Talent Management and Recruitment: Comprehensive 5-Day Course Outline

Course Overview

Talent management and recruitment are critical strategic functions that drive organizational success in today’s competitive business landscape. This intensive 5-day professional development program provides HR professionals, hiring managers, and business leaders with cutting-edge strategies, proven methodologies, and practical tools for attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining top talent. Participants will master the complete talent lifecycle from workforce planning through succession management, incorporating modern recruitment technologies, employer branding techniques, and data-driven decision-making frameworks.

Course Objectives

Upon completing this talent management and recruitment training, participants will:

• Develop strategic workforce planning and talent acquisition strategies

• Master modern recruitment techniques and candidate sourcing methods

• Implement effective selection and assessment processes

• Design competitive compensation and benefits packages

• Create comprehensive onboarding and employee development programs

• Apply performance management and succession planning frameworks

• Utilize HR analytics and recruitment technology platforms

• Build employer branding and employee value proposition strategies

Day 1: Strategic Talent Management and Workforce Planning

Morning Session: Introduction to Talent Management

Duration: 3 hours

This foundational session explores strategic talent management concepts and their alignment with organizational objectives. Participants examine the shift from traditional personnel management to strategic talent management and understand the business impact of effective talent strategies.

Key Learning Points:

• Talent management definition and evolution

• The talent management lifecycle: attract, select, develop, retain, transition

• Strategic alignment: linking talent strategy to business goals

• Talent management models and frameworks

• The war for talent: current trends and challenges

• Global talent mobility and remote workforce considerations

• Building a talent management culture

• Case studies: successful talent management transformations

Afternoon Session: Workforce Planning and Talent Analytics

Duration: 3 hours

Participants learn systematic workforce planning methodologies that forecast talent needs, identify skill gaps, and develop proactive talent acquisition strategies. This session introduces HR analytics and metrics that drive informed talent decisions.

Workforce Planning Components:

• Strategic workforce planning process

• Current state analysis: headcount, demographics, turnover

• Future state forecasting: business growth, retirements, market changes

• Gap analysis: skills, competencies, capacity

• Talent supply chain management

• Scenario planning and contingency strategies

• HR metrics and analytics: time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, quality-of-hire

• Predictive analytics for talent forecasting

Workshop Activity:
Conduct workforce planning analysis for a case study organization including gap identification and talent acquisition strategy development

Day 2: Modern Recruitment Strategies and Sourcing Techniques

Morning Session: Recruitment Strategy Development

Duration: 3 hours

This session teaches participants to design comprehensive recruitment strategies that attract high-quality candidates efficiently. Learn to define ideal candidate profiles, establish recruitment workflows, and select appropriate sourcing channels.

Strategic Recruitment Elements:

• Job analysis and competency modeling

• Creating compelling job descriptions and specifications

• Candidate persona development

• Recruitment process mapping and optimization

• Internal recruitment vs. external hiring decisions

• Recruitment marketing fundamentals

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in recruitment

• Recruitment budget allocation and ROI measurement

Afternoon Session: Candidate Sourcing and Attraction Methods

Duration: 3 hours

Participants master diverse candidate sourcing techniques including active sourcing, passive candidate engagement, social recruiting, and employee referral programs. This session covers modern platforms and tools that expand talent pool reach.

Sourcing Channels and Techniques:

• Job boards: Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, Glassdoor, niche platforms

• Social media recruiting: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

• Boolean search techniques for candidate identification

• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): functionality and optimization

• Employee referral programs: design and incentive structures

• Campus recruitment: university partnerships and graduate programs

• Recruitment agencies: when and how to leverage external partners

• Talent communities: building candidate pipelines

• Passive candidate engagement strategies

Hands-on Exercise:
Create a multi-channel sourcing strategy and conduct Boolean searches on LinkedIn to identify candidates for specific roles

Day 3: Selection, Assessment, and Interviewing Excellence

Morning Session: Candidate Screening and Assessment Tools

Duration: 3 hours

This critical session explores evidence-based selection methods that predict job performance and cultural fit. Participants evaluate various assessment tools and learn to design comprehensive evaluation processes.

Assessment Methods:

• Resume and application screening techniques

• Pre-employment assessments: cognitive, personality, skills tests

• Behavioral assessment tools: DISC, Myers-Briggs, Hogan

• Technical skills evaluation and work sample tests

• Assessment centers and situational judgment tests

• Reference checking best practices

• Background verification and due diligence

• Legal compliance: avoiding discrimination and bias

• Assessment validation and reliability

Afternoon Session: Structured Interviewing Techniques

Duration: 3 hours

Participants develop advanced interviewing skills using behavioral, competency-based, and situational interview methodologies. Learn to design interview guides, ask effective questions, and evaluate candidate responses objectively.

Interviewing Frameworks:

• Structured vs. unstructured interview approaches

• Behavioral interviewing: STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result)

• Competency-based questions: targeting specific skills

• Situational interviews: hypothetical scenario responses

• Interview panel composition and coordination

• Avoiding common interviewing biases and errors

• Note-taking and candidate evaluation scorecards

• Virtual interviewing best practices: Zoom, Teams, HireVue

• Candidate experience optimization throughout the process

Role-Playing Practice:
Conduct mock interviews using structured behavioral and competency-based questioning techniques with peer feedback

Day 4: Employer Branding, Onboarding, and Employee Development

Morning Session: Employer Branding and Employee Value Proposition

Duration: 3 hours

This session teaches participants to build compelling employer brands that attract top talent and reduce recruitment costs. Learn to articulate unique employee value propositions (EVP) and leverage digital platforms for brand promotion.

Employer Branding Strategy:

• Employer brand definition and importance

• Employee Value Proposition (EVP) development

• Employer brand audit: current perception vs. desired state

• Career website optimization and content strategy

• Glassdoor, Indeed, and employer review management

• Social media brand building: LinkedIn company pages, Instagram

• Employee advocacy programs

• Recruitment marketing campaigns

• Measuring employer brand strength: awareness, reputation, attraction

Afternoon Session: Onboarding and Talent Development

Duration: 3 hours

Participants design comprehensive onboarding programs that accelerate new hire productivity and engagement. This session covers the complete onboarding journey from pre-boarding through the first year, plus ongoing talent development strategies.

Onboarding Excellence:

• Strategic onboarding vs. orientation

• Pre-boarding: engagement before day one

• First day, first week, first 90 days frameworks

• Onboarding technology platforms: BambooHR, Workday

• Buddy systems and mentorship programs

• Cultural integration and socialization

• New hire performance tracking and check-ins

• Ongoing learning and development programs

• Career pathing and internal mobility

• Learning Management Systems (LMS): implementation and utilization

Workshop Activity:
Design a 90-day onboarding plan including milestones, touchpoints, resources, and success metrics

Day 5: Retention, Performance Management, and Succession Planning

Morning Session: Employee Retention and Engagement Strategies

Duration: 3 hours

This session explores evidence-based retention strategies that reduce turnover costs and maintain organizational knowledge. Participants learn to identify retention risks, conduct stay interviews, and implement targeted retention initiatives.

Retention Framework:

• Turnover analysis: voluntary vs. involuntary, regrettable vs. non-regrettable

• Root cause analysis: exit interview insights

• Stay interviews: proactive retention conversations

• Employee engagement drivers and measurement

• Total rewards strategy: compensation, benefits, recognition

• Work-life balance and flexible work arrangements

• Career development and growth opportunities

• Recognition programs and appreciation strategies

• Retention risk scoring and predictive analytics

Afternoon Session: Performance Management and Succession Planning

Duration: 3 hours

The final session covers integrated performance management systems and succession planning frameworks that ensure leadership continuity and organizational resilience. Participants learn to identify high-potential employees and create development pathways.

Performance and Succession Topics:

• Modern performance management approaches: continuous feedback vs. annual reviews

• Goal setting: OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), SMART goals

• Performance calibration and rating systems

• Performance improvement plans (PIPs)

• Succession planning process: identifying critical roles

• High-potential (HiPo) identification and development

• Leadership pipeline development

• 9-box grid talent assessment

• Individual Development Plans (IDPs)

• Knowledge transfer and retention strategies

Capstone Project:
Participants present an integrated talent management strategy covering recruitment, selection, onboarding, development, retention, and succession planning for a specific organizational context

Course Synthesis:

• Integration of all talent management components

• Technology stack recommendations

• Measuring talent management ROI

• Future trends: AI in recruitment, gig economy, skills-based hiring

• Personal action plan development

• Certification exam preparation

• Professional networking and community building

Course Deliverables

Participants receive comprehensive resources including:

• Talent management framework templates

• Job description and interview guide templates

• Assessment tools and scorecards

• Onboarding checklist and timelines

• Retention strategy toolkit

• HR metrics dashboard templates

• Course completion certificate

• Access to online resource library

Target Audience

This course is designed for HR professionals, talent acquisition specialists, recruiters, hiring managers, HR business partners, talent development managers, HR directors, people operations leaders, and business owners responsible for building and managing workforce capabilities across industries including technology, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail, and professional services.

Prerequisites

No specific prerequisites required. Basic understanding of human resources principles beneficial. Participants from organizations of all sizes—startups to large enterprises—will gain applicable insights.

Transform your talent management and recruitment capabilities to build high-performing teams and sustainable competitive advantage.