What is the 'Truly Excellent Talent' Companies Seek? The Reality and Hopes Faced by HR
An Era Where Recruitment 'Success' and 'Failure' Determine a Company's Fate
We can't find talent. Even if they join, they don't stay. They leave sooner than expected.
There isn't a day that goes by without hearing such voices from today's HR professionals.
2026. The recruitment market has become a 'turning point between winning and losing.'
With the rise of remote work, side jobs, and AI, values regarding work have diversified.
Job sites are saturated, and individuals are talking about their own market value on social media.
The era where companies chose candidates has completely shifted to an era where candidates choose companies.
In the past, HR only needed to post job ads, interview applicants, and hand them over to the department after they joined.
But it's different now. If HR makes a hiring mistake, the business itself stagnates.
The number of employees quitting within three months of joining is increasing, and the decline in retention rates is hitting training costs directly.
Pressure from management has intensified, and recruitment activities have become 'strategy' itself.
'They have the skills, but they ruin the atmosphere.'
'Their resume is impeccable, but they have a strong tendency to blame others.'
'They have enthusiasm, but their direction is wrong.'
Such discrepancies gradually erode organizational trust.
What is being questioned now is not the excellence of a resume, but the essence of 'whether we can build a future with this person.'
Whether or not one can see through to that determines the capability of HR.
The 'Definition' of Excellent Talent Has Changed
In the past, excellent talent was 'someone who is experienced, logical, serious, and can work for a long time.'
However, that definition has now almost collapsed.
In today's rapidly changing world, flexibility and speed to absorb change hold more value than past achievements.
The waves of change, such as digitalization, AI implementation, organizational flattening, and remote management, are constant.
Success experiences from a few years ago are no longer just 'inapplicable'; they can even become a brake on change.
Truly excellent talent focuses on 'how they can evolve amidst change' rather than status or stability.
And to not fear that change, the power to keep learning = reskilling mindset is essential.
Even more important are EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and SQ (Social Intelligence).
Most team breakdowns and resignations start not from a lack of ability, but from friction in human relationships.
Someone who can accept others' opinions, respect different values, and speak from the other person's perspective.
Without such talent, an organization cannot function no matter how high the skills are.
Also, in the modern age, one's 'social media persona' is also subject to evaluation.
In an era where individual posts are directly linked to corporate branding, HR must even look at a candidate's 'online behavior.'
There, values and ethics that are not visible in the workplace emerge.
Excellent talent is no longer something that can be measured by a 'point.'
They have become three-dimensional beings where knowledge, emotion, sociality, ethics, and communication skills are linked.
The '6 Truths' HR Overlooks in the Recruitment Process
I thought they were a 'good person' in the interview, but they changed completely after joining.
The evaluations of the department and the interviewer differ, resulting in a mismatch.
This repetition is what damages the credibility of recruitment the most.
In 2026, what HR should focus on is not 'background' but 'attitude.'
Whether or not you can dig deep into the following six perspectives determines the quality of the interview.
Resilience to Environmental Change
How do they take it when rules or policies change?
People who tend to say 'It was like this at my previous job' are slower to adapt to the environment.Sense of Personal Responsibility
Who do they blame when results aren't achieved?
People who say 'The team was bad' or 'I didn't get instructions' are a red flag.Empathy and Communication Skills
How have they interacted with people with different values?
'Conflict' is part of a team, but a person's character is determined by whether they overcome it or avoid it.Digital Literacy
Understanding of AI, cloud, internal tools, etc.
'I'm not good with IT' is now almost synonymous with 'I can't do the job.'Communication Literacy
Responsibility for statements on social media, how to share information, and reactions to misinformation.
Do they understand that individual posts affect the corporate image?Alignment of Values
Do they resonate with the company's vision and philosophy?
Talent that moves only for salary, location, and conditions will eventually flow to a company with better conditions.
The job of HR is not to hire 'people who look excellent.'
Identifying 'people who can work happily in this organization' is the essence of recruitment.
Recruitment 'failure' begins before hiring
Many HR professionals view recruitment failure as an 'issue after joining.'
But in reality, 'lack of preparation before hiring' accounts for 90%.
To identify excellent talent, a three-stage approach of assessment, verification, and background checks is necessary.
First, background checks.
Correctly grasp objective data such as career history, reasons for leaving, evaluations at previous jobs, and behavior outside the company.
In particular, true intentions appear in online behavior, such as on social media and review sites.
By not missing traces of problematic statements or interpersonal troubles, companies can prevent reputational damage risks in advance.
Next, trial employment system.
Set up a practical test period of a few weeks to a month and observe the candidate in the field.
Assess not only skills but also how they receive instructions, their sense of distance from colleagues, and how they report.
HR should know from experience that the better someone is at 'talking,' the more difference there is in practical work.
Finally, strategizing referral recruitment.
Utilize employee referrals to welcome talent through trusted recommendation channels.
However, since relying too much on 'buddy hiring' leads to a loss of diversity, it is desirable to use it in combination with external routes.
Recruitment is an era of 'precision,' not 'numbers.'
One hiring mistake lowers team morale and drives the entire organization crazy.
Before 'hiring,' HR should think about 'whether I can really protect this person.'
HR's real work begins after hiring
Even if you acquire excellent talent, it is meaningless if you cannot retain them.
Recruitment is the start, not the goal.
Many cases of quitting within the first three months of joining are caused by 'isolation,' not skills.
That is why onboarding (initial retention support) holds the key.
In the first few weeks, clearly communicate not only work content but also organizational culture, expected roles, and who to consult.
Making them feel 'I have a place in this company' is the mission of HR.
Furthermore, career support and growth support.
Companies that 'neglect' employees once they are hired will soon see them leave.
Efforts to make it a 'company with learning and challenges,' such as regular career interviews, reskilling support, and internal challenge systems, are indispensable.
And,
ensuring psychological safety.If you don't create an atmosphere where everyone can speak their mind, the most excellent talent will leave.
Move the organization with trust and dialogue, not reprimands and fear.
HR must not be an 'entity that watches,' but an 'entity that protects.'
Seeing through people and protecting people. That is the HR of the future.
Recruitment is the 'act of choosing' a company's future, and an endeavor that tests one's resolve to nurture.
No matter the strategy, it is 'people' who drive it in the end.
Whether it is building up sales figures, protecting the brand, or resolving troubles, it is all about people.
And if you misjudge people, a single decision can shake the organization to its core.
That is precisely why,HR must not be a mere distributor of company business cards, but the 'guardian of the company's lifeblood'.
What is being questioned in the 2026 recruitment landscape is not skill, but 'trust'.
No matter how rich one's knowledge or experience, a person without empathy will destroy a team.
No matter how much they achieve, the moment they lack integrity, their credibility crumbles.
What HR must discern is not 'what they can do,' but **'what kind of attitude this person intends to bring to the company.'**
Truly excellent people are not perfect.
They have the strength to accept failure, trust their colleagues, and stand up once again.
Whether or not you can discern that human resilience will determine the quality of future recruitment.
The ability to discern people is not a skill but an insight, and it is honed more by sincerity than by experience.
And,Recruitment is not the 'end,' but the 'beginning of a promise'.
From the moment they join, the company and the employee enter into a contract to build mutual trust.
To protect that trust, companies must adopt a perspective of 'protecting' people rather than 'using' them.
Protecting does not mean coddling.
It means trusting, delegating, evaluating, and giving them a chance to try again.
Protecting people is synonymous with protecting the organization, and HR must stand at the center of that.
As long as recruitment is thought of only as 'replenishing manpower,' companies will not change.
The moment HR realizes that their work is 'creating the personality of the company,' the organization becomes strong for the first time.
The ability to discern people. The ability to nurture people. The ability to protect people.
HR that possesses these three qualities will become the compass that leads the company into a new era.
Even in an age where AI optimizes operations and systems support management, it is people who make the final decisions.
And what supports the quality of those decisions is the eye, the sensibility, and the conviction of HR.
What changes the future is not strategy or budget, but your eye for discerning 'who to work with'.That eye is the only light that illuminates the future of the company.
◎KCC Editorial Department
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