According to the Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2013 report, the pressure to optimise performance will likely increase in the future as business decisions become more complex and challenging. HR leaders will have to start thinking more like economists– specifically in relation to the allocation of talent, a scare resource.

Factors such as GDP (gross domestic product) and employment shifts are becoming critical in directing HR decisions as these have a direct impact on the way your workforce responds to business decisions. With this shift in thinking, a business will ultimately stake its future on the value it can create by managing people – a quantitative analytical approach which will help to reduce risk and fine-tune decisions to enhance efficiency.

How can talent be allocated to increase business value?

The workplace is evolving and consists of a mixture of full-time employees, contractors and freelancers. People move more freely from role to role and across global markets – driven by rapid innovation, agility and scale. Businesses expect the right skills to be available faster than ever.  Given such demands, the open talent economy is fast emerging. The open talent economy is going to have the same level of significant impact on the workplace environment that the open source model has had on software development.

This type of model is going to challenge core assumptions about how people enter the workforce, how they work together and how to develop their potential. It also implies that organisations who fail to embrace those changes are likely to fall behind.

The talent brand difference

Skilled talent may be what differentiates top companies from the average ones. Skilled talent can help drive innovation and customer value, create growth and mitigate a growing river of risk.

Companies that excel at managing their talent agendas have an opportunity to set themselves apart – in both the talent arena and in the broader marketplace. In an effort to actively promote and brand your capabilities, your corporate brand and your talent brand have to be aligned. If you want to retain and attract future talent, you’ll need to build leading talent practices which are enveloped by effective and consistent communication.

Organisations are also understanding that talent wants to be more in control of how, where and when they work.

So, how do you build your talent brand?

A company’s talent brand involves framing the actual experiences of the people who work for you. This means taking a deep dive into how your company addresses the needs of the different talent segments and involving leadership in this aspect.

    1. Be visible and accessible online

Having a great online presence ensures people understand your company’s goals and values. This also increases knowledge about your brand. In order to achieve this, one needs to generate insightful and beneficial content, constantly engage on social networks and have a clear voice and message.

    2. Build relationships through networking

Networking in person is essential for growing your talent brand as this creates word of mouth. There’s a misconception about how you need to go directly to the source to find and hire top talent. At times, meaningful conversations about your company culture and brand are all you need to achieve this outcome. 

    3. Promote your brand internally

Your employees are your number one resource for growing your talent brand because they not only help to define what it is but they can also recommend new and promising individuals to add to it. There’s nothing more compelling than the personal experiences of an individual who works for your company – sit back and let them do the talking.

    4. Leverage your existing advertising

You probably have a wealth of advertising up your sleeve—webpages, banner ads, mailers and marketing content. Use these resources and platforms smartly when hiring. You will be killing two birds with one stone during this process by enhancing the promotion of your company’s talent brand while recruiting top talent at the same time.

Sources:

Deloitte. Human Capital Trends 2013, Leading Indicators