Everybody knows great HR when they see it. How do you know what it means to be a great talent advisor?
From its humble roots in personnel to becoming, among other things, what David Ulrich describes as a credible activist, HR professionals need to continue to evolve to address the changing business environment. In that capacity, a critical role that HR needs to adopt is that of a “Talent Advisor.”
According to CareerBuilder, a Talent Advisor is someone who takes a proactive, strategic role in the organization’s talent management needs, acting at all times as both a vital partner to the business and advocate for the company’s employees. The Talent Advisor works with business leaders to align talent acquisition and workforce planning strategies with the company’s business goals.
The Talent Advisor understands the crucial role HR software, candidate sourcing technology and workforce data play in finding and recruiting the right people at the right time. She also takes an active role in all parts of the employee experience – from recruitment to orientation and throughout the entire employee life cycle.
By combining this knowledge with expertise gained over time, Talent Advisors “earn” the right to influence hiring managers regarding applicant decisions, becoming great human resources leaders.
How does being a Talent Advisor differ from old school recruiting?
As the definition suggests, unique skills beyond the typical recruiting role are necessary. The Talent Advisor has to have stronger business acumen than focusing solely on the recruiting function. Further, the Talent Advisor should go beyond simply taking orders by being responsible for hiring quality as well as the overall company brand.
How does one prepare to be a Talent Advisor?
Given the definition above, certainly one way to prepare for the role of a Talent Advisor is through class work. An undergraduate business major specializing in HR will not only get exposure to strategic management and strategic HR, and staffing theory and practice; however, that is not enough. She should get training in business statistics up through linear regression and correlation.
Even with a robust academic background, there are several challenges many students face in striving to become a Talent Advisor. Education in HR technology is sorely lacking. A 2013 SHRM Survey of 372 HR faculty (out of 1,723 invited to participate) supports this assertion, with 61% of faculty citing Human Resource Information Systems was a perceived deficiency in HR training offered to undergraduate HR students.
While undergraduates may be grounded in HR theory, many do not have the long-term labor market expertise that enables such influence to emerge. If one searches for “Talent Advisor jobs” online, one will see that they usually require 5-7 years of experience.
The opposite challenge emerges for one coming into an HR role from another business function. While she may possess the appropriate business savvy to succeed her HR knowledge may be lacking, and it will take some time for her to grow into the Talent Advisor role successfully.
Mentoring circles may be another road toward becoming a Talent Advisor. If one lacks the experience or HR knowledge needed to become a Talent Advisor, find someone who is in the role, and learn from him or her. Have him or her show you how a Talent Advisor operates from beginning the process, managing the labor pipeline, through to its conclusion and hiring.
Becoming a Talent Advisor takes time.
Ultimately, the role of Talent Advisor is not one that can be easily assumed by someone coming out of college or just entering the role of HR professional. However, finding a mentor and investing in continuing education — through traditional MBA programs, online universities and even community colleges — will put you in a position to earn that title.