It doesn’t matter what the state of the economy is, how the markets are performing, or where your business currently ranks in the pecking order of companies in your niche. Regardless of the noise, there’s one factor that directly contributes to your organization’s success: people. And the only way to consistently innovate and grow is to bring the right people on board.
The problem a lot of companies have is that the talent pool just isn’t deep enough to consistently make winning hires.
If this is true in your organization, perhaps now is a good time to carve out a deeper pool.
The Quality vs. Quantity Conundrum
When it comes to recruiting and hiring, there’s always a debate over quality versus quantity. Do you focus on bringing in the highest-quality candidates? Or do you go after volume and recruit as many people as possible?
But what if the answer is both?
In other words, we shouldn’t be talking about whether you have to choose quality or quantity. Instead, we should emphasize the importance of having a deep pool of high-quality talent that allows us to pull the best people for the right openings – every single time.
5 Ways to Achieve a Deeper Talent Pool
How do you build a talent pool that’s rich with talented professionals? Here are a few helpful techniques:
Leverage Your Employees
Employee referrals are an absolutely amazing option for building and scaling a deep talent pool. In fact, research shows that you can expand your talent pool by 10 times just by leveraging your current employees’ networks.
One of the best things about tapping into your employees’ networks is that you already know what kind of people they are. Trustworthy people hang out with other trustworthy people. Creative individuals spend time with other creative folks. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.
Enhance Your Package
Most people are very temporal in their thinking. They might say they’re focused on the long term, but they’re actually more influenced by the here and now. You can tap into this mindset by enhancing your job offer package.
Let’s say, for example, that you’re expanding your search from statewide to nationwide. If you’re recruiting someone who currently lives 650 miles away, you have to entice them with more than a nice salary. Offering a corporate relocation package is a nice perk that helps people immediately.
Develop Rich Landing Pages
Nobody blindly applies for jobs these days – at least not quality candidates. They’re doing as much research on your company as you’re doing on them. And one of the first things a good candidate is going to do is visit your website and look for a “careers” page.
Rather than designing a stoic, corporate-looking page, why not transform it into a vibrant job landing page? Make it fun, exciting, and visual. Convey the value that comes with working for your company and include a simple opt-in form on the page where you can collect leads and send them information about future openings.
Showcase Your Company Culture
People are attracted to specific companies because of the perceived workplace culture. The question is, do applicants and candidates know what life is like behind closed doors?
If you have a compelling culture that you believe will help you generate better quality candidates, showcase it online. This should include a combination of YouTube videos, live “stories,” and other branded social content.
Keep Past Candidates in Your Pool
Don’t dismiss past candidates and applicants who made it to the last round of interviews but weren’t chosen for a job. These individuals should be kept in your pool. They’ve already shown interest in the company and have been carefully vetted. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be considered for a future job.
If you’re going to use this tactic, it’s critical that you provide clear feedback to applicants when they don’t get a position. Let them know precisely why they weren’t hired so that they can improve their chances of employability with the company when another opportunity emerges.
Enhance Your Recruitment Efforts
A deeper pool of high-quality talent will always come in handy. It can be expensive to build and cultivate, but the long-term ROI is clear. Make sure you’re doing everything you can to invest in the future by carefully preparing today!
