Passive Candidate Development
What is it?
Passive Candidate Development is a sourcing strategy used to find quality candidates who are currently employed, not actively looking for a new job and who have a particular desired skill set. Passive search is often used when candidates cannot be found by actively posting a job, hosting a job fair or searching for posted resumes of individuals who are job seeking. This entails identifying a candidate list from competitive companies and proactively calling on those candidates to present the new opportunity.
How is it used?
By directly sourcing management positions from targeted competitors within a similar industry and geography focused areas.
Why would organization use it?
The Department of Labor says that 84 percent of the workforce is made up of Passive Candidates. With Passive Candidates making up the majority of the work force, it is important for an organization to utilize this recruiting tool. Using this approach is popular among hiring managers who specifically know what they want in a candidate.
There are many benefits to using this approach. First being it saves time and money. It is very costly for a company to take on a new employee that needs extensive training, with this approach minimal training is necessary. Because the candidate is already an expert in that field, they are highly knowledgeable about that position. Due to the high cost of training, having to provide minimal training save an organization enormous amounts of money. Training can be especially time consuming, especially if they are new within that field. This approach allows an organization to focus on more pressing matters other than training. Also an organization can be assured the job expectations are being met. Organizations use Passive Candidate Development to fill management positions. Since they are some of the most important positions within a company, they need to be filled with candidates that will get the job done.
Since the candidates are passive, they are currently not looking for a job, which makes it difficult to identify them. The candidate will not be utilizing a job board to post their resume or any forms of social media to display their interest in a new position. Also there are no other available options until you know who the person you are seeking is. Another drawback is making the connection since traditional communication is hindered it is important to use alternative ways. A lot of RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) companies rely on cold calling, in which scenarios will be created to first find out who the person is as well as make initial contact with them.
Passive Candidate Development will provide an organization with a high caliber of skilled, quality, and qualified candidates.
Social Media in recruiting
One new tool is giving organizations the ability to search for quality candidates for free! Social Networking is taking over and if your organization is not already on board it’s time to jump on. Social Networking gives an organization a glimpse into a potential candidates work and school history, likes, dislikes, and personality. No other resource gives an organization the ability to essentially know a candidate before ever making contact with them.
Not only can organizations benefit from using Social Networking but candidates can benefit as well. Candidates are gaining access to the hiring managers, CEO, and CFO of all types of organizations including fortune 500 companies. It can allow candidates to get their foot in the door and gain knowledge about that organization and their staff. If a candidate utilizes the resource they may discover some information about the hiring manager and the organization that can be beneficial during an interview.
Before an organization starts using Social Networking there is pertinent information to know to make Social Networking successful for your organization.
Make the commitment- Social Networking is not just a trend; it is becoming a main resource for recruiting. Once an organization starts there is no turning back. Your organization needs to stay committed to it. Make sure there is consistency in the tone and activity. It is also important to comment on other organization’s blogs and posts; this is free advertisement for your organization. When your comment is posted, it is now publicly seen on your organization’s site, which can attract viewers to your site.
Use resources within your organization- Become “social friends” with your organization’s current and past employees. Being social friends expands a company’s potential candidate pool by providing unlimited access to this network of “social friends”. “Social friends” may share similar interests and work ethics as them and lead to potential recruiting opportunities. Also use employees to promote the organization’s site and potential open positions.
Measure the success- Organizations depend on certain metrics to determine the success of a resource. Social Networking gives your organization the ability to measure the success and customize how your organization chooses to measure the information. An organization needs to set quantitative goals and then track the contacts, candidates, and referrals that result from their social media efforts.
Recruiting Analytics
A survey conducted by The Adler Group asked recruiters and recruiting managers to choose their top key metrics to determine a recruiting team’s success. It is important to know the rate of success of an RPO; many organizations lack the knowledge to understand. Using certain key metrics gives the organization values that can be compared.
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Also organizations should have obtainable expectations from an RPO. Many organizations make the mistake of having unrealistic goals, and are often left disappointed in the outcome. Best in class RPO’s have typical results that include:
Higher offer acceptance rate- Overall 90% acceptance rate
Higher new hire retention rate- 55% improvement in new hire
Time-to-fill- 60% reduction in time to fill
Higher staffing efficiency ratio- Significantly increases
Lower cost per hire- Reduce it by 48%
Quality of candidate- 97% improvement
Hiring manager satisfaction- 67% increase in hiring manager satisfaction
*Aberdeen Group report “RPO in 2009”
It is important for an organization to know what key metrics to use to follow the success of the RPO. Knowing how to measure can lead your organization to increased ROI as well as time saving.
Do RPO’s really work?
The Department of Labor Statistics estimate that 24 million people will leave the work force and 19% of all executives, managerial & administrative personnel will retire within five years. So there is a need for fast, efficient, time saving ways of hiring. RPO’s can be the solution for that problem. NelsonHall, a Boston-based research firm specializing in business process outsourcing, has projected a 37% annual growth in the RPO industry. They forecast that the RPO industry will become a $7 billion industry globally in 2010. RPO’s are becoming the new way to solve an organization’s hiring needs, so it’s essential for an organization to understand what an RPO can do.
The first thing an organization considers when making a change from the status quo is the cost. An organization can increase their ROI with efficient employees and services that can save their organization large amounts of money. Most RPO’s offer customized packages that can fit an organization’s hiring process needs.
Most importantly, a company wants to see results; an organization will be able to see an expanded candidate pipeline, increased candidate quality, shortened cycle times, reduced cost-per-hire, and improved measurement of recruitment metrics. Hire Velocity was approached by an organization looking for diverse candidates. In less than a month, more than 500 candidates were screened with over 90% of those screened being selected to move to the next stage. This is the type of results that an RPO can deliver as an extension of your team.
HR departments are limited in their resources, while RPO’s typically have unlimited access to a multitude of paid and free job boards. RPO’s also use alternative ways to capture potential candidates and have recently been taking advantage of Social Media, which is a fairly new aspect in recruiting services. Having these resources available presents your hiring manager with more choices for selecting top performing candidates.
Hiring managers utilize RPO’s because it provides the best fit candidates. It is a cost effective approach to an organization’s hiring needs. RPO’s are essential to acquiring top notch candidates while freeing up internal HR resources/recruiters and their hiring managers to perform other important tasks.
Candidates find the RPO process less stressful and more convenient. As a candidate, you are receiving more specialized attention, and the process is smoother. Some organizations are lacking the appropriate screening process which can leave candidates feeling like a small fish in a big pond.
Recruiters are able to use RPO’s as alternative resources giving them more access to sourcing resources than they would normally have. Because RPO’s cast a wider net and handle all the screening and admin work, recruiters can focus on qualified, available and interested candidates versus weeding through piles of unqualified candidates.
RPO’s can save your organization time, money, and energy in your quest for quality talent. It will free up your staff to stay focused on their goals of increasing profits to your company’s bottom line. It is clear that RPO’s really do work and the results are tangible.
Top 10 blogs that relate to recruiting
These are the top 10 blogs that relate to recruiting. They give information about new tips and tricks to the industry as well as advice.
1). HR Marketer Blog
(http://hrmarketer.blogspot.com/)
This blog aims to speak to the HR marketplace and touches on topics like PR, social media, recruiting and more.
2). I’m So Corporate
This blogger shares ideas on how to use technology to facilitate hiring, recruiting and other HR practices.
3). Rehaul
Lance Haun has years of experience in HR recruiting and social media, making him a great resource for information on how business and people interact.
(http://www.therecruiterslounge.com/)
Visit this blog to learn more about the recruiting process and how you can make it more successful.
5). The Talent Buzz
Learn more about hiring forecasts, technology, recruiting and more from this blog.
(http://sixdegreesfromdave.com/)
Check out this blog from social media marketing, talent development and recruiting expert Dave Mendoza. (http://sixdegreesfromdave.com/)
(http://www.drjohnsullivan.com/)
This blog is a great place to learn about talent management, leadership, marketing and recruitment.
8). HR Tests
(http://hrtests.blogspot.com/)
This blog focuses on HR testing so you can find employees that are truly right for the job.
9). Renegade HR
From tips on creating HR TV to ideas on being a better leader, this site is a good source of HR information.
10). Michael Specht
(http://specht.com.au/michael/)
This blog covers topics like technology, human resources, enterprise 2.0, recruitment and more.
“Diversity: Stop Talking and Start Hiring”
On Thursday May 20th 2010 Hire Velocity & AllianceQ hosted a webinar to discuss diversity in the workplace and the steps a company should take to build a great diversity candidate pool.
First, let’s analyze your company’s level of sophistication with diversity recruiting. We’ll use the analogy of snow skiing skill levels.
Beginner- This entails defining diversity within your organization whether it gender, lifestyle, or ethnicity. Such a simple question has the ability to lead your organization to success or downfall.
Intermediate- This consists of three important questions: 1) Where and why do we need diversity?, 2) What are the demographics?, 3) Are the needs and demographics aligned? At the intermediate level, your organization is thinking in terms of long term success. Knowing where your organization is in terms of your diversity strategy is key to establishing the staff you need.
Advanced- This level is where you are putting your plans into action. You are actively finding talent and pipelining talent. The most action is happening at this level. You are finding out what is working for your company and what isn’t by y identifying the organization’s failure points and correcting them.
Expert- This is the final level where you are able to define and measure ROI. The ultimate goal of your organization is to be at this level. This is where you have answered all the necessary questions and performed all the tasks.
Most would think organizations would consider themselves advanced or expert. Not to our surprise, our live poll showed 30% of webinar participants were beginners and 48% intermediate. With organizations finding themselves at the beginner or intermediate level, there is a definite need for help.
Below are some important tips from the webinar to aid in diversifying your organization:
Do some investigation: Establish relationships with those who are happy in their current organization. Establishing the relationship can lead to potentially having them join your team at a future time. Take advantage of situations that may lead them to leave their current position, such as not gaining a promotion or a poor quarter in sales.
Be willing to train: While the diverse candidate you are looking for may not have the exact background you want, keep in mind that doesn’t mean they can’t meet your expectations. Be willing to train those who have potential and be flexible with your needs.
Be realistic with your expectations: Many organizations are looking for the quick fix. Often having this mentality will lead you to instant failure. You need to understand this is a multi-year approach and time needs to be dedicated to develop the right candidate pool.
One new social media tool can be a great aid in diversifying your organization. LinkedIn has become a resource that organizations shouldn’t live without; it has become the life line needed to ensure you are getting the diverse staff that is needed. One major aspect of LinkedIn is that you have a photo of the potential candidate, and since the information is being published online, the chance of discrepancies is greatly reduced. It is a database full of potential candidates, and you can narrow your search to tailor your specific needs. Oh and did I mention it’s free!
Using these tools as a map can lead your organization to a successful and diverse workplace. “Diversity is no longer the right thing to do.” It is something that helps organizations grow and develop the strength they need to establish and remain.