Congratulations on your new TA Leader role. Here is a guide as to how to make impact in your first 90 days.
In your first few weeks in your new Talent Acquisition leader role, you have a lot to learn and great opportunity to make impact as you build a TA strategy.
This is a crucial time for you learn more about company from the inside, begin to understand it’s business strategy, and its organizational structure.
It’s also an opportunity to dive deep into the TA function—assessing talent, processes, and team dynamics.
This is the perfect time to build your profile within the business, focusing on listening and understanding your colleagues to gain a well-rounded perspective.
Here are top 3 focus areas to set yourself up for success!
1. Aligning TA with Business Strategy
A top priority is engaging with senior leaders to grasp the company’s business strategy and future goals.
Connect with as many leaders and stakeholders as possible.
Follow the golden rule: listen more, talk less. If you’re new to the company, navigating the corporate landscape might feel overwhelming.
As you are listening to the insights from your new stakeholders, consider evaluating the current TA strategy – does it truly support the company’s broader objectives?
Additional questions to ask yourself are:
Do TA goals directly contribute to business success?
Are hiring strategies aligned to the company growth plans?
Finding potential mentors can be incredibly helpful for introductions, insights, and guidance—especially in businesses that span multiple locations or countries.
Consider having more than one mentor, each focusing on different areas of growth:
One to help you understand the organizational structure
Another for talent management (TM) guidance
A third to strengthen your leadership skills
Finding the right mentor takes time—so keep exploring until you find a solid match.
2. Understanding Organizational Design
To shape an impactful TA strategy, first, get to know how teams collaborate across departments. Real productivity happens beyond static organizational charts!
Modern companies are shifting toward Integrated Talent Management (ITM)—where TA and TM work closely together, sharing key employee data.
This means the insights gathered during hiring—such as skills, career goals, and development needs—should feed into employee training and personal development plans.
Ask these key questions:
Who are the major players in TM within the organization?
How well do TA and TM collaborate?
Do applicant tracking and talent management systems communicate effectively?
Optimizing this alignment can drive better hiring decisions and long-term employee development.
3. Evaluating Talent Acquisition Capabilities
As a TA leader, getting to know your team quickly is essential. That includes understanding the skills of individual members and how they function as a team.
Conducting team capability assessments is an effective way to identify strengths and expertise within the team and understand skills gaps that need coaching.
Make data-driven decisions by leveraging recruitment metrics and predictive analytics. This approach ensures a fair and consistent evaluation of talent, helping you navigate crucial areas like performance management, compensation, training, and career growth.
Final Thoughts
Your first weeks are all about listening, analyzing, and strategizing.
Set the foundation for strong collaboration, ensure alignment between TA and business strategy, and build a capable team ready for success.
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In this stage, the shortlisted candidates undergo rigorous evaluation through interviews and specialized assessment.
Selection & Decision →
Here, the hiring team analyses all the input from interviews and assessments to determine which candidate to hire (if any).
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In the final stage of the process, the company formally extends a job offer to the chosen candidate and negotiates terms as needed.