For the last 5 years I have been struggling with how to proactively create high impact talent acquisition (TA) solutions for my employer and customers. I know that all companies measure success off of financial indicators like tangible (see & smell, product, equipment and property) and in-tangible assets (invisible assets like intellectual property, knowledge, people and brands).  Don’t worry I will try not be talking like this throughout this whole article.

The challenges that I have been facing, like all of us in the recruitment field, is how do I build business cases for future talent acquisition (TA) programs? How can I communicate the severity of this talent shortage to upper management in terms that they can identify with? How do I get management to act with a sense of urgency,  And more importantly what are the deliverables that will get financial buy-in or make fiscal sense to a CEO, CFO, COO? 

We all know of the labor shortage for the next 10+ years. We are already starting to see the talent crunch and know that for our companies to compete amongst the top 20%, we will have to successfully improve recruitment processes, accountability and identify talent pipelines.

Companies left with no strategy or solutions for this talent shortage will have their long term profitability impacted. This is a huge problem for businesses and it is in plain sight for all to see. Due to the retirement of the baby boomers the Bureau of Labor Statistics has anticipated for every one person that enters the work force two will be leaving in the next few years. I have vowed to myself that I will not be in a reactive situation or become an average TA expert with the “I told you so” mentality. I am not trying to be a hero or an ego maniac, this is my job! I want to win and be #1 in the market place for any company I work for.

The key for me was learning how to communicate the severity of this talent problem to upper management in terms they can identify with? The first thing that I needed to do is understand the differences between tangible and in-tangible assets and how it translates from traditional business to our TA strategies. This is a struggle because there is a ton of information on how to create these strategies for traditional businesses but little to none on our industry.

Secondly, I needed to understand and compare the different ways both tangible/intangible assets are measured (Who, What, When, Why and How).  Once I did that, then I had to look at this process both systemically and at a 10,000 foot level to truly understand what their influencers are (i.e. what we can control and can’t control).

Finally, the biggest concern I had was once I knew the differentiators for my business case, how was I going to develop my strategy, effectively communicate the deliverables to management and execute those measurements to my team. I knew to achieve high impact results in the shortest period of time I needed to have those questions answered first. I was frustrated!

That next day I went out to lunch with a mentor of mine by the name of Greg. Greg is a business attorney and friend who has had a major impact in my life and aided in building my business acumen. Greg has been mentoring me for the last 5 years. He is an expert in business law, mergers/acquisitions, organizational development, VCs’, start-up’s and intellectual law. I was discussing with him about my dilemma and how I have not been able to find any quality information that could help me resolve my strategy problems. During our discussion Greg concurred with me about, the pending talent shortage and if companies do not have a plan they will have problems with sustaining growth. He told me that he had the answers to all of my questions. I said Yeah right!

He asked me if I have ever heard of the Balanced Score Card (BSC)? I told him no. He started sharing with me his success stories on how the BSC methodology had helped his customers improve profitability. He told me that BSC was created by the Harvard Business School as a way to help companies integrate measurements into their business processes and to mobilize their workforce. He stated to me that the BSC works especially well in the intangible service markets where it is difficult to measure by traditional means. He informed me that this methodology would help me strategize, map-out and be able to articulately sell a compelling business case in the languages that upper management would understand.

I am not going to get in depths about the BSC however; I believe you need to explore this on your own.  I highly recommend this because more and more companies are starting to implement these methodologies to improve their services and profitability. I am sure you are happy about that :  ) There is a lot of good free information but I purchased the strategy execution tool kit for $295 and it is worth every penny. (Below is a quick summary about BSC and link to their site)

About Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept was created by Drs. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992, and has been implemented in thousands of corporations, organizations, and government agencies worldwide. The Balanced Scorecard allows organizations to implement strategy rapidly and effectively by integrating the measurement system with the management system. Based on the simple premise that "measurement motivates," the Balanced Scorecard has been integral to the success of organizations throughout the world. https://www.bscol.com

I am going to discuss how the BSC changed my life and my overall perceptions for the TA world. BSC taught me to look at the TA industry and understand it from all different perspectives: employee, candidates, customer, management and financial.

For example, since the death of the industrial age and the birth of the knowledge base industry one glaring observation is that most financial measures that we all live and die by can be a lagging indicator of success. What I mean, is that the indicators could have happened last week, last month, or even years ago with no immediate control in the present. This is not an “always” statement for you finance and accounting geeks out there :  )  But when I thought about this I was floored!  I just created my first business case that would make sense to management. My goal is to improve profitability by enhancing the recruitment process, metrics and build a sustainable growing pipeline of talent. All of these are FUTURE indicators for success!

I know that human capital in most companies accounts for about 35-45% of operating expense and as a result, high impact talent plays a major force in success or failure for a company. Further more, HC is one of the few investments that can actually drive the top and bottom line dollars.

I am starting to understand the BSC methodology as it relates to the TA strategies. By focusing on creating current indicators and/or leading indicators metrics, I can create a strategy that will be compelling to upper management. NOW I have a starting point!

PART II My Talent Acquisition Strategy Mapping utilizing the Balanced Scorecard Coming Soon!