Council Post: Talent Pipelining: How To Land The Top Talent Of Your Dreams

Recruiting is like dating: You need a plan for future success. But without building a foundation and trust with candidates, they likely won’t last for the long haul.

Today’s talent has access to more opportunities and options when it comes to a potential employer. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6% in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which means that candidates can afford to be selective when choosing a partner.

For employers, you have a limited window of time where talent is searching for their next move. You want to strike while the iron is hot without coming on too strong, or else you risk getting burned down the road.  Pipelining talent — or being proactive in recruiting — helps with this. It allows you to build connections, trust and relationships with individuals who you might need in your business down the road.

Why should you always be pipelining talent?

You likely wouldn’t ask for someone’s hand in marriage when meeting them for the first time (unless you’re on a reality television show), and you probably wouldn’t offer a job to someone you just met. Instead, you would take a bit of time to build trust on both ends so that you and the candidate are confident in the hiring decision. This is where pipelining comes in.

First, it saves you the time you’d be spending on sourcing fresh candidates, thus decreasing your overall time-to-hire. Talent today is in high demand. Building relationships with future candidates will also significantly contribute to a great experience if and when they go through your interview process. Pipelining talent allows you to build a strong foundation for your talent experience strategy.

A great candidate experience is no longer a “nice to have.” In a competitive job market, it’s a necessity. Talent deserves to have a good, engaging experience. If you’ve already built the trust, you’re offering that from day one.

So, how do you effectively pipeline talent?

1. Plan ahead and map your own personal CRM.

Start mapping connections from your own network, and have a plan of the relationships you need to start building. Determine which roles typically need a pipeline, and focus on reaching out to those connections first.

For example, having a pipeline makes sense for roles that typically have high turnover rates, such as sales roles. Pipelining is also critical for teams that need to scale, such as customer service, marketing and more. These types of positions open frequently and usually require candidates with a specific skill set. Talent pipelines are also useful for hard-to-fill roles that translate into high-revenue loss while vacant, such as executive roles.

Next, decide how frequently you need to reach out. Engaging with passive candidates is key to building your talent pipeline. Let them determine how they want to stay in touch and how often. It’s good to suggest regular check-ins (e.g., weekly, monthly or quarterly), but let the candidates tell you what they are comfortable with. This is also a great time to build your employer brand. Companies with great culture and strong employer reputations have a head start here.

2. Engage with potential candidates.

Building a pipeline of candidates, especially for positions that aren’t open, isn’t easy. It’s critical to put in the work upfront to create those touchpoints. Ask to meet for coffee or lunch, invite them to industry events or just schedule a quick phone call. Find the right strategy that works for you and your potential candidates. Last, show genuine interest in each of these connections, and be respectful of their time.

3. Expand beyond your first-degree networks.

Qualified passive candidates are everywhere; just look at your social media, personal networks and internal talent database. Be effective in your sourcing to find candidates for your pipeline. Once you find people in the right industries, locations, job function and more, reach out to them with the tactics in step No. 2 in order to build those relationships.

4. Stay relevant and top of mind.

Find a way to stay relevant and top of mind with your connections. Make your connections engaging and genuine throughout the process. The market is extremely competitive for good talent. You’re competing with small and large companies, a range of budgets, employee perks and a low unemployment rate. If you’re actively building a pipeline, you’re already creating the foundation for future success and relationships that will stick.

Hiring a new teammate and landing the right person for long-term success are some of the most important decisions you will make. It’s a process. It’s vetted, it’s strategic, it takes time to build a foundation and go deeper with each interaction. You probably wouldn’t marry someone after two dates, so don’t hire someone without the proper vetting and foundation.

The bottom line is this: Trusted relationships are critical when it comes to building your teams. Your teammates are your most important asset, so be prepared, proactive and take time building the right talent pipeline.