In a recent post, Rob McIntosh noted that talent acquisition leaders want their recruiters to “turn up differently” today and he went on to identify a number of behaviors that are critical if this is to happen.
I want to share with you a video interview below with Jim D’Amico, the vice president of talent acquisition at Signature Health, that is part of our Talent Advisor program. A little more context first.
In our Talent Advisor program we offer a course in Data-Centric Analytical Thinking because we believe that expertise and capability in data analysis is a key competency for recruiters. Strength in this competency can definitely help you “turn up” differently with your stakeholders.
As we developed the content for our program, I interviewed dozens of talent acquisition leaders. The ability to understand and analyze data was repeatedly identified as critical. However, the comments I heard were not just about presenting raw data — but data in context, data that tells a story, data that provides insight for the business — that’s where the value is. So, pretty charts and spreadsheets may look good — but you need to provide the analysis, the story line, and the actionable steps that are supported by the data.
D’Amico told the following illustrative story as part of the Talent Advisor leader interviews:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oHD9ghePyAc
Some of the important takeaways from Jim’s interview:
- You can never have too much data — start big and scale down as you learn more
- Develop a hypothesis and point of view — you want to be able to test your hypotheses. It may be difficult to find cause/effect relationships — but strong correlations can provide sound basis for decision-making and action steps.
- Connect the dots — in D’Amico’s case, his investigation crossed into other HR disciplines such as performance management and job analysis. So the ability to communicate with and influence stakeholders is another important competency that talent advisors need to employ.
If you’re interested in learning more about the subject, you can see recorded webinars on our channel or recently from Jim D’Amico, where he presented, From Faulty Psychic to Trusted Advisor — How To Manage Your Hiring Managers And Achieve Results.