Candidate Sourcing: What the Experts Want You To Know
Sourcing the best people for your organization is challenging, even with all the technology available to help HR leaders today. Hearing from fellow leaders can offer valuable perspectives on what best practices and technologies you should be using to enhance your candidate sourcing strategies. Here’s what seven experienced HR leaders in the talent acquisition space advise for fellow leaders looking to have greater success with their candidate sourcing.
1. Balance Using Data With Human Empathy
There’s a wealth of data at HR’s fingertips these days, and that data can be used wisely to make better hiring decisions. But candidates are (understandably) nervous about data, analytics, and AI being used to make hiring decisions without a human ever being involved.
Harry Stone is a talent acquisition leader in the TA space, and he has advice for other HR leaders on how to approach using data with a human-centered approach to recruiting.
“There’s a balance between the art and science of thinking about data and then also thinking about more subjective ways of making decisions. Because HR is definitely making decisions about people’s lives. I always like to focus on the why and the how and the what and diving into what the business wants to do.”
“Why are we making this decision? How did we get here? What kind of information can we pull from the candidate from the market from the hiring teams from the other interviewers or panels? And how can we craft a decision that balances it all out? Making decisions that way, at least there’s some type of data behind making choices that are hopefully on the best path.”
And don’t forget about the importance of using the same data to measure all candidates to give everyone a level playing field. Robert Kaskel, chief people officer at Checkr, says that assessments are a good tool to reduce bias when gathering data.
“The most important thing is to remain consistent in your assessment because every candidate needs to be measured by the same ‘stick.’ I like to give a short, skills-based assignment ahead of the interview to give candidates time to work through the challenge and fill out their solutions thoughtfully, because not everyone performs well on the spot in an interview.”
2. Adapt to a Changing World
The landscape in talent acquisition, and the broader labor market, has changed dramatically in the last five years. A global pandemic upended how many people work, and continuing shifts in technology, workplace cultures, and more make keeping up with the changes essential.
Desiree Goldey is the Director of Talent Operations and Culture at ZRG’s Embedded Recruiting Division, and she offers this advice for all HR leaders about the newest challenges in hiring and managing top talent.
“Navigating the post-pandemic world has introduced a new level of complexity to hiring and talent management. The challenge is not just finding talent, but aligning our work culture with the evolving expectations of the workforce. It’s about creating an environment that supports flexibility, wellness, and continuous learning. And let’s not forget about combating the ever-present specter of bias in our processes.”
3. Build a Strong Network
One thing that can help HR leaders stay up to date in a fast-changing world is having a strong network of peers to turn to with questions, problems, and new opportunities. Trent Cotton, the VP of Talent & Culture at Hatchworks, says that making those connections with fellow leaders has helped him succeed.
“I am lucky to have an amazing network of former colleagues and HR practitioners I have sat on panels with or been conference speakers with. I find this is the best way to crowdsource data, analyze what works, and executive quickly. Keeping such an esteemed group of pros who are just as competitive and innovative as I try to be is the motivation for constantly evolving forward to success.”
Community matters now more than ever in the age of AI, says Hung Lee, the curator of the Recruiting Brainfood newsletter.
“We need to lean into community. The mainstreaming of AI will be transformational and our best bet as talent professionals is to lean into our peer communities, expand our professional networks, and deepen our relationships with people in our network. We need to remember that artificial intelligence is trained on documented information, but the most significant information in the people business is often undocumented — exactly the type which flows through the informal connections we have in the community.”
4. Communicate Regularly With Candidates
In a time where communicating with candidates during a job search has never been easier, many companies still overlook its importance. The trend of “ghosting” applicants leaves them with a negative impression of your brand, and it’s easily avoided with proactive updates.
Talent acquisition leader Melissa Grabiner notes the critical importance of these communications to build a better employer brand.
“It’s really as simple as keeping candidates informed about the status of their application and any changes in the process. From a candidate’s perspective, it’s really stressful looking for a job, and they appreciate knowing where they stand in the hiring process at any given time. Even if they’re not selected for the position, let the candidate know that. Don’t ghost them. Don’t leave them in the dark.”
5. Integrate Automation to Save Recruiters Time
There are so many tools on the market now that can automate formerly manual tasks, saving your recruiting team valuable hours every week. Taking advantage of these tools strategically means knowing how they can best serve the humans who work for you.
Destiny Kasubaski Rosado is a TA leader at Lamar Advertising and she loves to make use of automation and has sage advice for leaders who want to do the same.
“All things automation and integration make my heart sing these days. Any chance we have to eliminate manual work that can be ingested by systems revolutionizes our daily work, giving us more time to do the things that require a human touch. More specifically, seeing how many solutions can plug directly into our HRIS has been incredible. Cangrade has been a beautiful example, saving our department and hiring managers significant time on every requisition.”
Takeaways
Staying up to date with the latest candidates sourcing strategies and tools is essential if you want to compete for the best talent. Connect with your leadership peers in other organizations, keep the candidate experience and communication top of mind, and automate wisely, and you’ll be on your way to more successful candidate sourcing.