What are the best practices for recruiting, engaging, and retaining digital talent?

Recruitment: Define clear requirements, use multiple channels, promote your brand. Engagement: Offer challenging work, provide autonomy, invest in development. Retention: Competitive compensation, positive environment, career growth, recognition, and feedback.

It is also important to consider long-term workforce planning. Once you identify skills and experiences needed in the short term, gain knowledge of the goals and priorities for the future. Getting a head start on the future needs for talent will help to create a proactive recruiting function and impact key metrics like source to seat/time to fill. Last, plan for future attrition, as you are considering the type of talent you will need to hire, be intentional to consider the type of talent you may lose due to attrition.

Clear Job Descriptions: Clearly define roles & responsibilities Competitive Compensation: Offer competitive salaries & benefits Remote Work Flexibility: Embrace remote work options to attract diverse talent Continuous Learning: Support ongoing skill development & certifications Inclusive Culture: Foster an environment where diverse perspectives are valued Meaningful Work: Provide challenging projects & opportunities for innovation Regular Feedback: Offer constructive feedback & recognition for achievements Work-Life Balance: Promote a healthy work-life balance to prevent burnout Career Growth: Outline clear paths for advancement & opportunities for promotion Employee Well-being: Prioritize mental & physical well-being initiatives

Don't forget to look at candidates that are looking for contract opportunities as well as those that want full time employment. Bringing on a contractor with exceptional skills may fill an urgent need, buying you time to find the right person for a permanent position.

Talent attraction and retention truly are an art, and your perspective on talent development resonates well. The homegrown approach, connecting with schools, ensures a continuous influx of top talent. However, in today's dynamic landscape, digital talent is everywhere, not just confined to academic institutions. A savvy recruiter should pivot towards skill hiring rather than degree hiring to navigate this competitive and challenging market effectively. It's about identifying and nurturing the right skills for a digital-ready workforce.

This goes beyond digital talent, but help leaders focus on outcomes and hold activity with an open hand. This is a hard shift for a lot of leaders, but digital talent especially will move on if they sense they are walking into an environment where how, when, and where the work gets done is highly controlled. This also happens to be an area where locking that down makes the least sense. Not only does this audience have the highest acumen with digital tools, but the work they do often is ideal for flexible working. And, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have limit “flexibility” to remote or not. Take time to get to know the talent and figure out what they need and how they work best.

In essence, leaders should shift their focus to outcomes rather than controlling how, when, and where work is done, especially when dealing with digital talent. Digital professionals thrive with flexibility, so it's counterproductive to micromanage them. Trust their expertise, give them autonomy, and measure success by results, not by rigid processes. This approach aligns with the nature of digital work and can foster a more innovative and productive environment.

To build a digital-ready culture: 1)Prioritize leadership commitment. 2)Develop digital skills. 3)Empower employees to innovate. 4)Foster open communication. 5)Focus on customer-centricity. 6)Embrace data-driven decision-making. 7)Encourage agility and collaboration. 8)Promote a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.

Creating a digital-ready culture is essential. Encourage an atmosphere where curiosity and experimentation are valued. Invest in the latest technology to support your team's work and emphasize the importance of data security. This not only attracts digital talent but also fosters a workplace that's innovative and forward-thinking.

This is something that is so important! How a person views you and perceives you is THEIR reality. So if you have no digital presence, let alone zero collaboration, knowledge sharing and tools in place, you will convince that candidate that this isn't important to you...then they will ask themselves "what other backwards and antiquated things do they have in place"??? Hmmm 🤔

1. Identify high-potential talent from universities, alumni, competitors, and online communities. 2. Engage with potential candidates by providing relevant information, insights, and experiences. 3. Maintain regular contact and communication to nurture relationships. 4. Monitor and evaluate candidate progress and readiness for future roles. 5. Showcase your organization's value proposition to attract top digital talent.

Regularly review and adjust your strategies for engaging digital talent. Use feedback from your team to identify what's working and what's not. Tracking key performance indicators helps you see the direct impact of your efforts on recruitment, retention, and engagement, allowing for timely adjustments to keep your strategies effective.