Finding human talent is one of the most crucial aspects of running a business. There’s a direct correlation between the time spent finding the right people and how successful a company functions. As important as sourcing the right talent is, this can be particularly challenging, especially in high-demand fields like IT. Many experts project a talent shortage of more than 85 million people by 2030, which will cause an estimated loss of $8.5 trillion in revenues.
Additionally, only 30% of the global workforce actively seeks opportunities. On top of that, 29.31% of businesses find it challenging to identify if candidates have the right skills. Talent Sourcing is one of the most common approaches to modern recruitment. It perfectly adapts to the new digital era where remote work has become increasingly popular. It isn’t a surprise that Talent Sourcing is so critical for digital agencies focused on IT.
Talent Sourcing is one specific aspect of what’s commonly known as Human Resources (RH). Companies may have either HR professionals doing Talent Sourcing or employees especially dedicated to that, known as Talent Sourcers. Probably the best analogy to describe how the Talent Sourcing process goes is to think of it as sales initiatives. On the one hand, businesses create a buyer persona, design a reach-out strategy, and turn them into leads and, eventually, clients. On the other hand, enterprises also design candidate personas intending to reach out to them and turn them into employees. The goal is to build a network of qualified professionals to fill current and future vacancies. Talent Sourcing aims to convert potential candidates into applicants, starting with understanding the project requirements.
Talent Sourcing without fully understanding the project requirements is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Only imagine how difficult that can get in complex industries like IT. There are endless tools and many detailed areas of expertise that IT professionals can focus on. Also, remember that you can’t forget your business's short-term and long-term goals. In a nutshell, Talent Sourcing involves identifying a vast pool of qualified professionals and designing a strategy to attract them so they can become applicants. You can think of it as the first phase of Talent Acquisition.
Needless to say, these steps can vary slightly depending on your team’s size, field of expertise, and specific needs. However, this is how most Talent Sourcing processes look in real life.
A Talent Sourcing strategist is supposed to document all the project requirements and elaborate a concise job description. As mentioned above, it’s crucial to understand the project’s needs fully. There’s no point in making a job description if you don’t fully understand the experience, expertise, and skills the project requires.
Talent Sourcer Strategists must define the soft and technical skills applicants should have to qualify for the position. In this manner, they should specify what skills are a “nice-to-have” or a “must-have” for the job. Determining the company's expectations of the ideal candidate is also important. Some experts refer to this whole process as identifying the qualities of the perfect applicants.
Once you’ve identified the ideal candidates’ skills and created a persona, it’s time to make a strategy. You must consider every aspect of the job description and project requirements to select the best pool of potential candidates. Remember that the pool or platform where you search for candidates plays a major role and largely determines whether you find the right people and how quickly you do it.
The strategy should include planning, expectations, budget, and overall goals. In case you haven’t done this already, you should also assemble a team of sourcing experts depending on the complexity of the vacancies. In addition, it’s very important to define further steps in the selection process. Sourcers should be able to inform candidates about the next steps when contacting them.
You have a job description, a plan, a budget, expectations, and a team of sourcers. Now, it’s time to find and reach out to potential candidates on the platforms or pools you should’ve selected in the previous step. It’s important to use direct, concise, and personalized messages for the best results. Depending on the platform and the position, you can specify a few of the most important and mandatory skills.
The outreach will allow you to start creating engagement with candidates and give them the first impression of your brand. The outreach aims to begin the first interaction, determining whether the prospects are interested in the job proposal. We’ll give you some tips shortly.
It’s crucial to keep track of the responses you get from candidates to update the strategy if needed. Measuring the number of responses you get versus the number of messages you send is highly recommended. Moreover, analyze how many positive and negative responses you’re getting. Combine all that with any feedback you receive from candidates to refine your current approach and get better results.
You’ll want to support the Talent Sourcing process with the right tools. Your chosen tools will depend on the platforms where you plan to find the prospects and your budget.
Ensure you give candidates the best possible treatment, showing them you value their time and responsiveness. Instructing them on the selection process is key, detailing all the steps. That’s especially important if the selection process involves multiple instances. Secure you are responsive, respect their time, and treat them in a friendly yet professional manner.
Also, it’s very good practice to let them know the position’s rate or your budget before advancing with the selection process. Ultimately, remember to inform them about the selection process's status constantly. Let them know if they move to the next phase or they don’t as soon as you can. Giving them detailed feedback if they ask for it is also very good practice and shows you value their time and effort.
Talent Sourcing allows businesses from all industries to build a constant flow of applicants for current and future projects. As a result, it offers great help in finishing projects and delivering top-notch products promptly, meeting clients’ expectations. This process can be daunting and confusing for businesses looking for IT professionals. That’s why, at Hirelander, we’re committed to helping you find the right people for your project in the shortest time. We aim to find the best and most qualified candidates per your budget and project requirements. Our goal is to help you deliver tons of value to your audience and exceed their expectations. Feel free to contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help you find world-class talent!
