Talent acquisition and its different facets are gaining momentum day by day. This is owing to the fact, that having right and talented people as staff, is very critical to the future success of any organization. However, still a lot of confusion exists, even among HR professionals, whether really a difference exists between the talent acquisition, recruitment and talent management. To them, talent acquisition and recruitment are interchangeable with each other. Similarly , there is general tendency to treat talent acquisition and talent management as synonyms. The author has made an effort to elucidate the differences between talent acquisition, recruitment and talent management.
1.0 Contents of the blog
-Definitions
-Differences between talent acquisition and recruitment
-Differences between talent acquisition and talent management
-Conclusions
2.0 Definitions
2.1 Definition of Talent acquisition
2.1.1 As per the reference[1] ,smartrecruiters.com
They define talent acquisition as follows:
Talent Acquisition refers to the process of identifying and acquiring skilled workers to meet your organizational needs.
The talent acquisition team is responsible for identifying, acquiring, assessing and hiring candidates to fill open positions within a company. Employer branding, future resource planning, diversifying your company’s labor force, and developing a robust candidate pipeline are the cornerstones of talent acquisition.
2.1.2 As per the reference[2], toolbox.com
They define it as follows:
“We define talent acquisition as an ongoing process, to acquire skilled workers in alignment with the company's broader business goals, regardless of immediate vacancies”.
2.1.3 As per the reference[3], businesslinkedin.com
The definition as per the above reference, is as below:
“Recruiters, Sourcers, HR professionals, Hiring managers. Combined, these powerhouse functions make up Talent acquisition (TA) — the organizational task of, quite simply, finding the right person for the job. In a corporate setting, it’s often placed under the human resources (HR) umbrella, and involves sourcing, attracting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding employees.”
2.2 Definition of recruitment
2.2.1 As per Wikipedia [Reference4]
Wikipedia defines recruitment as follows :
Recruitment refers to the overall process of identifying, attracting, screening or shortlisting and interviewing suitable candidates for jobs (temporary or permanent), within an organization. Recruitment can also refer to processes involved in choosing individuals for unpaid roles.
2.2.2 As per experts [Reference5]
“Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment.” -Davis
“Recruitment is the process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirement of staffing schedule and employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working.” -Yoder
2.3 Definition of talent management
2.3.1 As per the reference[6], drtechnologist.com
“Talent management is defined as the methodically organized strategic process of getting the right talent on board and helping them , grow their optimal capabilities, keeping organizational objectives in view.”
2.3.2 As per the reference[7] ,resources.workable.com
“Talent management is the ongoing process of developing and retaining employees , throughout a company”.
“Talent Management professionals resort to the following :
- Coach high-potential employees
- Deliver employee training programs
- Build hiring and succession plans
- Mentor, reward and promote employees”
3.0 Differences between talent acquisition and recruitment
3.1 As per the reference[8], blog.chrmp.com
As per the author of the blog, the following differences exist :
Talent acquisition focuses on the long term Human Resource Planning. On the contrary ,the recruitment may be a short term approach to fill the existing vacancies.
Long term planning of talent acquisition may consist of the following :
-A complete succession planning .
-Mapping skill sets in the organization, and taking actions ,so that there is no dearth of skill set, at any point of time in future.
-It is much more focused on the strategic side of the tougher positions to fill.
-It should build a stronger company, foster teamwork and boost productivity.
-Building up employers brand, company culture and a sustainable talent pool are the aims of talent acquisition.
3.2 As per the reference[9],eskill.com
Following differences exist between talent acquisition and recruitment, as per them:
-Recruitment is a linear process that involves searching a specific candidate ,to fill a specific position
-Talent acquisition, on the other hand , is a cyclic approach , that one gears, towards building relationships, anticipate future needs, and creating a sustainable pool of candidates
-Employer branding is one of the most important jobs of talent acquisition. we do it through fostering positive image of company , its strong culture, and also, establishing its good reputation , based on quality products and services .
-Talent scooping and management
-Metrics and analytics
3.3 As per the reference [10] , blog.smarp.com
As per reference, blog.smarp.com, the difference between talent acquisition and recruitment is that recruitment is reactive and talent acquisition is proactive and continuous.
3.4 As per the reference[11] ,in-recruiting.com ,
As per the reference, in-recruiting.com, the difference between recruiting and talent acquisition is comparable to that between short term and long term planning.
3.5 As per the reference[12], smartrecruiters.com
As per the reference, smartrecruiters.com, recruiting is in great crisis. The talent acquisition is the order of the day. They give the following differences between the two:
- Recruitment is an action to solve the immediate problem.
- On the other hand, talent acquisition is an ongoing process of making your company the most attractive place for quality talent. At the same time , you must ensure, you make use of the many avenues, through which to source new talents .
4.0 Differences between talent acquisition and talent management
The author has tried to scan literature on the topic. People have done enormous amount of research, with respect to the above. However, we have presented here only three of them.
4.1 As per the author
Talent acquisition is the art and science of attracting, hiring skilled workforce, keeping in view the long term business needs of the organization. It is a continuous process. However, once, we recruit the skilled workforce , the talent management comes in picture. To keep them motivated, develop them, nurture them and nourish their creativity, potential and capabilities to take up higher and challenging positions in the organization is, “talent management”.
4.2 As per the reference[13] , resources.workble.com
Christina Pavlou has written a beautiful article entitled , “Talent Acquisition vs Talent Management vs HR: A Primer.”
If one reads the article, each and every doubt will get cleared. She has answered, 18 FAQs very ably, regarding the three topics. However, regarding the difference between talent acquisition and talent management, her brief description is as below.
“First comes Talent Acquisition, then comes Talent Management. Talent Acquisition is about hiring candidates with the right skills and potential to evolve at your company. Talent Management is what follows after hiring a candidate. It involves training and developing current employees, keeping them satisfied and engaged and preparing them to take on more challenging responsibilities”.
4.3 As per the reference[14] ,arcoro.com/blog/talent acquisition
They have elucidated the talent management as below :
-Talent management is an essential tool to engage employees, and ensure they are successful in fulfilling their goals within an organization , and it begins with talent acquisition.
-The next most important phase involves integrating new employees of team, and much more.
They have further described talent acquisition as per below:
-Talent acquisition is much more than recruitment. In fact recruitment is only one small piece of the talent acquisition.
-Talent acquisition consists of employer branding, sourcing, and recruitment.
5.0 Conclusions
On the basis of above mentioned discussions, we may arrive at the following conclusions.
-Talent Acquisition, recruitment and talent management are totally different from each other. They play a distinctive, and definitive role in HR, which are entirely different from each other .
-Talent acquisition focuses on long term Human Resource Planning ,while the recruitment may be a short term effort to fill the existing , and or immediate vacancies.
-Building up employers brand, company cultures and a sustainable talent pool for the prosperity and betterment of the organization , are the key objectives of talent acquisition.
-Once the skilled workforce is hired, to keep them motivated, develop them, nurture and nourish their creativity, potential and capabilities, to take up higher responsibilities in organization , is the domain of talent management.
5.0 References
1 What is Talent Acquisition? Tips & FAQs | SmartRecruiters
https://www.smartrecruiters.com/resources/glossary/talent-acquisition/
2 What Is Talent Acquisition? Definition, Process, Strategies, and Best Practices | Toolbox HR
https://www.toolbox.com/hr/recruitment-onboarding/articles/what-is-talent-acquisition/
3 What is Talent Acquisition and How to Do It | LinkedIn Talent Blog
https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/recruiting-tips/2018/what-is-talent-acquisition
4 Recruitment - Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment
5. What is Recruitment?
https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/human-resource-management-2/what-is-recruitment/what-is-recruitment/20023
6. What is Talent Management? Definition, Strategy, Process | HR Technologist
https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/performance-management-hcm/what-is-talent-management
7. Talent Acquisition vs. Talent Management vs. HR: an FAQ guide
https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/faq-talent-acquisition
8 https://blog.chrmp.com/CHRMP Blog-Certified Human Resource Management Professional
9 5 Ways Talent Acquisition is Different from Recruitment
ttps://www.eskill.com/blog/difference-recruitment-talent-acquisition/
10 Recruitment vs. Talent Acquisition [Infographic Included]
https://blog.smarp.com/recruitment-vs.-talent-acquisition-is-there-a-difference-yes
11 What is the difference between Talent Acquisition and Recruiting | Blog In-recruiting
https://www.in-recruiting.com/en/what-is-the-difference-between-talent-acquisition-and-recruiting/
12 Talent Acquisition vs. Recruiting in 2019 | SmartRecruiters
https://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/talent-acquisition-vs-recruiting-2019/
13 Talent Acquisition vs. Talent Management vs. HR: an FAQ guide
https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/faq-talent-acquisition
14 Distinguishing Talent Acquisition vs Talent Management | Arcoro HR
https://arcoro.com/blog/talent-acquisition-vs-talent-management/