Nurturing Talent In A Candidate-Driven Market: What You Need To Know

The quest for top talent is never ending. Even if an organization finds itself without immediate hiring needs, a successful internal recruiting team understands the importance of pipelining active and passive candidates. Candidate pipelines allow companies to keep up a consistent influx of qualified candidates who are ready to work when an immediate need arises. The key to maintaining a healthy conduit of candidates is nurturing – which occurs both on an individual and a group level based on how active a candidate is in his or her search. Those who have shown interest in learning about the company and staying up to date on news can be engaged on a higher level through the use of a talent community, while others who are more active should get one-on-one attention. 

Learn why talent communities should be a part of every talent acquisition and talent management strategy.

THE CHALLENGE IS THERE

It is no secret that finding top talent can be difficult in this candidate-driven job market. According to a Recruiter Sentiment Survey conducted by MRI Network, 83 percent of recruiters acknowledge that the job market is now candidate driven. So what does this mean for recruiting? The recruiting process has now shifted from screening resumes and candidates in abundance, to hunting for the top-notch candidate. And the effort can’t stop with identifying the best talent. With the competitive job market, companies must now implement strategies for building relationships with candidates to retain a proactive recruitment pipeline.

Set clear expectations

The most important revelation for recruiters and hiring managers today is that first impressions impact not only the company but also the candidate. In the same way that successful companies have a detailed recruitment strategy, the best candidates have set job-seeking goals that need to be addressed early in the interview process. Transparency is key to a successful hiring strategy because it creates mutual respect between the recruiter and the candidate by ensuring realistic expectations are set regarding the hiring timeline and what the interview process entails.

This is when differentiation occurs between candidates who are active and those who are passive in their job search. If a candidate is active, but there are no immediate hiring needs, it is important to set the expectation up front that the interview process may not result in an immediate offer so the candidate does not feel misled. Educated candidates are then able to make the decision to continue on with the interview process or stay in touch for future opportunities. In the same light, if a candidate is passive in his or her search, an immediate offer might scare them away. 

customize YOUR APPROACH

There are many factors that should be taken into consideration when determining the best strategy for nurturing talent, especially the stage of the candidate’s career search. Candidates very active in their search may need more frequent contact and an expedited interview process so that they do not accept an offer with another company or become disinterested in the opportunity. However, candidates who are more passive allow for a slower interview process but require more detailed information about company culture and job duties in order to contemplate their decision. This distinction is key for identifying the best communication strategies for each candidate on an individual basis.

USE YOUR TALENT COMMUNITY

Talent communities are a great tool for nurturing candidates in any situation. They allow for content engagement through the sharing of blogs, articles or other industry and company news that is relevant to the candidate. This content paired with monthly or quarterly update calls with a recruiter will typically be just the right amount of contact passive talent wants. However, active candidates will most likely prefer to speak with hiring managers or executives in order to receive higher-level updates more frequently. Talent communities can be used as a baseline for candidate nurturing and then supplemented with other contact based on the needs of each candidate. Talent communities also allow you to tailor content based on customized factors such as the level of candidate, industry or department of interest and location of the candidate. 

The recruiting landscape has shifted, allowing candidates to be more selective in their job search. Companies must recognize that and be proactive in implementing appropriate changes to keep candidates engaged in the interview process and maintain a healthy pipeline for hiring needs. Talent communities allow companies to drive the recruitment strategy they deem fit for the organization in order to stay ahead in the candidate driven market.