Why isn’t this ideal possible? Most recruitment agencies and recruiters have a reactive approach than a proactive one to recruiting. They only source candidates when there is a need for hiring and when meeting deadlines.
Quick Overview
What is a talent pool and how can it help you get ahead of hiring?
A talent pool is a database of candidate profiles interested in working for your clients. That’s right. A go-to database to find current a nd future job candidates. They could be in a specific area of expertise or focused on a broad grouping of individuals who are capable of performing a variety of job tasks.
EmploymentOffice reports there are three benefits of building a talent pool:
- Reduce the cost of recruitment: A recent study found that recruitment costs could be reduced by up to 50% when using talent pools.
- Reduce the time to hire: Research has found that 50% of organisations using talent pools had reduced their time to hire.
- Identify quality candidates for the future: A good talent pool will be one that is continually connecting with talent and updating information, as well as bringing in new diverse talent.
All recruiters understand that the window of opportunity for hiring a talented candidate is so small that if not done right – can result in unstructured job postings, a pile-up of resumes and or prayers that fate intervenes and the perfect candidate finds you quickly.
However, if you are at the last minute still trying to fill the position – it won’t be your best work. Hasty decisions will be made, wrong candidates can be chosen, and worst of all – this becomes a vicious cycle.
Through talent pools, you can avoid facing such situations. These candidates need to be those who are already interviewed and vetted and ready to go. Not someone who has to go through the screening process again.
It’s also good to have talent pools just in case situations arise from your business expanding, staff leaving, or low performance.
So how do you build a talent pool? Before we answer that – here are some common mistakes that recruiters make.
6 mistakes recruiters make when it comes to building a talent tool
So here are the common pitfalls that you need to know before delving into building or even improving your talent pool.
1) Not plan your recruitment needs well in advance
2) Not apply the push/pull strategy to attract the right candidates
3) Not use a diverse range of candidates to find the right talent
4) Not evaluate the talent for future recruitment needs
5) Not address skill gaps and providing training opportunities for development
6) Not set KPIs and monitor their talent pool strategy
How to build a talent pool successfully?
Plan your recruitment needs well in advance and evaluate the talent to fill those needs
It’s important to know your business needs and resources for the future. This includes top talent that you can source through quickly. Understand what skill and positions you need to fill in the future. Start by sourcing candidates and adding them to different databases, categorise them in a way that works for your agency. Find out what they are looking for and what their motivations are.
Once you have made the databases – you can evaluate their potential to fill future roles.
There are various ways to do that, you can start by asking these questions about your candidates:
- What are the skillsets and expertise required to excel in said roles?
- What are the challenges they will face in the future?
- What experiences do they have that will help them overcome these challenges?
- What specific knowledge or skill gap do they need to fill?
This ensures you have an abundance of talent at bay and are not facing a scarcity on quality candidates. Impress your clients with your high quality and timely placements.
Attract the right talent through the push and pull strategy
A push strategy is when recruiters are trying to attract passive candidates who are interested in the job/company but not necessarily actively looking for a job. For example, actively sourcing candidates on LinkedIn.
While a pull strategy is effective when candidates are already actively looking for jobs. An example is when posting your jobs on a job board, social media or a career website etc.
Use a mix of push and pull strategy to make sure you are attracting top talent. The most effective way for recruiters to implement the push and pull strategy is through claiming their recruiter profile on Sourcr. It allows you to easily engage passive candidates as well as boos your online presence for your active candidates to find you.
Use a diverse range of candidates to find the right talent
No matter what your agency is specialising in – your talent pool should consist of a diverse range of candidates ready to fill a role. This could be potential candidates that can succeed in any role, or take on a new role and responsibilities in an organisation. It also includes recognising and addressing any talent gaps which can be improved with the right training.
Address skill gaps and provide ongoing training opportunities for development
An ongoing process that works when it doesn’t end. It’s important to regularly go to your database and make sure you update any changes and keep making upgrades.
Device methods and programs to identify skill gaps and provide further development.
Finally, make sure you have set KPIs and monitor your talent pool building strategy
You need to have benchmarks in place to make sure you are meeting your targets and your talent pool is working for you. This can be done by setting up KPIs for different areas. Make it a habit to review outcomes every quarterly, half-yearly or annually. Then adjust your model accordingly.
This ensures your time and resources spent are being used and spent effectively
Building your talent pool is a continuous process that will change over time depending on your business and clients needs and requirements. Make sure you are preparing for the future.
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