If it feels like you’ve exhausted all of your channels for sourcing job candidates these days, you’re not alone. Even though the job market is cooling, many businesses including those in the hospitality and skilled trade industries are still struggling to attract talent.
At times when it seems as though you’ve hit a dead end, it’s important to think outside the box and expand your reach to different pools of talent. That’s where great talent relationship management (TRM) comes into play. TRM is the HR and business practice of building and nurturing long-lasting relationships with talent and then sourcing candidates from that pool when looking to fill open roles.
TRM is critical for sourcing talent for hard-to-fill roles because it works by sourcing candidates from a pool that has already been vetted. You already know who they are, what skills they have, how they’ve grown over time, and what roles they’d be a fit for. You can then move fast because you eliminate the time it takes to source, screen, and vet new candidates you’ve never met.
But TRM is certainly easier said than done. The biggest question recruiters and HR teams often have is who exactly should you be engaging with over time? In part one of our three part series, we’re going to dive deeper into engaging with silver-medalist or runner-up candidates.
Who are silver-medalist candidates?
A silver-medalist candidate is an individual who was a contender for an open role in the past but was never hired. They may have accepted a role at a different organization or you chose to hire a different candidate instead.
This is an often overlooked group of talent to source from for future roles. You already know they’re qualified for and interested in your organization. And because they’ve made it relatively far in your hiring process, you’ve already vetted them to an extent — meaning you could hire them fast should they be interested in a different role. What’s more, most former candidates are willing to explore other options with your organization. In fact, a recent Hireology study found that 84% of job seekers would be interested in taking a job at a company they interviewed with in the past but did not receive an offer or take the job.
The key to leveraging silver-medalist candidates is staying in touch with them over time. Whether they turned down your offer or you moved forward with a different candidate, you’ll want to start communicating with these folks right away and then send a regular cadence of updates from there. Let’s take a closer look.
Engaging with silver-medalist candidates
First and foremost you’ll want to build a centralized database that houses all of your silver-medalist candidates. It’s difficult to regularly communicate with a group when information like their background, history with your organization, and email address is disorganized and disparate. The best way to do this is with an advanced applicant tracking system that allows you to easily group, manage, and search for contacts.
When it comes to communication it helps to set up communication automation, which again is easier to do with a tool that facilities this. You should have a flow of emails that is sent right when a candidate is either rejected or turns down a job thanking them for their time and laying the groundwork for future employment at your organization. Make it clear that the door is always open should the right opportunity arise down the line.
From there, send regular email or text message campaigns updating this group about anything that will keep your organization top of mind for them, such as:
- New job openings
- Changes in your employee benefits and other offerings
- Company milestones such as years in business
- Exciting company wins such as office expansions
That way, you’ll be on their mind should they be interested in leaving their current job. Additionally, it keeps them informed about updates you made that may have been a deal breaker before. For example, maybe you didn’t have a defined flexibility policy when they first applied, but you now have one in place. Letting them know might encourage them to reconsider working for you down the line.
As noted above, the right software makes TRM much easier. The ability to keep track of former candidates and automate campaigns frees up your team’s time to focus on the human touch often required in recruiting and hiring. Stay tuned for some exciting TRM updates to come from Hireology!
