1. Predict future talent trends:

Keeping a close eye on the external talent market, particularly in unrepresentative candidate pools or those requiring niche skills, allows companies to better predict and prepare for any future talent shortages and consider alternative skills or backgrounds that could be moulded to fit the role or to ‘grow their own’. Being equipped with this knowledge puts one at a significant advantage in comparison to competitors. It gives hiring teams time to create and put in place effective strategies to negate these issues.

2. Assess and build upon EVP:

Businesses are paying an increasing amount of attention to understanding how their brand is being perceived within the market. Talent mapping projects often involve a brand perception analysis of the prospective employer. This involves collecting insights into how candidates perceive the brand and how it compares to that of competitors. This inside knowledge will support the efforts of establishing and building upon a strong EVP – a practice essential for attracting quality candidates.

3. Gather competitive intelligence:

Talent mapping is not restricted to candidate-specific insights. It also provides talent leaders with valuable intelligence on their competitors. For example, talent maps often provide a holistic view of organisational structures, reporting lines, as well as compensation and benefits trends. This acts as a useful benchmarking tool for organisational design and talent development planning.

4. Quality hires:

Talent mapping projects provide recruiters with insight into the past and predicted future career paths of their desired talent pool. As would be expected, most top candidates are already in stable employment. Obtaining a better understanding of their motivation for a move or their views on the type of company and role they would seek next are, therefore, extremely valuable.

5. Efficient turnover:

Instead of taking a passive approach to hiring and waiting for top talent to approach you, talent mapping and subsequently succession planning begins candidate engagement at a very early stage in the hiring process. This makes it easier for an organisation to build relationships and secure future hires so that, when the time arises, candidates can be placed more easily even within restrictive time periods.

Learn more about Wilbury Stratton’s talent mapping service.