Denise Hockensmith Of Accenture Federal Services On How To Identify and Engage The Best Talent For Your Organization

Companies are always on the lookout for exceptional talent in today’s work environment. In addition, the perks needed to keep talent have changed as people are not simply running after a paycheck. They want something more. What does a company need to do to identify and engage the best talent for their organization? In this interview series, we are talking to HR experts who can share ideas and insights from their experience. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Denise Hockensmith.

Denise Hockensmith is Accenture Federal Services’ Recruiting Lead specializing in building talent acquisition strategies and programs that align and scale with business objectives and growth. Hockensmith possesses expertise in recruiting operational excellence, employment branding, sourcing strategy development, diversity recruiting, and technology optimization.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before diving in, our readers would love to get to know you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this specific career path?

My journey began in management consulting, where I was originally hired as a consultant. I volunteered to help at campus events and found myself enjoying recruiting activities more than my consulting work. It was during this time that I realized my passion for helping people on their career journeys.

What keeps me in talent acquisition is the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in people’s lives. And the talent acquisition industry has evolved so much over my career. I like the intersection of working with people while also being involved in large-scale technology projects.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you first started? Then, can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The first mistake that comes to mind is a summer job I had between high school and college. I worked in a snack food factory. There was one station where you had to “catch” potato chips as they slid down a chute into a bag to be placed in 3-gallon tins. If you didn’t catch and fasten the bag in enough time, the next batch of chips would spill onto the floor, and we’d have to shut down the line for clean-up. In my first week, I caused the line to be shut down. It was my own “I Love Lucy” chocolate factory moment. Chaos ensued and everyone had a good laugh. While it was certainly humbling, it taught me two important lessons: the value of paying attention to details and the importance of being accountable for my work. I also gained a newfound respect for my coworkers who worked tirelessly every day.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote” and how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite life lesson quote centers around having an outlook of gratitude. I believe that cultivating a grateful outlook has profoundly shaped my life. I’m thankful for the experiences I’ve had, the mentors who have guided me, and the opportunities I’ve been given.

As a leader, I recognize the importance of paying attention to the hard work being done around me and expressing genuine gratitude to the people making it happen every day. I believe in fostering a positive environment. Of course, I have bad days. But I try not to dwell on the negatives. This mindset helps me navigate challenges and allows me to appreciate the journey and the people I share it with.

Are you working on any exciting new projects at your company? How is this helping people?

I’m really excited about the work we are doing around engagement and simplification. We are analyzing our candidate experience survey data while actively engaging with our recruiting team and hiring managers to optimize the recruiting process. This initiative is impactful. It saves time for our candidates by streamlining the application and interview process. It also allows our recruiters to dedicate more attention to meaningful interactions with candidates and hiring teams and less time on administrative tasks.

Wonderful. Now let’s jump into the main focus of our series. Hiring can be very time-consuming and challenging. Can you share with our readers a bit about your experience with identifying and hiring talent? What’s been your most successful recruitment-related initiative so far?

In my experience, the most powerful recruitment-related initiatives shine a genuine light on your employee value proposition. They captivate external audiences, including candidates. While recruiters can talk about benefits and culture, nothing beats the authentic power of employees sharing their personal stories. Their unique experiences and meaningful impact of their project work create a compelling narrative that resonates with potential candidates.

By amplifying these genuine voices through marketing materials and social media, you will forge a connection that not only attracts and engages talent but also fosters a deeper sense of trust and engagement with your organization.

Once talent is engaged, what’s your advice for creating a great candidate experience and ensuring the right people go through the process?

Transparency is important. Explain the process and the timeline to your candidates. If you have a long recruiting cycle with multiple interviews, share that information with the candidate up front. Be intentional about your interview process. When possible, have a kick-off meeting with your interviewers to align on the role and the required skills. This ensures that each interviewer has a defined focus, preventing candidates from facing repetitive questions.

Based on your experience, how can HR and culture professionals work with the broader organization to identify talent needs?

To effectively identify talent needs, HR and culture professionals should participate in business pipeline meetings to gain insights into future workforce needs.

Using talent analytics, compare those future business skills with your current people within the organization and identify areas where you have gaps. Together with the business, create and execute a “build and buy” strategy. Build the workforce where you can; you will still have some gaps. That’s where you’ll need to create a recruiting strategy.

Is there anything you see recruiters, internal or otherwise, do regularly that makes you think, “No, stop doing that!”?

Communicating regularly with candidates and other key stakeholders is critical. Recruiters are sometimes waiting for responses and fail to keep everyone updated. I always advise my team to maintain regular communication with candidates and hiring managers, even if the message is, “I don’t have an answer yet.”

Candidates may interpret silence as lack of interest when that’s not the case; your hiring manager may just be out of the office. Consistent updates help build trust and keep everyone engaged in the process, making for a more positive experience overall.

With so much noise and competition out there, what are your top 3 ways to attract and engage the best talent in an industry when they haven’t already reached out to you?

1. Capitalize on marketing and social media. If you have a Marketing team, partner with them to showcase your employee value proposition. Encourage your people to share their experiences and stories.
2. Cultivate talent ambassadors. Discover what professional conferences your people are attending and encourage them to take the stage. By speaking and participating on panels, they’ll not only elevate your company’s profile but also act as ambassadors, showcasing the talented individuals in your organization and the work they do.
3. Jumpstart careers with internships. Create an internship program to engage with tomorrow’s talent today. This allows you to forge meaningful connections with students, giving them a first-hand experience with your company while building a pipeline for future hiring. Even if you can’t bring them onboard immediately after graduation, keep in touch. Their careers are just beginning.

What are the three most effective strategies you use to retain employees?

1. People are your priority. Ensure you invest in career development and growth. People thrive where they can see a clear path ahead both short- and long-term.
2. Listen to your people. Survey thoughtfully. Regular surveys are crucial but approach them strategically to avoid survey fatigue. Have a survey strategy and ask meaningful questions to get to actionable responses. After analyzing the feedback, share the results and acknowledge any identified issues. While you may not have immediate solutions, demonstrating a genuine commitment to improvement, such as engaging with employee resource groups or conducting focus groups, fosters trust and shows people their voices matter.
3. Nurture a vibrant company culture. A healthy, inclusive workplace is the cornerstone of retention. Everyone deserves to feel included, valued and respected. This includes championing diversity and inclusion, fostering collaboration, and celebrating achievements. Create an environment where people not only stay but flourish.

Here is the main question of our interview. Can you share five techniques that you use to identify the talent that would be best suited for the job you want to fill? Please share an example for each idea.

1. Always review the job description with the hiring manager first. Pressure test the requirements to be sure they haven’t written the role to replicate the skills and attributes of the previous employee in the role. Then, write an accurate and inclusive job description to attract a qualified, diverse talent pool.
2. Consider internal candidates. People within the organization can be your best sources for talent.
3. Network with people in the organization who are in the same or similar roles. Meet with those individuals to learn about the professional associations they belong to and the certifications they receive. This will help you with Boolean search strings. Additionally, ask them for referrals and to post the role on their social media.
4. Have an employee referral program. Make it easy for your employees to submit their referrals. Take the time to thank the referring employee for submitting the candidate. Take advantage of features of your applicant tracking systems such as sharing high-level statuses with the referring employee.
5. Use technology. Leverage AI tools in the recruiting process, such as improving and minimizing bias in job descriptions, to free up recruiters to dedicate more attention to meaningful interactions with candidates and hiring teams.

We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.

For me, it would be my great grandmother who has passed away. As the oldest child in her family, she raised her siblings when her parents passed at a young age. I was fortunate enough to spend a significant amount of time with her during my childhood, and she left a lasting impression on me. Her intelligence, independence, and kindness shaped my understanding of resilience and compassion. I would love the chance to speak to her as an adult, learn from her wisdom, and express my gratitude for the impact she had on my life.

How can our readers continue to follow your work online?

Connect with me on LinkedIn, (36) Denise Hockensmith | LinkedIn.

Thank you so much for these fantastic insights!