5 questions CHROs and talent leaders should ask now

1. As a business, do we understand what our pivotal roles are?

Identify which roles deliver on your brand promise and differentiate the organization versus those that support business operations. The quality of talent in these roles directly influences the long-term success of your organization.

Chief human resources officers and talent leaders must determine what the pivotal roles are within their businesses. For healthcare, this could mean nursing talent. In life sciences, where supply chains are assessed for risk, supply chain managers are key. 

Working with the C-suite and other business leaders, identify and agree on the key roles that support the organizational strategy. Take a fresh look at the employee value proposition (EVP) to see how well it aligns with the values of the people you have and need in those roles. 

Identifying pivotal roles and updating the EVP will prepare you to research the availability of ideal candidates. Then you can plan a more targeted and effective candidate generation strategy.

Additional questions to ask:

• Have critical roles changed given recent shifts in the business or industry?
• Does our strategy to fill these roles remain industry-leading and win us top talent?

2. How can we better leverage our internal mobility strategy?

Talent acquisition teams need to work with the business to understand what future skills will be in demand. Then, they must figure out where the organization can find talent that provides those skills.

Smartly managing the human capital in your organization can be done without looking outside for new talent. Internal mobility is a powerful asset for addressing your talent challenges and strengthening workforce morale. 

Think about it: your current employees already fit the culture and know the business. They’re committed to the organization, and they want to trust that their future career lies there. Internal mobility is a win-win for the organization and the employees. The numbers back up the benefits, with internal mobility rates up 31% worldwide since 2021.

To be strategic about workforce planning, prioritize and champion learning & development (L&D) to cross train people before the next role presents itself. Seventy-seven percent of turnover could be prevented with ample L&D opportunities for employees. 

Recognizing employees’ achievements will also help enhance and make the most from your internal mobility program. Share success stories internally. Celebrate top performers who make internal moves and managers who proactively promote them.

Additional questions to ask:

• Will our hiring managers advocate for internal mobility over hiring people from outside our organization?
• Are my TA leaders working with the business to identify where talent gaps exist?
• How does our internal mobility program support equality? Is it measurable?

3. What are we doing to maintain a positive reputation as an employer?

A positive reputation is vital for attracting top talent. How a company treats employees today impacts its reputation for years to come. Chief human resources officers and talent leaders need to be confident that the business is cultivating and maintaining a positive employer brand.

To gauge your organization’s employer brand, audit the full talent experience. Look at everything from when candidates first engage with the brand, through the recruitment process, into their time as an employee and their exit experience.

Elevate your career website experience, making sure it’s modern and provides potential candidates with all the information they may need. Offer micro-EVPs tailored to different talent segments based on research.

Another area to review is your company’s social media profiles, conducting a competitive analysis to uncover potential improvements. Audit and actively manage external review sites as well, such as Glassdoor and Indeed, to ensure your employer brand outperforms the competition.

Additional questions to ask:

• How are we capturing feedback from current employees? How do we act on that feedback?
• What are our “alumni” or former employees saying about us?
• What is the experience for unemployed individuals or job seekers when they interact with our business right now?
• Does our career website provide information about whether we’re hiring right now? Does it clearly explain how the recruiting process might have changed?
• How are we creating a culture that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion?

4. Are we using the right TA technology in the right way?

With the rise of remote work and rapidly advancing technologies like artificial intelligence, talent acquisition teams are growing more comfortable relying on technology throughout the recruitment process.

The number and type of new tech solutions for automation, experience, data and process is only increasing. Chief human resources officers and talent acquisition leaders need to create flexible, sustainable strategies for technology that deliver positive experiences for all while improving efficiency.

Evaluate your current TA tech solutions based on how they impact your process. Consider the user experience and how easily the solutions provide valuable insights. To gain perspective on different technology ecosystems, reach out to your fellow chief human resources officers to see what they’re using.

Engaging a trusted technology consultant is another effective way to analyze your needs. They’ll help curate available tech to make recommendations. Speak to multiple vendors of platforms or point solutions – knowing all the possibilities will make sure you find the best solutions for your talent acquisition function.

Additional questions to ask:

• What behaviors are changing for key stakeholders (candidates, recruiters and hiring managers)?
• Are your current TA tech solutions widely accepted and adopted by your function? Are they the optimal solutions for your needs?
• How does the value provided by your solutions compare to their cost?
• How much time does your technology save the team?
• Do your solutions provide the metrics needed for visibility of business performance?

5. How can we prepare to scale up our TA when the time is right – without incurring early fixed costs?

As chief human resources officers and talent leaders know, an organization’s cost-saving measures sometimes impact talent acquisition functions – directly affecting the ability to handle an increase in hiring. TA functions need to be more agile in how they adjust to changing needs.

The demands on talent acquisition teams are complex and evolving quicker than ever before. Talent professionals require a broader range of skills and flexibility than your current team may have the capacity to achieve by themselves.

To understand your current scalability, evaluate the internal and external TA resources available based on cost versus benefit. Consider whether some of your internal resources with fixed costs could be replaced or improved externally. External partners like an RPO provider will provide the scalability you need while lowering your fixed costs.

Additional questions to ask:

• If business leaders need to fill pivotal roles, will the TA function request more budget to be ready to do it quickly and effectively?
• What changes do we need to make to improve our ability to do that?
• How can we maintain a great candidate experience?
• How can we build a function that can easily scale up when needed, without costing a fortune? (Part of that answer could be in figuring out the right mix of in-house vs. outsourced responsibilities for recruiting. Another part of the answer could be internal mobility: How can we find the right talent – already on the payroll – to help fill pivotal roles?)

Looking ahead

It’s difficult for chief human resources officers and talent acquisition leaders to have answers for every challenge. The best way to get ready for whatever’s next is by asking the right questions. This will allow chief human resources officers to prime their teams and function for transformation and better support the strategic goals of the business.