Hiring Manager series: What I’d love TA to be able to do for my business

This is part of a series of articles aimed at getting frank and unbiased feedback from Hiring Managers. Check out the first part here and third part here.

Getting unfiltered feedback can be one of the best ways for us to become better at what we do – and that is what this Hiring Manager series all about.

This week, we find out what our Hiring Managers would love for Talent Acquisition (TA) to be able to do for their business functions. What do you think? Use the comment section to share your thoughts!


Arti Brown
General Manager at Commonwealth Bank

Proactive recruitment is something I would love to see TA do really well.

The ability to sniff out a good candidate, sniff out a gap in the organisation, really getting in there and understanding the nature of the business, understand the evolution and come to us proactively and offer suggestions on how we can bridge the gaps in my function and what Talent do I need to help us achieve that.

To have that kind of view from the outside is really valuable to help us lift our game and I thought the results could be phenomenal.


John Kennedy
Engineering Manager at BAE Systems

Having TA very much engaged in the marketplace, prime ready to go with quality resources who we can bring in almost at an instant.

Understanding what is going on with our competitors and what is happening at the universities so they can have the grad Talent pool primed and ready to go the moment a need arises in our system – these would be key for me. 


Troy King
NSW/ACT State Operations Manager at StarTrack

If I could have TA unlimited resources, ideally I would have one direct line of report from the TA function, or at least a business partner who is dedicated to my part of the business.

This person will have a tap into what is the local Talent pool – what are they made up of, what skills do they have. They will also have a regularly updated database Talent, so if I have someone resign today, we can have a potential candidate through the door in the next day or two.

I am a big believer in diversity and inclusiveness and we are working in a very male dominated and it has been like that many years. TA can support us by helping us make a change. The differentials that people with disability or female or indigenous would bring will completely change the business dynamics and hopefully allows us to grow, become more profitable. Not to mention it will change the culture.


Bill Skelton
Enrolment Manager at RMIT Online

I would love for us to go beyond geography.

Historically we have been limited to candidates that are willing to commute to the office. If TA could truly go global, we could land larger fish with the bigger net.

Check out the rest of the Hiring Manager series – see first part here and the third part here.

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