Based on some of the reading I have been doing I think this recruiting scenario may not be too far off in the future. This may be the future of talent acquisition for some companies.

Opportunity and Challenge

The company is high tech and subsequently is experiencing the effects of the “talent shortage”. The talent acquisition pros in HR have had to change their standard method of finding people to fill positions. They are having to spread their “nets” wider than looking for experience in the field. They are now looking for raw talent. They are also not looking to fill a specific job rather they are looking to fill a multitude of jobs that all require similar skill sets. They attract people on the basis of the reputation of the company. They hire raw talent.

Once the candidate is hired HR doesn’t talk to people about particular jobs they talk opportunity, challenge, learning, team and contribution. They want people to be engaged from the outset so rather than offering them a job that the company thinks the person would be suited for they offer the candidate a chance to choose the job they want.

Each manager with a position available creates a video presentation talking about team and the projects they are working on. The manager sells what the person can learn and how they will learn it. He or she talks about challenges and the opportunities to contribute. They then hear “testimonials” from the other team members and learn about the leader’s management style. Depending on the team they may be given a choice of locations from which to work.

Employees Choose Their Team

After viewing the presentations the new employee puts a bid in on the team and manager with whom they would like to work. They also make a secondary bid, in case the slots on their first choice are filled. If they are successful in getting their first choice of team they are sent links to the company’s cloud site for onboarding materials and interactive training so they will be prepared for their initial meeting with the team. Depending on the locations involved the first team meeting may be a virtual one using a Skype like system. They spend their first six weeks or so working in a training environment working on projects that provide them with the real life experiences they will need. Each team member is assigned some aspect of their training and there are daily interactions with the team leader/manager. At the end of the training they are brought onboard as a full-fledged team member and may then meet the manager in person.

Oh by the way, all the HR paperwork documentation was taken care of with a biometric file that was verified with a retinal scan.

Possible? You Decide.

So what do you think of this scenario? Possible? Or is it already being done? Do you think you will get there any time soon?