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Four Actionable Techniques to Maintain a Healthy Talent Pool

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According to Glassdoor research, the average length of the UK hiring process sits at 27.9 days. This significant amount of time can harm the productivity of your business and hinder its ability to move forward.

There’s an ocean of potential talent out there, but the challenge of recruitment is fishing for the appropriate candidates and keeping tabs on them.

This is why talent pools are an invaluable resource.

In this post, we’ll take a look at what talent pools are and four actionable techniques that you can use to maintain a healthy talent pool.

What Is a Talent Pool?

A talent pool is a database of candidate profiles. This database gives recruiters and hiring managers the ability to keep track of crucial candidates over the long-term and access potential candidates instantly.

The most effective hiring managers and recruiters will diligently maintain those talent pools to add and remove candidates as necessary. They’ll also draw on candidates form their talent pool regularly.

For added convenience, the majority of hiring managers will maintain distinct talent pools which can further segment groups of candidates according to factors like their level of experience and overall suitability.

What Are the Benefits of a Talent Pool?

Here are the key reasons to create and maintain talent pools::

Better candidates

Any recruiter or hiring professional will understand how challenging it can be to find high-quality candidates for their roles. 76% of hiring managers told Glassdoor that attracting quality candidates is their number one challenge.

Talent pools can give you the edge. With a robust talent pool in your hands, you’ll find it easier to sort through pre-qualified candidates and have access to proven talent quicker.

Faster hires

When it comes to hiring candidates, it’s critical that you find the appropriate talent within a reasonable timeframe. Each day that you have a vacant position will result in losses for your business.

Talent pools can expedite the time to hire. You’ll be able to quickly browse through pre-qualified candidates as and when you need to. You might find the perfect candidate in your talent pool.

Reduced hiring costs

Making a new hire in the UK is expensive. On average, businesses can expect to pay around 20-30% of the final salary to recruitment agencies. This can harm the profitability of your business, and those costs can seriously mount up if you make multiple hires.

Equipped with a talent pool that’s overflowing with quality candidates, you’ll be able to make your selection and circumvent many of the traditional costs that come with recruitment.

Four Actionable Tips to Maintain a Healthy Talent Pool

Now that we have a better understanding of why to maintain a talent pool let’s explore five essential tips that you can use to establish and leverage your own.

1. Divide Your Talent Pools Using Candidate Personas

Candidate personas are a handy tool used by recruiters and hiring managers. Those semi-fictional personas make it easier to guide the hiring process and stay focused on finding the right talent.

Those candidate personas can also provide you with a logical and organic way to segment your talent pool. This exercise can make your talent pool even more convenient to navigate, and you’ll have the right talent just a few clicks away.

The details of this tip will vary from one business to the next, according to how you created your talent pool. For a rudimentary solution, you could divide an excel spreadsheet into tabs according to your key profiles.

Here’s a look at how that might appear:

2. Keep Track of Your Alumni

To get the best results from your talent pool, you should be sure to keep track of your alumni. There’s always a chance that your previous employees might be available to rejoin your business.

There are clear benefits to rehiring alumni: they will slot right into your company culture, for instance, and rehiring alumni can have a very positive impact on your employer brand.

To keep track of your alumni, you should be sure to keep their contact details on record and maintain regular contact with them. You might even decide to send a monthly newsletter to those alumni – this could keep them updated and help them to feel like a part of the family.

Interested in what this might look like? Take a look at this Alumni Newsletter example from Deloitte. You can see the type of content and tone that they use to re-engage their corporate alumni.

Ready to take a look at the additional benefits that come with a strong alumni talent pool? Read our piece on the six reasons you should develop an alumni talent pool.

3. Don’t Forget to Track Unsuccessful Candidates

According to numbers from Forbes, the average job will attract a staggering 118 applications. While you might need to hire just a single person for the role, you could have invited some very intriguing candidates.

It’s vital that you keep hold of them and retain their details. We all know that plans change quickly within the world of business and that it’s always useful to have a backup plan.

Re-engaging unsuccessful candidates is also great for your employer brand. Lots of hiring managers tell unsuccessful candidates that their contact information will be retained on record, but they fail to follow up. If you contact an unsuccessful candidate in the future, they’ll be sure to appreciate the gesture.

4. Use Your Talent Pool Regularly

The best way to maintain a healthy talent pool is to use it regularly. Far too often, hiring managers and recruiters neglect their talent pool and fail to exploit its full potential.

A lack of activity could mean that your talent pool becomes rusty and outdated very quickly. The longer you neglect, the greater the temptation will be to ignore it when trying to find a new candidate.

Try to incorporate your talent pool into your recruitment workflow to get the maximum value from it. Make it your first port of call after identifying a new position, and you might find the perfect candidate.

Cultivate Powerful Talent Pools with Elevate

If you are ready to create and maintain AI-driven talent pools, do so with Elevate’s leading Talent Intelligence platform today. Our solution provides you immediate visibility into your private talent pools while granting you access to the exclusive Elevate Directmarket.

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Why building a Corporate Alumni Network Makes Sense.

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There’s plenty of talk around how rehiring boomerang employees can benefit an organisation, but few companies have yet to take advantage. One of the easiest and most effective ways to keep in touch with ex-staff members is to establish an alumni talent network.

The Importance of Alumni

If you’re considering rehiring an alumnus, you know off the bat that they’re a good cultural fit, they know the company policies and processes. They’re comfortable with products and services. But alumni bring much more than that.

They can make quality referrals

Because alumni know the organisation, they can refer candidates with the right skills and who will fit in. Also, as the candidates understand the alumni successfully worked for the company, they’ll be more likely to accept an interview invitation. Alumni can boost your talent pool.

They can refer new business

As they move on in their career, alumni become exposed to different industries and markets, and they can recommend you with confidence. Again, knowing that they will have referred by someone who can vouch for a company, buyers are more likely to support the business. Alumni add credibility to business referrals.

Employers have still not Found their Feet.

Most alumni networks are on social network platforms like Facebook, Google and LinkedIn.  Corporate alumni programs are few and far between.

A 2014 study by the University of Twente in the Netherlands found that only 15% of companies surveyed had a formal alumni network, while 67% had informal alumni networks established by employees. What that indicates is that those past employees are keen to keep in touch with their previous employers; however, employers have yet to catch on and make an effort.

Establishing an Alumni Talent Network is Easier than you Think

It begins long before an employee resigns. Making employees feel valued, focusing on engagement and having an offboarding policy in place are where it all starts.

Employees who feel valued even after they’ve resigned will stay loyal to an organisation. During offboarding top talent must be asked if they’d like to join the alumni network. The bond of mutual trust has already been established, and it’s up to the employer to keep it alive.

Setting up a group on social media doesn’t take much time, but it does take time to maintain and keep the group engaged, providing open vacancies, company news and new developments; much like an ongoing company newsletter. You also have to take into consideration any comments, questions or enquiries from alumni must be addressed.

Add Benefits and Incentives

There are plenty of ways that you can keep your alumni network engaged.

Incentivise candidate referrals just as you do your employee referrals program. Offer a reward for every successful placement. You can offer cash rewards, discount vouchers, paid holiday trips or tickets to top events. Receiving recognition can make alumni feel that they’re still part of the organisation.

Free webinars and online training programs for skills improvement is another option. For a small investment, you not only upskill people but if you do employ them again, you get a better-qualified employee. 

Another assurance is that people who continually upgrade their skills are top talent.

You can also connect with alumni through social or industry events. This way, you keep them directly involved, and they can mix with past colleagues and new hires. 

Conclusion

An alumni talent network reinforces your employment brand in a multitude of ways. As alumni work as brand ambassadors, your organisation will gain a market reputation as an employer that cares for its employees. You will earn an employer of choice status, and top candidates will start approaching you for jobs.

Imagine the savings on the cost of hire and time to fill, as well as added income from new business. Can your company afford not to establish an alumni talent network?

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