Rethinking the sourcing strategy in a post COVID world

Prior to 2020, recruiting organizations had to focus on the “War for Talent”.  The market for talent has been extremely competitive and difficult to find top talent in a timely manner.  This already challenging marketplace has become exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.   Now, more than ever, there must be an emphasis on securing the right talent during a drought. 

COVID-19 has created a shortage in the labor market with fewer candidates available, as well as women leaving the workforce. Recruiting organizations need to implement a plan to address these changes and other changes impacting the post COVID world. The sourcing strategies mentioned within this text will help companies recover.

Attracting candidates in a highly competitive market is a top priority for organizations, leading recruiting teams to focus more heavily on strategic recruitment marketing. There are a number of sourcing channels available today which include social media, job boards, company career sites, specialized networks such as niche communities or associations, and career fairs where these teams should market the company and available opportunities.  Recruiting teams must have a clear strategy on how to market the company and opportunities via these channels.  Most teams know how to leverage the channels to attract talent but are not well adept at developing strong prospect relationships after the prospect or candidate is engaged as a potential hire. This is the missing piece between attracting top talent and hiring top talent.

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In order to hire top talent through the right channels, recruiting teams should develop a sourcing strategy that includes more than how to attract prospects and candidates. Prospects are defined as individuals that have the right skillsets but are not actively searching for a new opportunity.  Recruiters have always used some form of candidate relationship management techniques during the hiring process to strengthen their candidate pool including an initial outreach to prospects.  The emphasis on an appropriate sourcing strategy to manage the relationships has not necessarily been established, especially when there are budget constraints and sourcing tools are not implemented to support this strategy.  It is imperative in this post COVID world for recruiting organizations to implement a candidate relationship management tool with a streamlined process to manage prospects, as well as how to transition prospects to candidates.

Steps to recruiting success

An effective candidate relationship management tool must include functionality to manage the steps below. These steps will ensure your recruiting organization will be successful when executing their sourcing strategy.   

• Develop a Talent Community strategy
• Include a plan to manage prospects including Candidate Pools
• Decide how best to maintain and share prospects across business lines and appropriate teams  
• Document the rules of engagement when sharing prospects
• Partner with marketing and/or corporate communications to assist in developing the strategy
• Create specific strategies for when to leverage Recruiting Campaigns   
• Requisition or job specific invitations  
• To support recruiting events
•  Communicate with prospects within Candidate Pools

When transitioning prospects to candidates, it is critical to have a seamless process in place in order to limit candidate drop off or disinterest in the opportunity.  Below are some tips to consider for this transition:

• Clearly explain the process and steps required to apply to a specific opportunity
• Ensure the application process is streamlined and will provide a great candidate experience
• If you are not the owner of the requisition or opportunity, have a transition call with the owner prior to sharing the application link with the prospect
• Follow up with the prospect to make sure they are comfortable with the next steps to become a candidate
• A solid candidate relationship management tool should provide easy functionality to support the prospect transition process, i.e. convert them to a candidate.
• Recruiters should be able to add prospects to open requisitions and invite them to apply to the requisition.  
• Recruiters should be able to also create the application on behalf of the candidate when adding them to an open requisition.   

Once the candidate is attached to the requisition, the active recruiting process begins and the prospect (now candidate) should be well positioned as a high potential candidate for hire.  The return on investment for creating and nurturing the relationship with prospects is geared at yielding better hires and implementing a candidate relationship management tool that will support this effort by ensuring quality interactions are tracked throughout the process.  This process also creates a win-win scenario for both candidates and companies.  A key relationship is established prior to the official recruiting process kick off, and the company will have the opportunity to further explore the “right fit” of the candidate.  This sets them both up for great success.

By following the tips outlined above, recruiting organizations are better equipped to address the talent shortage during COVID.  This strategy if followed consistently will continue to provide a stronger advantage in the market today and beyond.

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