Employees are the most valuable resources for any organization. Companies, therefore, invest considerable time and resources in their hiring process.
However, it’s harder than ever to find the best talent in the industry, given the immense competition. Having the right talent sourcing strategy thus becomes crucial to winning.
Unfortunately, most organizations fail to create a dynamic talent sourcing strategy. This leads to a rise in the employee turnover ratio. So how do you avoid this and improve your existing talent sourcing strategy? Read on.
Reasons Why you are Failing at Talent Sourcing
The hiring process in any organization has multiple stages, and candidate sourcing is one of the most critical.
The talent sourcing process entails searching for suitable candidates with the required qualifications. At this stage, recruiters must create a pool of qualified candidates eligible for the role. They need to gather the candidate’s name, qualification evidence, and contact information.
Many a time, companies fail to find the right talent. Here are some core reasons why this might happen:
1. Not Knowing the Business Needs
Not knowing the business needs is a common reason most recruiters fail at talent sourcing. Therefore, the hiring process must be aligned with the business needs.
Failing to do so might result in hiring the wrong candidates who are more likely to leave the organization in a short period.
2. No Clearly Defined Recruitment Objectives
A clearly defined recruitment objective is integral to the talent sourcing strategy. Not having one will mislead recruiters into hiring the wrong candidates.
Recruitment objectives differ based on the company’s needs. For example, company ‘A’ might have the recruitment objective of hiring the most qualified candidates, whereas company ‘B’ might have a recruitment objective of hiring the most experienced candidates.
3. Lack of a Differentiated Pitch from Recruiters
Today, companies compete equally to hire the best talent as candidates do among themselves. Therefore, recruiters need to stand out with their hiring/sourcing pitch.
The absence of a differentiated pitch might deter candidates strongly from joining an organization.
How to Improve your Talent Sourcing Strategy?
Having the right talent sourcing strategy can be a deal breaker when it comes to hiring and retaining the best people. Your plan should be improvised as per the changing dynamics in the corporate world.
Here are some effective tips to improve your talent sourcing strategy:
1. Align your Talent Acquisition Strategy with your Business Goals
Your talent sourcing strategy must sync with your business objectives. Recruiters should devise a plan that works in the company’s best interest.
For example, if a company wants to cut recruitment costs, the talent sourcing strategy should give more weightage to employee referral programs.
2. Diversify your Candidate Sourcing Channels
Diversifying candidate sourcing channels opens new doors for the company’s talent pool.
Recruiters should not be inclined on just one or two sourcing channels. Leveraging different social media platforms is a great way to diversify talent sourcing channels.
In addition, hiring managers should be asked to leverage their personal network for sourcing candidates.
3. Train Recruiters Like Salespeople
Training recruiters like salespeople will help establish a strong employer brand that will compel more candidates to join the organization.
Recruiters should have a differentiated hiring pitch that focuses on the perks of working for the company. Since the best candidates often receive offers from multiple firms, it is crucial to highlight the not-so-obvious perks of working for the respective company.
For example, companies with a 4-day work week can pitch the same while sourcing candidates.
Conclusion
A talent sourcing strategy is an indispensable but underutilized weapon in a recruiter’s arsenal. The right sourcing strategy can be a game-changer for most organizations that want to hire and retain the best talent.
Improvising the existing talent strategy based on the current trends can thus prove to be highly beneficial for recruiters and companies.
