The partnership between Talent Acquisition & Reward

Consider the following scenarios:

• Scenario 1: You’re in the Talent Acquisition (TA) team. You just got off a call with Reward and have never rolled your eyes so hard.
• Scenario 2: You’re in the Reward team. Your latest conversation with TA makes you want to scream into a pillow.

Does this sound familiar? We’ve all been there 😅

But here’s the thing. A productive working relationship between the TA & Reward teams can unlock some of the most powerful outcomes in your hiring process. Read on for some tips to foster a collaborative environment:

Understanding each team’s role

This may seem obvious but the solid foundation of a true partnership is understanding. Knowing more about each team’s roles, responsibilities and objectives paves the way for better discussions. It is also crucial to prevent teams working in silos, which can have a negative impact on your process. This shouldn’t be a one-time approach: don’t forget to think about on-going touchpoints such as education and training on the reward offering or giving advance notice on any process changes for example.

Align goals and objectives

You now have a better understanding of each other’s roles - success! Next step is aligning your goals. Ultimately, both teams tend to have a common goal when it comes to hiring which is typically a version of attracting top talent while offering competitive rewards that are fair to external candidates as well as existing employees. Get together to set out what goals each team has, how they overlap and how they can best sync up.

The internal process: review, iterate, repeat

Internal processes can make or break working partnerships. Take some time to review what works and what doesn’t. Can you fix anything that’s manual and prone to error? Is it possible to minimise tools or approval layers? Is all your TA/ Reward information in one single place? The more “hidden friction” you remove from the process the more your teams will be able to focus on meeting their hiring goals. Assess feedback on the process often and iterate repeatedly - your hiring and business needs will evolve over time and so should your process.

Enhancing candidate experience

Having the best employee value proposition you can is of no value to candidates unless they know about it. Communicating transparently and consistently about your reward offering during hiring is crucial to set clear expectations and attract top talent. Think through how both teams can collaborate to make this happen and keep each other informed. Perhaps it’s working together on your careers page, the creation of reward documents that outline what’s on offer or having an internal TA/ Reward information hub. Look for ways to provide a clear unified message during the hiring process that will follow talent as they onboard into the company.

Listen to each other: assume positive intent

Open lines of feedback are an important measure of success in any working relationship. If you’re starting your partnership journey, a top tip to embrace constructive feedback is to assume positive intent by default. It can be hard to do but it’s a powerful way of seeking to understand what’s being said and reframe your response. Make sure you have regular catch ups between the teams and that everyone knows who to go to for questions or suggestions. Are you implementing something new? Keep each other updated and give each other notice so processes can be adjusted. As you navigate your partnership, celebrate your wins and be open about the opportunities for improvement.

Happy partnering! If you’re looking at ways to improve your internal processes, here’s how Dotti can help: we’ll help you automate your offer process and easily manage access levels, reporting and approvals. Sign up to the waitlist below.