Carter Bradley

Transitioning recruiters – and recruiting teams – to talent advisors might be the most talked-about topic in Talent Acquisition right now. Why? Well, there are a few main reasons.

First, there are long-term strategic benefits and short-term tactical benefits to the transition; work goes better for hiring managers when they follow the guidance and advice of the recruiters who know their industry. But, there’s a larger force at play.

The last year has shown recruiters and recruiting teams the costs of not having a strategic seat at the table. When requisitions were high, recruiters were asked to perform at superhuman levels. When the market turned, many (but, of course not all) recruiting leaders felt they did not have a seat at the table when organizations were deciding how to contract.

The challenge, of course, lies in operationalization. How is it that recruiting leaders can position their teams as strategic talent partners to the business? There are many actions that help, but our research suggests that most of the impact can come from optimizing the recruiter & hiring manager relationship.

From what recruiting leaders tell us, effectively incorporating insight and data into hiring manager interactions is what most quickly repositions recruiters as talent advisors. I recently shared this slide with TA leaders during a webinar. It’s just a glimpse at what access to and knowledge of relevant data looks like in a recruiter’s evolution to talent advisor.