Introduction To Talent Acquisition

Acquiring the right people is critical for the advancement or success of any organisation. Yet, from time to time, selection decisions are still made on the basis of inaccurate or incomplete information. In the short term this can result in litigation and cost the organisation a lot of money and affect its image negatively. In the medium and long term, it can result in low productivity, absenteeism and high labour turnover.

It is important that all staff involved in the recruitment process understand the selection processes and procedures and use these effectively to select the most suitable person for any position.

A powerful employer/employee relationship begins with the hiring process. A HR Department should always aim at hiring the best! According to the Employers Advisory Network one can never overstate the value of placing your efforts and resources into the hiring process. They show that by definition, half of all job applicants are below average… and they still get hired!!

What is worse is that many job applicants misrepresent their true status, background, and experience.

According to a survey by Inc. Magazine (www.inc.com) on job applicants:

• 15% of all job applicants falsify academic qualifications
• 10% falsely upgrade their academic qualifications
• 35% claim specific achievements or experiences that are untrue
• 70% indulge in puffery - upgrading the importance of achievements
• 12% have a criminal record

So, a lot can go wrong…

This poses a huge challenge to organisations to ensure that they have the most fail-proof recruitment and selection practices, it also places much emphasis on the importance of the actual interview as this is the opportunity to clarify, to check and to test validity and competence.

The Process of Staff Acquisition and On-Boarding

Recruitment and selection is a process to attract, recruit and retain the right people with the right competencies at the right time.