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The New Dictionary of Hiring

Talent Competitor

/TAL-UHNT KUHM-PET-I-TER/
  NOUN

A Talent Competitor is any employer the people you need might choose instead, whether or not it sells what you sell.

MEANING

Your biggest commercial competitor might never hire your engineers. The bank across town might.

‍

People choose between employers based on the jobs they could actually do, not the industry codes in a competitive analysis. Study the places your target talent might plausibly work. Otherwise you may spend months comparing yourself to companies that aren't competing with you for people at all.

Defined by:
James Ellis,
Employer Brand Labs
Category:
The Talent Market
The New Dictionary of Hiring card: Talent Competitor, noun. Any employer the people you need might choose instead, whether or not it sells what you sell. Abstract iridescent glass shape on a white background.

MAKE THE CHANGE

Instead of:
Recruiting competitor. Assuming commercial competitors are automatically talent competitors.
Ask:
Where else could the people we need plausibly choose to work?

EXAMPLE

A candidate rejects an offer to stay at a company that sells entirely different products. That company was a serious talent competitor, even though it never appeared on the commercial competitor list.

HOW TO USE IT

Ask candidates and employees which other employers they seriously considered. Audit those organizations' opportunities and promises, regardless of their industry, before deciding how to differentiate yours.

SAY IT TO LEADERSHIP

Our biggest competitors for customers aren't necessarily our biggest competitors for people. We need to know where the talent we want would actually choose to work.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH

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James Ellis
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