Talent Recruitment

How to Connect Recruitment and Training for Better Retention

The best HR collaboration strategies connect TA and L&D, Korn Ferry experts reveal—so people don’t just join your organization, they grow with it.

June 23, 2025

Smash the Silos—Best Practices for Aligning TA and L&D

Too often, Talent Acquisition (TA) and Learning & Development (L&D) teams work in silos.

The result?

Missed opportunities to grow talent from within
Wasted spend on external hires
And employees who don’t see a future at your company

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2025 survey found that 67% of employees would stay with a company that offers real opportunities to grow, even if they didn’t love their current role.

In fact, lack of career development is now one of the top reasons people leave.

When TA and L&D leaders collaborate, companies build skills faster, keep great people longer, and reduce the cost and complexity of constant hiring.

For CHROs, this isn’t just a talent strategy. It’s a business strategy.

So how do you break down the silos? Here are five ways to help your TA and L&D teams work better together.

1 Codesign a Talent Strategy Aligned with Business Goals

TA and L&D leaders don’t just fill roles or run training programs. They’re pivotal to business growth.

By hiring for critical skills as well as developing internal talent, the two teams ensure the business has the right people for current and future business needs.

But to truly improve retention and performance, TA and L&D should work together.

“It’s vital that the TA and L&D functions are mutually supportive, and that the talent strategy supports the organization’s growth and business objectives,” says Korn Ferry’s Richard Shea, speaking on the HRO Today podcast.

When TA and L&D are aligned, employees gain the right skills at the right time and feel supported in their growth. The result is that they’re more likely to stay and perform at their best, he notes.

To build an integrated talent strategy, start by asking key questions together, such as:

Where is the business now, and where is it going?
What skills will we need to get there?
What do we already have, and what’s missing?

Four steps to make it happen:

Collaborate with business leaders to understand future growth plans and workforce needs.
Identify critical roles and skills gaps early. This helps TA target high-impact hires and helps L&D focus development resources where they matter most.
Design learning programs that directly support business goals, and then highlight these upskilling paths as a competitive advantage when recruiting.
Report on shared metrics, such as retention, promotion rates, and time to productivity, then use that data to refine strategies on both sides.

When TA and L&D align to the business, employees feel like they’re growing with it—and that’s a strong reason to stay.

2 Integrate Career Development into Recruitment

Are your TA and L&D teams working together to highlight growth opportunities from the beginning of the recruitment process?

It’s a powerful way to attract candidates who aren’t just looking for a job, but who want to find a career development path. By sharing insights into progression, L&D can help TA teams show candidates the potential for growth within your company.

Showing career development opportunities can be particularly appealing to early-career talent. Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2025 survey found that 61% of companies already use internships and apprenticeships to attract young talent, while 32% offer entry-level training programs. So, if your organization isn’t already offering these, you could be losing out to rivals.

To make career development and retention part of your recruitment process:

Showcase L&D programs from the start
From job postings to interviews, throughout the recruitment process, highlight your company’s commitment to continuous learning and opportunities for advancement.
Share real employee success stories
Let candidates see how others have progressed within your organization and the tangible benefits of internal mobility.
Weave growth into your EVP
A strong L&D program is a crucial part of your Employer Value Proposition (EVP). Make sure recruiters have the tools to talk about development and internal mobility as part of the big picture.
Match your EVP with reality
Be sure to deliver on the promises you make during recruitment. As Shea puts it: “Candidates are savvy, and people talk. If your EVP doesn’t reflect the reality of the experience, it can break trust before they even walk through the door.”

When TA and L&D align early on, new hires aren’t just excited about their role—they’re excited about the path they’ll follow within your company. This connection leads to better talent attraction and lays the foundation for higher retention and engagement in the long run.

3 Create a Seamless Onboarding-to-Upskilling Journey

The transition from hiring to development is where companies often lose momentum. But when new hires feel like their development journey starts from day one, they’re more likely to stick around.

To make this happen, TA and L&D teams should create an experience that seamlessly connects onboarding with personalized learning and career growth.

Here’s how to make it work:

Codesign onboarding programs that not only introduce the company but also set clear learning milestones and growth goals right from the start.
Use hiring-stage assessments to shape personalized development plans that align with each individual’s unique skills and potential.
Offer mentorship opportunities early on, such as reverse mentoring, to encourage meaningful connections across all levels
Incorporate interactive tools, like AI-driven coaching or gamified learning, to keep development engaging, practical, and ongoing.

When onboarding and upskilling are linked, employees don’t just feel welcomed—they feel truly supported and invested in their future with the company.

4 Hire for Potential, Not Just Experience

Many organizations say they’re struggling to find the right skills, but that may be because they’re looking in the wrong places.

Instead of focusing solely on past experience, TA and L&D should team up to look for candidates who have the potential to learn and grow into critical roles.

This approach not only broadens the talent pool but builds a more inclusive and future-ready workforce.

Here’s how to put skills-based hiring and L&D into action:

Cocreate hiring criteria that prioritize learning agility and a growth mindset—not just job history.
Design pre-hire assessments to identify potential, not perfection. Look for qualities like problem-solving skills and adaptability.
Get L&D involved early by creating development plans for high-potential hires, helping them bridge skill gaps and grow quickly in their roles.
Use hiring data to inform learning strategies. If you’re regularly seeing capability gaps during the hiring process, L&D can design programs to fill them.

Hiring for potential sends a powerful message—we’re invested in who you can become here. And that belief sets the stage for deeper engagement and loyalty from day one.

5 Make Internal Mobility a Shared Priority

Companies often say they want to retain talent while overlooking the talent they already have.

TA and L&D leaders need to collaborate to make internal mobility a key part of their strategy. This means creating visible, realistic career paths and equipping employees with the tools they need to move forward and grow.

As Korn Ferry's Workforce 2025 survey shows, internal mobility is crucial for retention.

But building a learning culture isn’t just about offering generic workshops or online courses. It’s about making growth a part of the fabric of your organization so that internal mobility becomes the rule, not the exception.

Shea shared a compelling example of the impact this can have.

One tech firm Korn Ferry works with redesigned its TA strategy to center around personalized L&D support—from entry-level roles through to senior leadership. The result? A 60% higher retention rate than if it had used a generic L&D training program.

So how can businesses match their success?

TA and L&D teams should collaborate to:

Create clear, internal pathways for role progression and promotions that align with both business needs and employee aspirations.
Match people to opportunities proactively. TA should try to source from within, while L&D develops the upskilling and reskilling training needed to support these transitions.
Make sure your EVP matches reality. If your employer brand promises career growth, make sure your internal mobility programs back that up—or risk losing trust.
Listen to your people. Use their feedback to refine L&D offerings and mobility programs. What’s working? What’s missing? Keep improving.
Celebrate internal moves. Track and showcase those transitions. Employees need to see that growth is possible and that the company values internal progression.

When TA and L&D work together on mobility, it’s not just about keeping people around. It’s about creating a culture that nurtures potential, rewards growth, and helps employees feel connected to the organization’s long-term success.