Talent Strategy — Full Course Syllabus

Practical, atomic skills for talent acquisition specialists to plan workforce needs, create hiring roadmaps, and partner effectively with hiring stakeholders.

1. 1. Workforce Planning — goal framingDefining the hiring goals to support business objectives and intended outcomes for a planning cycle.
2. 2. Headcount Forecasting (baseline)Estimating current and likely future full-time headcount needs using baseline attrition and growth assumptions.
3. 3. Attrition Rate CalculationComputing voluntary and involuntary attrition rates over a period to inform replacement hiring.
4. 4. Hiring Velocity MetricsMeasuring time-based throughput metrics (time-to-fill, time-to-offer) for evaluating hiring speed.
5. 5. Role Intake Form — essentialsCollecting atomic role information from hiring managers including mission, must-have skills, and success metrics.
6. 6. Sourcing Channel PlanDefining which sourcing channels (referrals, job boards, agencies, outreach) to use per role and why.
7. 7. Candidate Funnel TrackingMonitoring counts at each funnel stage (applied, screened, interviewed, offered, accepted) per role.
8. 8. Stakeholder MappingIdentifying and documenting who influences hiring decisions and their levels of authority and interest.
9. 9. RACI for HiringApplying a RACI matrix to clarify who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed in hiring steps.
10. 10. Hiring Manager Enablement — one-pagerCreating a concise briefing document for hiring managers that outlines role objectives and interview plan.
11. 11. Candidate Experience ChecklistA sequence of touchpoints and quality checks to ensure a consistent, positive candidate journey.
12. 12. Agency Partnership BriefA minimal, role-specific brief to set expectations and KPIs when engaging external recruiting agencies.
13. 13. Referral Program ActivationTactics to launch or boost employee referral sourcing for target roles.
14. 14. Stakeholder Communication CadenceDesigning recurring updates (content, frequency, audience) to keep hiring stakeholders informed.
15. 15. Cost-per-Hire CalculationComputing hiring cost components (advertising, agency fees, recruiter time) per filled role.
16. 16. Inclusive Job Description ChecklistElement-level guidance to write job descriptions that reduce exclusionary language and barriers.
17. 17. Onboarding Handoff PacketThe minimal recruiter-to-people-ops packet that ensures new hire info and expectations transfer smoothly.
18. 18. Demand vs. Capacity MappingMapping hiring demand by role against recruiter and interview capacity to prioritize requisitions.
19. 19. Hiring Priority MatrixUsing a matrix to rank requisitions by impact and urgency to sequence hiring work.
20. 20. Hiring Roadmap — timeline artifactCreating a time-phased plan showing when roles will be opened, interviewed, and onboarded.
21. 21. Pipeline SegmentationSplitting candidate pipelines by skillset, seniority, and diversity dimensions for targeted outreach.
22. 22. Interview Calibration SessionRunning structured meetings to align interviewers on competencies, scorecards, and evaluation standards.
23. 23. Scorecard Design (competency-based)Defining measurable competencies and rating scales used to evaluate candidates consistently.
24. 24. Structured Interview QuestioningWriting behaviorally-anchored, role-specific interview questions mapped to scorecard competencies.
25. 25. Bias Mitigation TechniquesPractical steps (blind resume review, standardized scoring) to reduce bias in sourcing and interviewing.
26. 26. Offer Strategy — win conditionsIdentifying non-compensation and compensation levers and their order to increase offer acceptance probability.
27. 27. Escalation Path for Hiring DelaysDefining who to escalate to and when when requisitions miss planned milestones.
28. 28. Recruiter Workload BalancingTechniques to distribute requisitions and sourcing tasks across recruiters to maintain velocity.
29. 29. SLA for Hiring ProcessesSetting service-level agreements for stages like initial screen, interview scheduling, and offer turnaround.
30. 30. Basic People Analytics DashboardChoosing a small set of hiring KPIs and visualizing them for stakeholders to track progress.
31. 31. Quality-of-Hire MetricsDefining and measuring early hire success indicators such as retention and hiring manager satisfaction.
32. 32. Diversity Hiring Goals SettingTranslating organizational diversity aims into concrete, measurable hiring goals for pipelines and sourcing.
33. 33. Negotiation Playbook — concessionsA short decision tree listing approved concessions and escalation steps during offer negotiations.