Beginning the hiring process and building a talent pool can be overwhelming tasks. Where should you post your open position to attract the best candidates? How do you select candidates to interview from the pool you’ve built? Moreover, how do you effectively organize and evaluate candidates to find the perfect fit for your organization? These are common concerns, as the majority of hiring managers consider attracting top talent as their greatest challenge.
Imagine if you had an entire database of qualified candidates who are already interested in working for you. That’s the benefit of a diverse talent pool. Taking the time to build a qualified group of candidates will make hiring easier in the future.
How to Build a Talent Pool
Here are examples of the kinds of people who might be a good fit for your talent pool:
- Candidates who applied to your organization before (maybe they declined an offer, were “silver medalists” in the interview process, or didn’t work out budget-wise before)
- Former employees
- Passive candidates (people you might consider for a certain position even though they are not actively looking for a new position)
- University students or recent graduates
- Employee referrals
- Contacts from sourcing tools/platforms
Don’t forget the importance of continuously engaging with your contacts! Keep them updated on company events, new developments, employee stories, and industry news. Segmenting your audiences is key, as a former employee will have drastically different interests than a current university student. When a new position opens, don’t hesitate to personally invite your contacts to apply.
Some companies promote their talent pools as an area of a community. Consider sharing a landing page where contacts can sign up to stay involved or receive company updates.
Benefits of a Talent Pool
Here are the key benefits of creating and maintaining a diverse talent pool:
- Develop a long-term recruiting strategy. Instead of rushing to fill positions as they open up, take the time to consider what the future of your organization could look like. This is sometimes referred to as succession planning.
- Stay organized. A talent pool makes it less likely that a former colleague or networking acquaintance will fall through the cracks. You can also consider using a CRM platform to help manage your talent pool.
- Reduce recruitment costs. Save money on advertising job openings and on subscribing to job sites.
- Less time to hire. No more sifting through piles of resumes for candidates that aren’t a good fit or organizing entire marketing campaigns to promote your open positions.
- Improved quality of hire. Most importantly, talent pools allow you to have the utmost confidence in your new hires.
Don’t forget to measure the benefits. Consistently reassessing your sourcing strategies and tracking the ROI of candidate communication will allow you to see where there’s room for improvement. You can do this by asking candidates for feedback and also by measuring statistics like email open rate, social media engagements, and attendance at networking events.
Conclusion
Talent pools are a great resource that will continuously reward your company. Taking the time to set up a valuable pool of candidates will allow for strategic succession planning and ensure long-term growth. Don’t forget to promote your talent pool through social media, email, and a strong landing page on your website.
Interested in learning more from professional recruiters? Contact Lucas James.
This article was originally published on March 24, 2022; it has since been updated and republished on July 12, 2023.