The four ways Google uses Talent Intelligence for recruiting 

‘When used correctly, Talent Intelligence can help make companies more agile, adaptable and precise with their recruiting efforts and employee strategies’, says Joris Schoonis, Managing Director of Google Cloud Benelux. In this interview, he shares the four ways in which Google uses Talent Intelligence.

Jasper Spanjaart on September 22, 2023 Average reading time: 3 min
Share this article:
The four ways Google uses Talent Intelligence for recruiting 

The way Talent Intelligence is defined is a big part of just how it can be of benefit to any organisation. So how would Harvard-graduate Joris Schoonis, Managing Director of Google Cloud Benelux summarise what it can do for his organisation? “Talent Intelligence is an influencing force on workforce and people strategies”, he says. 

“With Talent Intelligence, we consider it just as important to analyse internal data as it is to analyse external data.”

“It combines both qualitative and quantitative data to make sure that a company is making people decisions on a strong foundation of insights. With Talent Intelligence, we consider it just as important to analyse internal data as it is to analyse external data. As companies look out at the external environment, they need to have a strong grasp of their own internal composition and metrics in order to ensure they are able to effectively operate and make data-driven decisions.”

Nuances of the market

In many labour markets across the world, understanding the nuances is a big part of any success. “We would consider using Talent Intelligence for recruiting in the Benelux just as we would use it to make sure we understand the nuances of any market we operate in”, Schoonis says. Typically, he sees four ways in which Google uses Talent Intelligence to support the recruiting and organisational goals. “These four elements where Talent Intelligence can support us ensure we’re educated on the market, have realistic expectations of what can be achieved and ensure we’re advising our business on the people aspects they need to be aware of.”

  1. Talent Research and Analysis: What is happening in the market and what trends are we seeing? Will this have an impact on the way we engage with candidates and their expectations of an employer?
  2. Site Strategy and Assessment: Does it make sense to grow our tech teams in this location? Do we have the relevant talent pools to sustainably grow our organisation?
  3. Competitive Intelligence: What information and trends are we seeing in peers and in other industries that inform our overall talent strategy in the market?
  4. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Will investing and recruiting in this market support our ambitions to build representative talent pipelines and build an inclusive company?

Resilience through insights

The world of Talent Acquisition has, by all means, been a turbulent world. In lieu of the COVID-19 crisis, the subsequent trends of remote workforces, The Great Resignation, the Quiet Quitting phenomenon and now the emphasis towards retention. “The previous few years have seen a huge amount of change for talent strategies and the ways in which companies engage with employees”, Schoonis says. 

“When used correctly, Talent Intelligence can help make companies more agile, adaptable and precise with their recruiting efforts and employee strategies.”

“I hope in 5 years’ time we can look back on this period and see how Talent Intelligence actually provided businesses with resilience and success by equipping them with insights to navigate these changes and scan the horizon for what’s around the corner. When used correctly, Talent Intelligence can help make companies more agile, adaptable and precise with their recruiting efforts and employee strategies. Fundamentally, however, we need to ensure we’re investing in our Talent Intelligence capabilities to keep us aligned with a rapidly-changing world.”

Don’t miss Google at the Talent Intelligence Conference

Catch Google (and many others) at the first-ever edition of the Global Talent Intelligence Conference. On September 27-28, Intelligence Group will organise the Talent Intelligence Conference in collaboration with ToTalentStratigens, Werf& and the Talent Intelligence Collective. Limited tickets are available, so book your tickets quickly.

Share this article:
Jasper Spanjaart

Jasper Spanjaart

Editor-in-Chief and Writer at ToTalent.eu
Editor-in-Chief and writer for European Total Talent Acquisition platform ToTalent.eu.
Watch full profile

Premium partners View all partners

Intelligence Group
Ravecruitment
RecruitAgent
Recruitment Tech
Timetohire
Werf&

Read the newsletter about total talent acquisition.