Proactive Sourcing: A Guide to Implement Proactive Sourcing Strategies Across Your Organization
Proactive sourcing is an important part of any highly successful recruitment strategy. It involves identifying the top priority positions and a deep understanding of the “who” you should be targeting (sourcing). If you don’t already have a private talent pool of people your recruiters are nurturing and keeping warm for the next open position, then we need to consider what that looks like in your organization (refer to my last blog on building internal talent communities). The last and most important piece of proactive sourcing is defining your organization’s “Why” statement.
This proactive sourcing strategy requires your team to understand your industry, your company’s needs, and where your team can find candidates for specific roles. With this knowledge, sourcing pros, or recruiters, can develop a position-by-position sourcing plan that will help them find and attract the right candidates for their roles.
Who to Source and What Positions to Fill
Winning in the business world requires a thorough understanding of each strategic position within your company. To be successful you must identify the strategic positions that have a significant impact on multiple areas of your company’s core capabilities. In addition, there is a big need to be keenly aware of the current trends in the industry to ensure you are taking advantage of all available sourcing opportunities. This means gaining knowledge as to where all the talent pools are and an understanding of what is important to these potential candidates. Lastly, the recruiting & sourcing teams must have intimate knowledge of how each role fits within your company. By doing this, I can ensure that you will be making decisions that will have a positive impact on your company’s success and growth.
Your Organization’s ‘Why’
The workplace is changing, and candidates are looking for more than just a job. They want to make meaningful connections, have meaningful work, and be part of something bigger than themselves.
For companies that want to attract the right kind of candidates, it is important to identify those who are looking to make a significant impact in what they do. Prioritizing finding candidates who align with your company’s values and mission is imperative. Sourcing is a science, and understanding people is a must.
Start Your Sourcing Engine
Proactive sourcing is essential for successfully filling your strategic positions. Think of it as a talent supply chain that involves identifying and engaging with potential candidates before they even apply for a job, which can help you to create a private talent pool (or a Distribution Center) that you can always draw from for future hires. To make sure you implement your proactive sourcing strategy successfully, it is important to have an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in place and hire a dedicated sourcing person. Know what channels to share your talent brand story on and build up an external list of talent pools that you can fish from. All these steps will help ensure that you are actively engaging with the right potential candidates and building relationships with them so that they feel comfortable applying for your job openings.
Reach Out Today!
To learn more about implementing a proactive sourcing strategy don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at recruitAbility. We have consulting services and can walk you through this process.