The people you bring into your company are the face of your company, and their reputation is going to stick with you for a very long time.  

Kerstin Bagus

Kerstin emphasizes that screening is a necessary and worthwhile action, regardless of market challenges. Even in boom times, many organizations confront the temptation to reduce costs by skipping screening and verification. Faster onboarding is a pressure every recruiting team faces, but approaching the hiring process with less rigor leaves your company incredibly vulnerable, especially in a world dominated by remote work. This is particularly evident in education verification, where there is extraordinarily little regulation for how people brand themselves.

There’s no definition of what a ‘diploma mill’ is…but there is a burgeoning market of being able to create your own certification and diploma. There are even companies that will provide fake verifications and certifications.

Kerstin Bagus

Qualification falsification has shown itself across every industry, but many recruiters are content to rely on the brands on a candidate’s resume as the precursor for employment. In reality, as reference checks fall out of vogue and screening is relegated to a dispensable investment, more companies are opening themselves to extreme vulnerability. You, as the hiring manager, must own it. Asserts Michelle, “even politicians have falsified their entire history, but because they because they were recommended by someone, no one questioned it…you can’t assume [no matter what company came before you] that they did the thorough job that you would expect.”  

Unifying candidate experience and rigorous screening

If it’s not quick and easy, you’re going to lose their attention. 

Michelle Smith

In the current extremely competitive talent market, you cannot sacrifice candidate experience. At the same time, eliminating risk in an increasingly data-vulnerable world is imperative, and you must achieve a balance between candidate experience and appropriate verification. 

There is a lot of chatter about focusing on CX specifically for younger talent, but this applies across generations. “I love it when we talk about technology engaging younger candidates – but I’m not one of the younger generations, and I also don’t have time,” asserts Michelle. “What’s important for both employers and vendors is how easy it is, how visually engaging it is. You need to look at every facet.”  

If you can streamline the less personal tasks and provide greater accessibility between candidate and hiring team, you can eliminate the perceived strain of screening. Rather than going through extensive correspondence, allow your candidate to provide their basic details and documents with an automated process, and concentrate on the human side of the hiring process where it really matters. Processual transparency, quick response time, and human input for more nuanced questions are the trifecta of a great candidate experience. Says Michelle, “where you can, I would look to leverage technology. Then use face-to-face as a great gauge of an individual.” 

Data regulations continue to dominate the conversation

Keep a sharp eye on data regulations in a global talent market. Proper data protection falls right in line with the candidate experience. 

Kerstin Bagus

As organizations increasingly take advantage of their access to global talent, it is critical to consider local data rules. Countries worldwide have taken European data and privacy relations (GDPR) into account and increased their regulations accordingly. According to Kerstin, “worldwide, we’re seeing a growing awareness of personal data and the amount of information that’s being collected.” 

Luckily, many countries with strict data regulations have excellent resources for understanding their unique rules. But even where information is readily available, it is essential to understand exactly what those regulations mean. Criminal history, for example, is illegal or, at best, “sensitive” information to request in many countries around the world. Ensuring that your application and interview process adhere to local regulations is non-negotiable. 

If you want to know more about how interview screening technology fits into your global talent strategy, watch this on-demand webinar hosted by NetForce Global, Cisive, and UNLEASH. We also cover self-sovereignty in the hiring process, which metrics really matter, how to engage candidates throughout a rigorous hiring process, and how other TA leaders handle their global people data.