Innovative Hiring Strategies- Seminar Summary

In a speech at Harvard University in 1943 Winston Churchill observed that "the empires of the future will be empires of the mind". He could may as well added have that the battles of the future will be battles for talent. Today, Talent is the greatest challenge in our business environment. New and innovative hiring strategies have become the need of the hour and only these will guarantee3 corporate India success in this rapidly changing and fiercely competitive global scenario.

The National Seminar organized by CII discussed strategies to win talent battles and was divided into five sessions namely Talent Landscape, Talent Sourcing Strategies, Hiring for Retention, Mass and Class Hiring and Global Hiring:

Session 1: Talent Landscape

This session aimed at underlining the importance of the right attitude towards hiring. It is necessary to first inculcate the 'the talent mind-set': the 'deep-seated belief that having better talent at all levels is how you outperform your competitors.

Session 2: Talent Sourcing Strategies

This session addressed the organizations' need for becoming the 'employer of choice' by creating a strong employer brand both with respect to the 'attracting talent' as well as 'retaining existing talent in the organisation'. To become an 'Employer of choice' in the true sense of the word, organizations need to understand the importance of creating a compelling employer brand, learn the key concepts associated with brand development and prepare to sell the value of investing in an Employer Branding campaign to their leaders to help attract and retain valuable resources.

Session 3: Hiring for Retention

The discussion revolved around how an Organization's capability to evaluate the right combination of skill, attitude and aptitude for a particular role and position is necessary to make the Hiring program of that organisation a success. This will result in not only reduced hiring cost and cycle time but will also lead to reduced employee turnover.

Session 4: Mass and Class Hiring

This session was dedicated to exploring methods used for Mass and Class hiring. While job fairs, campus recruitment at graduation level and walk-in interviews are instances of mass hiring; lateral recruitment and assessment centers are examples of Class/ specialist hiring. This session aimed at understanding the difference between the two types and identifying and defining their nuances.

Session 5: Global Hiring

The session aimed at discussing how companies already involved in meeting their talent needs through international hiring, are fast realizing that the need for a different methodology/strategy to take them to the next level. Specifically, they want to increase bandwidth and visibility, thereby elevating the hiring process in place. The discussion highlighted that one needs vision and courage to go directly to the employee with a high-touch experience of Hiring- whether locally or while dealing with expatriates or inpatriates.