Take a proactive approach to recruitment with talent pools

Businesses who go on recruitment drives only when there are open vacancies miss out on attracting the best possible talent.

That's according to Intergen, which says businesses that take a reactive approach to hiring only get insight as to who's available right now.

Instead, those businesses should create and mine talent pools at all times of the year so they can snap up the best possible candidates for certain roles, regardless of when they become vacant.

Intergen New Zealand general manager of Dynamics Solutions, Steve Scarbrough, explains:

"Companies should be leveraging the online world for talent data. There is masses of data about professionals in any industry. Savvy businesses can mine that data to create talent pools from which they can draw potential recruits when they need to hire. This should replace the old-fashioned time-consuming approach whereby companies advertise a role and hope that the right people see it, then wait for people to apply.

Businesses that use an online talent pool are able to constantly refine what they're looking for in a potential candidate, whether those criteria are skills or other characteristics.

Those businesses could also go one step further and start communicating with potential candidates before a role becomes available. This approach means the business can focus on the people who are the best fit. They can also eliminate candidates who are a poor fit even sooner, which avoids wasted recruitment time.

Intergen says that the sooner a business communicates with potential candidates, it can start to set itself apart as a desirable place to work. It can also create a strong relationship before that candidate has even set foot in the office.

"Creating a talent pool lets potential employees see who they may know that already works at the company which can help them settle into the organisation's culture sooner. Staff can recommend previous colleagues for roles, making it easier to identify people who would be a good fit for the company," Scarbrough says. "Approaching recruitment in this way takes organisations away from the limiting view of one person for one role, and lets the business look further into the future. The business can then plan more strategically to build a team that supports the organisation's goals as opposed to a short-term gap-filler.

Intergen believes that businesses should look at data-driven technology solutions to build a loaded pipeline of desirable talent for current and future roles.

Businesses can also cross-reference candidates' backgrounds, qualifications, and experience with the organisation's requirements. This can help create a smaller pool of potential candidates to fish from.

That way, when a role becomes available, filling it becomes simpler and more streamlined. The hiring manager can start scheduling interviews sooner and a decision can be made faster, keeping the organisation running smoothly.

Tools such as LinkedIn's integration to Dynamics 365 for Talent are available to help organisations create and manage talent pools.