Talent Acquisition Tips & Takes with Amy Weber
Companies must do their best to attract, retain, and develop top talent while also navigating the complexities of a diverse and dynamic workforce to succeed. This requires that recruiters understand not only the changing demands of the job market but also implement innovative strategies to ensure fair and effective hiring processes that propel the business forward. As businesses continue to grow and adapt, the importance of leveraging technology becomes more and more evident.
Amy Weber, most recently the Director of Talent Acquisition at Dent Wizard International, knows just how important it is to incorporate creativity, training, and new tools into a successful HR department. Amy has been a frequent advocate for using assessments, not only for hiring new candidates but enabling the best use and positioning of current employees as well. Needs often change, but holding on to an employee with the right characteristics for the company benefits everyone.
We spoke with her about some of the key trends, challenges, and best practices for building a future-ready workforce. Read on to hear more of her insights and recommendations.
Can you share any specific areas of focus in your HR career?
Talent Acquisition and Corporate Recruitment is where I’ve spent my HR career. During my years, I’ve recruited for a wide range of profiles and skills. I have been an individual contributor, team manager and director, and I’ve spent the past 7-8 years focused on Executive Recruiting.
What skills do you think have been critical to your success?
In my heart, I thrive on the hunt, seeking out those who could align with the profile or description the company seeks. I am curious and have been told I ask great questions. I take copious notes when talking to someone and find that my favorite day at work is when a role is scoped and discussed and I can immediately think of a couple of folks I’ve already approached and engaged with to contact immediately.
How do you keep your skillset competitive? Are there any specific tools you’ve found to be particularly helpful?
I read and follow thought leaders in the talent realm and I engage with comments or follow-up discussions sent for one-on-one exchanges. Most recently, I was in a role that had me conducting research and comparing TA-related tools. The scope and nature of the role permitted time to dig deep into the science vs. art approach to interviewing.
How do you keep up with the evolving HR and Talent Acquisition landscape? Any assets that help you stay ahead of the curve?
I find my rich network of TA and HR pros are a community willing to share and engage when I’ve asked for their input, opinion or support. I balance some of the long-standing content creators with people fresher in their TA careers as well as those who have the battle-tested experience across professional, hourly, and executive roles.
What excites you most about the future of HR and Talent Acquisition?
As the labor pool shrinks overall and with nearly 2 generations of students almost exclusively being educated with ‘college prep’ in mind, I am fascinated by how we as a country will fill so many meaningful and needed roles in the skilled trades. It will require creativity and training, hiring for aptitude and attitude vs. previous exposure and will have many fits and starts, but the companies that get to solutions now will have an amazing competitive edge as we continue to see so many long-standing skilled tradespeople retire and/or leave the workforce.
You have a passion for hiring assessments – what are the top use cases you’ve found?
When a company is going to enroll new hires into a centralized or structured training program, use these programs from the start to teach a skill or set of skills. To me, the most critical part of whether one will stick with the training as a newly hired professional is if the selected pathway and role matches who they are as an individual, personality and strengths wise.
If a candidate can learn early in the exploration and engagement phase that they possess the aptitude towards their desired role, all the better. Similarly, if a company discovers the personal characteristics that spell success in a role, they can leverage that knowledge to uncover broader and more diverse candidate pools to market to and select from.
What best practices have you discovered for organizations using assessments?
When multiple candidates are assessed across specific core criteria (as a framework followed during a structured interview process), interview panels or multiple interviewers are able to debrief with evidence discovered and can more accurately compare candidates 1, 2, and 3.
Often, unsolicited, candidates report how the questions felt thoughtful and allowed them to provide pointed answers, showcasing their experiences and passion.
How are you building a future-ready workforce?
I think assessments might be a strong weapon in future readiness. Said another way, in a company today, you have hundreds or thousands of employees who already know you. Having assessment results could help the company’s involuntary attrition if when a person does not fit one job, but can fit several others, allowing them to move internally and stay. Similarly, having assessment results can help as needs shift, jobs change or get automated by investing in folks with the core characteristics for success in their next or different role.
How do you balance data-based talent decisions with your instinct as an HR professional?
I’ve received feedback from leaders who have interviewed for decades then tried a structured approach to interviewing or evaluated a job-based personality assessment and they move from skeptic to supporter nearly immediately. The sooner HR professionals demonstrate a data-driven approach to hiring, the quicker business leaders will embrace it, as it mirrors how other data-driven business decisions can catapult a company forward in growth.
What’s one piece of advice you’ve received in your career that everyone should know?
People never forget the way you made them feel. Or as my grandmother once offered, “Be kind to each other.”
For more talent acquisition and recruiting tips from leading HR experts, click here.