Game over or success? The difference is talent acquisition.

Posted by: Matt Rivera

While the world is changing at fever pitch, the one thing that remains constant is the need for good people. Without good talent acquisition processes, this lingering recession hangover could spell GAME OVER for many companies, even those in booming industries like interactive entertainment.

A recent example is the story of Electronic Arts (EA). EA is the gaming giant that gave us the Madden NFL Football dynasty among many others. The company has more than 30 years of experience and success, and it is probably for sale.

Why? That’s difficult to say exactly. But one thing that is clear is that a company like EA relies heavily on the people it employs to come up with new game titles, updates to its game franchises, and strategies to keep the company relevant (and profitable). That means that talent acquisition has to be a priority, along with retaining good people.

So if EA, or any company for that matter, finds its current talent acquisition strategies are not working, or if it is simply looking for new recruiting strategies, what should it do? Here are a few suggestions from my days behind a game console:

1. Press reset: Sometimes the best thing to do is to start over. You might lose a few points in the short term, but you start fresh with a new set of lives and a plan that comes from what you’ve learned in the past. Rethink your workforce planning and recruiting strategies and don’t be afraid to start over or try new things.
2. Just one more quarter: If you just keep chucking quarters into the machine, doing the same things over and over expecting a new high score, you’ve defined insanity. Set goals for your talent acquisition strategies, and give them some time, but be ready to make changes if things are not working.
3. Boost your power: In most games you have to earn lives or power boosts by completing quests or finishing a level. In the real world, you can bring in outside resources to help you wherever and whenever you need it. For more talent acquisition power, look to recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) to help augment the resources you have or to super-power parts of your sourcing process.

We’ll have to wait and see what will happen to EA. But even in its weakened state, it is still one of the largest video game publishers in the world. Now is the time for the company to capitalize on its name and reputation to rebuild its recruiting infrastructure before it’s too late.

If your company is in a similar position, you should be doing the same thing. Planning for 2013 should include talent acquisition strategies and a range of options in case the first plan doesn’t work. With the continuing unpredictability of the economy, companies need to be ready for big spikes, both up and down.