Looking for a surefire way to keep your talent pipeline filled with great candidates? It’s time to tap into the power of building your talent community.
It doesn’t matter if the pandemic has tempered your hiring plans, at least temporarily. At some point, your organization will be adding employees, and having access to a vibrant talent community provides a tremendous advantage. For that reason, it’s vital to make growing and nurturing your talent community an ongoing effort.
What is a talent community?
Simply put, a talent community is made up of everyone that’s interacted with your organization. That includes individuals who’ve previously applied for open positions; clients or customers that use your products or services; vendors that provide products or services to your company; and people you’ve connected with, whether on social media or through networking in business or community settings.
When you start adding up the number of people that fit into those categories, you can quickly develop a robust list of names, occupations and skill sets – just the type of list that will give you a head start the next time you’re seeking candidates.
How a talent community helps recruiting
Let’s go back to the three categories mentioned above; each offers a great opportunity to find talent that could make a difference in your organization.
Previous applicants have already shown an interest in your company. True, you didn’t hire them when they applied originally. But since that time, it’s likely they’ve gained additional experience, acquired new skills, and developed deeper networks. They may now have the attributes that make them a good fit with your team.
Similarly, think of the loyal clients and vendors you’ve worked with. If you’ve had positive interactions, there may be mutual interest in exploring the idea of working together. And if you’ve gotten to know each other in the business environment, you already have a sense of how someone will work with your colleagues and customers.
It’s the same with those who are following, liking and commenting on your social media posts, or those you’ve met at networking events. If they have a sense that you value your employees, offer career advancement, and even have some fun in the workplace, they may be interested in looking further at joining your organization.
Making a talent community work
You’ve already interacted with the people in your talent community. What’s critical is to cultivate those individuals; to continue to plant seeds by keeping them engaged and interested in your company. It’s a long-term effort but one that, when done effectively, will pay dividends down the road.
The first step in building your talent community is to create a strategy to get the ball rolling. Alaant has helped many organizations on that path, and we’d love to help yours. Contact us today and let’s get the conversation started!
