Let’s start this post by stating the obvious: Every single company out there wants top-tier talent. But when you are searching for suitable candidates and hiring the perfect fit, don’t miss out on building a talent pool.

What is a Talent Pool? 

Preparing your company for the road ahead can be intimidating with so many competitors and limited talent to hire. With a talent pool, you can change the scenario.

A talent pool is a group of qualified candidates who can be your future hires. It is that part of your recruitment strategy that focuses on filling positions that don’t presently exist. It prepares talent acquisition professionals for demand by adopting proactive recruitment instead of reactive. 

Companies that have one, have an organized pipeline of talented, qualified candidates that can be their future employees. 

However, merely creating a talent pool doesn’t make it effective. Nurturing and maintaining interactions within the talent community and building deeper connections for improved employer value proposition is equally essential.

Why Do You Need to Build a Talent Pool? 

One of the most frequent complaints we hear from our clients is the lack of talent they find while recruiting. But that’s not the only scenario they encounter. There are times when they find more than one qualified candidate for a job role. Having a talent pool can help make the right decisions in both scenarios.

Imagine every time you had a job opportunity; you can save the details of qualified, top-talent candidates who are really interested in working with your company; it can also take the load off your talent acquisition team in several ways. 

Here’s why you need to build a talent pool and elevate your talent acquisition strategy:

• Enabling proactive recruiting with updated candidate information ensures you have a constant supply of suitable candidates. It is instrumental when you have to meet your hiring needs urgently.
  
  A live talent pool would prepare you to meet the candidates' demands arising from unexpected departures of existing talent or new business opportunities, saving you the hassle of creating and promoting job openings to attract candidates. 

• Reducing cost per hire One of the top benefits of using a vast pool of talent is reducing advertisement expenditure. Research also shows that talent pools can reduce sourcing costs by 25-50%. To that end, a talent pool (with its ready access to a live talent community) can be your key to leveraging and reducing the cost per hire. 

• Expedite hiring  Apart from reducing your recruitment costs, a talent pool also saves your time spent on screening and interviewing candidates. Studies reveal how almost 50% of organisations have reduced their cost per hire or time to hire with a talent pool. Well, the good news is, you can too. Building a talent pool, thus, is essential to quickly fill positions without disrupting your business operations. 

• Enabling better talent engagement Passive candidates are those applicants that are content in their existing jobs but still want to keep track of what’s happening within your company. When you engage passive talent with news and updates about your company, you may be able to turn some of them into active talent when the opportunity comes. And that’s also a great way to build a strong employer brand!

How to Build a Talent Pool? 

Track Your Talent Inventory 

This is the cornerstone to successful talent pool building. Begin by mapping the talent that you already have and what you may need in the future (both short-and-long-term). Assess the skillset of your current employees and how you can add to it as you advance. However, as you track and map your talent inventory, leave enough room for flexibility. 

Sourcing Talent 

Next comes the vital step of finding the right candidate. To create an effective and proactive talent pool, ensure that you are looking for candidates in the right place. 

• Previous Applicants Well, your first choice should be the candidates who made it to the last round of interviews but didn’t get selected. Often known as the “silver medallists,” they must be a part of your talent pool.

• Resume Databases Traditional sourcing methods like online resume databases can help you find active and passive candidates for your present and future talent needs. Leverage them.

• Career Pages Most modern-age companies understand the importance of career pages in making their presence felt online. And it is one of the easiest ways to build your talent pool. Intrigue your core audience with content that lists what’s in it for them if they join your company and make them a part of your talent community.
  
  You can also create dedicated landing pages for a particular audience, as Spotify does. The brand has smartly built a dedicated student talent pool, and we are all praised.

• Networks It is worth noting that companies can expand their talent pool by 10x using their employees’ networks. That is why networking – be it offline or online – is a must-use tool to build your talent pool. From industry conferences and career fairs to professional networking sites like LinkedIn, all of these sources can help you attract top talent. On that note, you must also tap into employee referrals to reduce your cost and time to hire. Clever, right?

• Inbound Recruiting Another fantastic strategy to convert passive candidates into active ones is inbound recruiting. With insightful and compelling content on your blog posts, social media campaigns, and other content types, you can promote your employer brand as well as drive top talent toward you. Talk about filling two needs with one deed!
  

• Former Employees and Interns Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of your ex-employees and interns in growing your talent pool. While they may or may not consciously be willing to rejoin your company, it never hurts to include them in your talent pool and re-engage them with the perfect opportunity, as and when it comes.
  
  See how McKinsey grows its talent pool with The McKinsey Alumni Center, which focuses on engaging its former consultants. That’s indeed a terrific approach to talent management!

• Keep your talent pool up-to-date 

A talent pool in itself will not be helpful unless it is updated. Stagnant talent pools are worse than not having them in the first place. If you are not keeping your it up-to-date with candidates’ skills, availability, and experience, you are better off without a talent pool. That’s because wrong candidate information may do more harm than good. 

So, as you consider investing in a talent pool, aim for a vibrant community that’s not static and pushes your company toward its long-term goals.

• Maintain your talent relationships

Any talent that doesn’t make it to your hired list needs active engagement to add value. Today's world is so interconnected that you can’t afford to lose great talent to your competitors. Furthermore, it is crucial to create a positive candidate experience to strengthen your employer brand. And constant, healthy interactions with potential talent can help you do that. 

Building a Talent Pool: Best Practices 

Improve your recruiting flow with talent pools built around these best practices:

Inform Them Before You Include Them

When it comes to building a talent community, make sure that you inform the rejected but talented candidates that you may consider them for future positions at your company. In some countries, it may be a legal obligation. But even if it’s not, mentioning that you are interested in hiring them should a suitable opportunity arrives is an excellent way to build rapport.

Don’t Welcome Everyone

Don’t confuse a talent pool with a talent database. While the former includes information on just the top talent, the latter includes it all. Your talent pool, therefore, should only comprise the top-tier candidates to help you wield its power. 

Use Technology

The world of HR tech has been a wonder for hiring professionals. By employing the right technology, you can easily segment your talent with techniques like recruitment segmentation. And the right tools can also help you better engage and nurture different talent types by automating interactions. 

So, go ahead and make your talent pools more effective and relevant by using technology to manage your talent.

Get Help to Build a Vibrant Talent Pool

Let’s face it: not all companies can build and grow a vibrant talent pool without the right support. If you find yourself in a similar situation, let Wiggli be your friend. With our total talent management system, we can help you find the cream of the crop and include them in your list. 

How do we do that? Our exclusive nomenclature based on predefined skills rather than tags enables our expert team to use the same terms without losing top-tier talent in the crowd. Our system also allows us to incorporate a structure that doesn’t move with access to the candidates’ resumes.

Additionally, our pools work with unique identifiers so that you get talent without duplicates. At Wiggli, we help companies create stronger, successful talent pools that are not passing fancies. 

Ready to Drop That Archaic Recruitment Process?

Today’s candidates live in an agile recruitment world where the entire globe is their workplace. To win top talent, drop the archaic recruitment process with proactive recruitment. 

Connect with us, and we will help you implement a Total Talent Management strategy so that you don’t lose out on the best talent. Ever.