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HR Unlocked: Stories, Trends and Insights - Aligning talent acquisition with business strategy

​Welcome to the second edition of HR Unlocked: stories, trends, and insights, a monthly series designed to empower Talent Acquisition (TA) and HR leaders. Whether you're navigating evolving workforce dynamics, striving to align TA with business objectives, or looking for fresh perspectives, this series will deliver actionable insights - with a dash of fun along the way.

​I’m Dave Procter, Director of Talent Advisory at The IN Group. In this edition, we’re exploring a fundamental question: How is your TA function contributing to your organisation’s success today - and how could it do more tomorrow? Let’s break it down.

Why Talent Acquisition matters more than ever

As a TA or HR professional, you already know the value you bring, but convincing the Board can be another story. Even if your current leadership team is engaged, many TA leaders know the struggle of securing that elusive seat at the table. The truth is, Talent Acquisition is a critical driver of business success, and we need to get better at articulating that impact. Let’s look at it from two powerful angles:

  1. The numbers don’t lie

    Boards love data, so let’s give them some. Imagine your company has 1,000 employees, and you’re forecasting 10% headcount growth next year. Add in 15% attrition, and suddenly your TA team is responsible for 250 hires — 22.7% of the future workforce. In one year, more than 1 in 5 people in the business will have come through TA. That’s an enormous opportunity to either fuel or hinder growth.

  2. CEO priorities are clear

    You’ve heard the phrase, “Our people are our most important asset.” But it’s more than a platitude. According to research from Gartner, McKinsey, and Bain, securing the right talent ranks as a top priority for CEOs, especially in volatile, fast-changing markets. The ability to attract and retain the right people is what enables organisations to adapt, innovate, and outpace competitors.

The first step: understand the business

​If you want TA to be seen as strategic, you need a strategy. But before you start drafting, there are two critical steps to take:

  1. Know the CEO’s business strategy

  • How does the company generate revenue? What are the most profitable business areas? What are the CEO’s top priorities for the next 3-5 years?

  1. Understand the CPO’s people strategy

  • What talent initiatives are coming up? How will workforce planning evolve? Your TA strategy should seamlessly roll up into the broader people agenda.

Without these insights, it’s impossible to craft a meaningful TA strategy that drives business performance - and without alignment, it’s even harder to win leadership buy-in.

​From tactical to strategic: the TA opportunity

To influence the Board, TA leaders must move beyond operational metrics like CVs submitted or time-to-hire. Instead, we need to measure and communicate the business impact of hiring decisions. Ask yourself:

  • Which hires directly contributed to revenue growth?

  • Who helped drive cost savings or execute key transformation programs?

  • How has your talent pipeline influenced customer retention or digital innovation?

If you don’t yet have this data, it’s worth exploring ways to capture it. TA leaders who can link talent outcomes to business performance will position themselves as true strategic partners.

Introducing the strategic TA framework

Once you’ve aligned with business and people strategies, it’s time to shape your TA framework. Think of it as a three-part playbook:

  1. Vision: How does TA enable the organisation to achieve its goals?

  2. Strategy: What are the key initiatives to transform TA into a strategic driver of success?

  3. Metrics: How will you measure success and prove TA’s impact on the bottom line?

Interestingly, my current MBA research highlights a glaring gap: while there’s a wealth of data on marketing’s business impact, research on TA’s contribution to business outcomes is unsurprisingly sparse. That makes it even more important for us as TA leaders to champion a data-led approach.

Meeting the CEO: Your elevator pitch

Imagine bumping into your CEO in the hallway. When they ask what you do, how would you respond? Think of your strategic TA framework as your elevator pitch:

  • CEO: “What do you do?”
    Your vision for TA, distilled into a single sentence that aligns with the CEO’s goals.

  • CEO: “That sounds great. How will you do it?”
    Your strategy, summarised in a clear, concise, and memorable way.

  • CEO: “How will I know if you’ve succeeded?”
    Your metrics, tied directly to business performance.

Mastering this narrative is key. When TA leaders can confidently articulate their impact in business terms, they stop being seen as a back-office function — and start being recognised as indispensable strategic partners.

​What’s Next?

​Next time, we’ll dive into the practicalities of designing your TA framework and structuring the strategy that will take your function to the next level. Until then, reflect on how you can start capturing data, telling a compelling story, and positioning TA as a vital engine of business growth.

Dave Procter is Director of Talent Advisory at The IN Group, where he partners with organizations to transform their talent acquisition strategies. His upcoming MBA research focuses on quantifying the business impact of strategic talent acquisition.

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