How top TA teams use their existing network to find talent

In today's competitive and constantly changing talent landscape, organizations are looking for ways to stay agile and efficient when it comes to hiring talent. 

As a Customer Success Manager at Gem, I've had the privilege of observing how leading companies are revolutionizing their approach to talent acquisition. One striking trend has emerged: the most successful organizations are using their existing talent networks to achieve remarkable hiring speed and efficiency.

Below are four key strategies I’ve seen these top-performing talent teams employ to maximize the value of their talent networks. 

1. Stop Relying on Sourcing New Talent Every Time

Many recruiters instinctively turn to external sources when a new position opens up. However, our data reveals a surprising trend among Gem's largest enterprise customers: 50-75% of their sourced hires actually come from their own internal database of talent, including past prospects and previous candidates.

This approach offers several advantages:

• Faster conversion rates for engaged passive talent compared to sourcing net-new candidates

• Reduced reliance on costly external databases, social networks, and job boards

• A more efficient use of resources, as these candidates are already familiar with your organization

To implement this strategy effectively, these teams are building robust processes in place to search, nurture, and re-engage past prospects and candidates within your existing talent network. 

2. Silver Medalists are a Hidden Gold Mine

Silver medalist candidates – those who made it to the final stages but weren't ultimately selected – represent a valuable pool of talent that's often overlooked. These individuals are well-qualified and have already expressed interest in your organization, making them:

• More likely to consider future job opportunities at your company

• Quicker to move through your hiring process

• More likely to reach the offer stage

To effectively tap into this gold mine of talent, consider the following best practices:

• Prioritize mission-critical and evergreen roles for silver medalist re-engagement

• Configure your CRM to automate the creation of talent pools based on scorecards and rejection reasons

• Maintain ongoing nurture campaigns to keep your brand top-of-mind

• Use personalized messaging that references their recent career activity and past interactions with your company

Avoid common pitfalls such as relying on ad-hoc tagging systems or searching exclusively within your ATS. Instead, leverage a modern CRM like Gem that offers advanced search capabilities, automated talent pool maintenance, and data refreshing features.

3. Re-engage Previous Prospects Who Said No

Internal talent teams spend countless hours researching and sourcing for key roles, but most net new prospects never convert. Even the most elite sourcers at the world's most renowned companies have a less than 50% conversion rate.

However, circumstances change, and yesterday's "no" could be tomorrow's perfect hire. Top-performing talent teams have developed creative ways to efficiently nurture and re-engage these previous prospects.

Key tactics include:

• Understanding and documenting the "Why Not" – Capture specific reasons why a prospect declined or wasn't selected, such as timing, company size/stage, role/level, or location preferences.

• Automating talent pool building and maintenance – Use custom criteria to create and update talent pools based on reply status, last contact date, and other relevant factors.

• Leveraging dynamic profile refreshes – Regularly update candidate information to track career progression, potential intent to move, and changes in circumstances that might make them a better fit for future roles.

By implementing these strategies, you can turn your database of past prospects into a dynamic, continuously refreshing talent pool ripe for re-engagement.

4. Nurture Potential: From "Maybes" to Future Hires

In today's competitive job market, the surge in inbound applications presents both a challenge and an opportunity. For every great candidate, there might be several who don't quite fit the current opening but show promise for future roles. Smart talent acquisition teams are developing strategies to capitalize on this potential, even when immediate positions are filled.

The "Maybe" Candidates and Overflow Talent

With the recent influx of applications, recruiters often encounter candidates who show potential but may not be an exact fit for the current role. These "maybe" candidates, along with high-quality applicants still in the pipeline when roles are filled, represent a valuable talent pool that shouldn't be overlooked.

Strategies for Success

To make the most of this potential talent:

1. Implement a "Review and Nurture" Approach:

   • Carefully assess profiles for potential, even if they're not an immediate fit or if the role has been filled.

   • Use advanced screening tools to efficiently identify promising candidates.

2. Craft Custom Messaging:

   • Develop templates that express interest in keeping in touch, even if the candidate isn't moving forward in the current process.

   • Be transparent about the situation while emphasizing future opportunities.

3. Maintain Warm Connections:

   • Keep promising talent engaged through company updates and featured job openings.

   • Consider creating a talent community for these high-potential candidates.

4. Leverage Your CRM:

   • Create and manage talent pools based on specific skills or potential fit for future roles.

   • Set up automated nurture reminders to keep top prospects engaged over time.

5. Provide Value:

   • Offer resources, webinars, or networking opportunities that can benefit candidates professionally, even if they're not currently joining your organization.

By implementing these strategies, you're building a valuable talent pipeline for the future, reducing time-to-hire, improving candidate experience, and creating a competitive advantage in accessing high-quality talent.

The Bottom Line

In today's hyper-competitive market, optimizing your approach to talent acquisition isn't just a nice-to-have – it's mission-critical. By leveraging your existing talent network through these four strategies, you can significantly improve your hiring speed and efficiency.

Companies that fail to tap into these resources will struggle with efficiency, while those that invest in the right strategies and tools will be well-positioned to build high-quality, diverse talent pipelines and gain a significant advantage in the battle for top talent.

Gem offers a comprehensive solution with products that work better together to help you implement these strategies effectively, combining intelligent AI with powerful CRM and talent pipelining capabilities.