How should we be looking for digital talent?

Sue Brooks

Employers often don’t know what kind of digital talent they are looking for. Sue Brooks explains what recruiters can do to help

As the world of technology evolves at an ever faster rate, it is perhaps finally beginning to dawn on many businesses that having employees capable of being innovative in a digital space could be the difference between success and failure. These essential employees are often portrayed as a group of young computer literates known as ‘digital talent’. Sourcing this new group has recently become almost the holy grail of the resourcing industry.

However as the war to recruit this new generation hots up, businesses are often forgetting to question why they are looking for ‘digital talent’. What specific business goals are they hoping to achieve? Or are they only looking because everyone else is? Although many executive boards claim to need this talent, they may not always be clear what it is defined by.

So how can recruitment professionals solve this problem if the clients themselves, whether they are internal or external, are unsure what they want?

A resourcing expert should not just be a talent spotter, but a consultant. This means they must work with their clients to identify what their specific targets are, and along with HR teams, establish a clear definition of what ‘digital talent’ actually means to them.

It is also important to avoid giving this generation too much of a rigid framework in terms of appearance, age and background. Since we must all be digital, a digital element must be incorporated into every talent search, rather than dividing it into pure technical or commercial roles. In order to succeed in a technological landscape, a whole company must adopt a digital attitude, and not simply have a technical department. 

Another issue for resourcing professionals is how to engage with candidates in a digital era. We are currently going through the age of the smartphone, on which, according to Google, 88% of last year’s job searches were carried out. Using digital platforms to engage with candidates must become a vital part of the recruitment process.

However, while many companies are quick to acknowledge this and switch to these platforms, many fall into the trap of using them simply as one-way broadcast media. If you are only using social media outlets to post jobs and advertise the company, then you may find you miss out on candidates that are truly digitally immersed.

In order to find this talent, resourcing professionals must interact with candidates, by commenting on issues within the relevant sector and building the company as a thought leader. Resourcing professionals must employ long-term strategies of building talent pools and pipelining target individuals so their clients always have the supply to meet the high demand.

The companies who will continue to thrive in the rapidly changing world of technology are likely to be those who have adopted a digital culture throughout all departments of their workforce. As resourcing professionals, this means technical proficiency must be incorporated into every element of the sourcing process. If we can build talent pipelines providing digitally innovative people for all roles within the businesses we work in, then those clients will continue to feel the creative benefit far into the future. 

Sue Brooks is executive vice president at Pinstripe & Ochre House