Candidate Pipeline Guide: How to Nurture Your Talent Pool to Meet Any Hiring Need

When it comes to building a robust talent pipeline that meets all your hiring needs, the struggle is real. After all, there are a myriad of challenges recruiters and hiring teams must overcome to develop that glorious pipeline of candidates who are interview ready and eager to dive into the role you’re sourcing.

The good news is, that with the right strategy, you can create a blooming pool of pre-screened, qualified talent. But it starts and ends with understanding the importance of successfully nurturing your pool of candidates. There are a variety of other elements to consider if you want to achieve maximum results but let’s start by exploring what candidate nurturing is and why it’s critical to the development of a robust talent pipeline.

What is Candidate Nurturing and Why is it Important for Building a Robust Talent Pipeline?

Every human relationship requires nurturing in order to thrive. The relationship between recruiters and candidates is no exception. Building a strong, productive relationship with the individuals in your talent pool is critical to ensuring your organization has a steady supply of qualified, compatible candidates. Continuously nurturing relationships with candidates not only helps you build a pool of skilled and engaged candidates for job openings that arise, it can significantly reduce the time and cost involved in the recruitment process allowing you to fill positions quickly, efficiently – and with the right people.

Not to mention the need to nurture passive candidates who are not actively seeking a new role. And considering 70% of workers across the globe are passive candidates, it’s essential to have a solid strategy for nurturing and engaging both active and passive talent.

Candidate nurturing is also a great way to build your employer brand. By actively engaging with potential candidates and creating positive experiences, you can establish a reputation as an employer of choice. This can attract top talent to your organization, further enhancing your talent pipeline.

Elements of an Effective Talent Nurture Campaign

Now that you understand the importance of candidate nurturing, let’s discuss some of the elements of an effective talent nurture campaign.

Establish Candidate Profiles

A candidate profile is a detailed description of the skills, qualifications, experience, and personal characteristics that your ideal candidate possesses. Establishing candidate profiles can help you identify and target candidates who are most likely to succeed in the roles you’re looking to fill and is a great first step in your candidate nurturing campaign.

To establish candidate profiles, start by analyzing your existing workforce and identifying the key skills and characteristics that have contributed to their success. You can also use job descriptions, performance reviews, and other data to create a profile of your ideal candidate. This should include information about their education, work experience, skills, personality traits, and other factors that are important for success in your organization.

Once you’ve set up your candidate profiles, use them to guide your recruitment efforts. You can create targeted job postings and use them to identify and reach out to candidates who fit your profiles. You can also use them to personalize communication with candidates, tailoring your messaging to their specific needs and interests.

Candidate profiles can allow you to focus your efforts on the candidates who are most likely to be a good fit for your organization, which in turn, can increase recruiting efficiency and save you time and money in the long run.

Make Candidate Communication a Priority

Another key to building a robust talent pipeline through effective candidate nurturing is centered around candidate engagement. Maintaining regular communication with your candidates is essential to keeping them engaged and interested in your organization. One survey indicated that 75% of job seekers were “ghosted” by an employer after an interview. This lack of communication can leave them feeling neglected, disinterested, and can result in real damage to your employer brand.

Make sure you have a system in place that ensures you keep in touch with candidates throughout the recruitment process. Whether it’s a quick update or a friendly email, it’s important to make them feel like you’re still interested in them and appreciate their time. When candidates feel like they’re a priority, they’ll be more likely to remain engaged and stay in your internal talent pipeline.

Use a Variety of Channels to Nurture Talent

The more channels you use to nurture talent, the better your chances are of keeping them engaged and a part of your internal talent pool. Here are some of the channels you can incorporate to your nurture campaign.

Email: A classic but effective way to communicate with potential candidates. But be sure to personalize your messages as much as possible and avoid sending spammy or generic emails.

Events: Whether it’s a career fair, a webinar, or a meet-and-greet, events are a great way to connect with potential candidates in person and start building relationships.

Referral programs: Don’t forget about the power of your current employees! Encourage them to refer their friends and network to your company.

Social media: Social media can be an effective mechanism for nurturing candidates, particularly if you’re targeting millennials or Gen-Zs.

Here are some tips for making the most of social media in your candidate nurture campaign:

• Be authentic: Don’t just post job listings and company updates. Share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your company culture, photos of team outings, and other fun, humanizing content.
• Use visuals: People are more likely to engage with posts that include photos or videos. Use eye-catching visuals to make your social media posts stand out.
• Interact with potential candidates: If someone comments on your post or asks a question, make sure you respond promptly and in a friendly, helpful manner.
• Make it easy to apply: Nobody enjoys a labor-intensive application process. In fact, 70% of job seekers said they will not complete a job application if it takes longer than 15 minutes. If you do post job openings on social media, make sure there’s a clear call-to-action and an easy way for candidates to apply (such as a link to your careers page).

Remember, the key to success with any channel is to be consistent, genuine, and focused on building relationships rather than just pushing job listings.

Leverage Employer Branding

In today’s job market, employer branding is more important than ever before. It’s critical to showcase your company culture and values, highlight employee benefits and create a positive image in the minds of job seekers. By doing so, you’ll attract top talent to your organization and build a strong talent pipeline.

Start by creating a strong brand identity that sets your company apart from the competition. For example, if your company values work-life balance, showcase this in your job descriptions and employee testimonials. By doing so, you’ll attract candidates who share your values and are more likely to fit within your company culture. Having a clear mission statement, and a visually appealing website can also help you showcase your employer brand. Once you’ve established your brand, use it to attract and engage with potential candidates through social media, career fairs, and job postings.

Deliver an Unparalleled Candidate Experience

If you’re doing all of the above, you’re probably already delivering an exceptional candidate experience. But the importance of this element in a successful nurture campaign cannot be overstated. It can, not only impact your employer brand, it can also affect your ability to build that robust talent pipeline you’re looking for. So much so, that 81% of candidates in one survey said that a positive candidate experience during the hiring phase influenced their decision to accept a job offer.

However, it can be challenging to keep up with the pace required to simultaneously recruit, hire and manage talent, and still deliver a great candidate experience. This is where the right AI sourcing tool can be a game changer.

Where AI and Automation Can Help

AI and automation have revolutionized the recruitment process in so many ways. Incorporating the right technology can automate routine tasks, increase efficiency and streamline candidate management. Here are some ways the right AI sourcing tool can significantly aid in building a strong candidate pipeline and nurture campaign.

Automate Candidate Communication: One of the most critical aspects of a candidate nurture campaign is keeping them engaged with your brand and communicating effectively throughout the recruiting process. With a single communication interface featuring talk, text, email and chatbot options for communication, a sourcing platform such as Arya, can automate this process enable timely, yet personalized communication with your candidates.

Efficient Resume Screening: Recruiters often face the daunting task of sorting through thousands of resumes to find the right candidates. Arya’s talent scoring and ranking capability does the screening for you. Based on the job parameters you input, the platform delivers a deduplicated list of qualified candidates, scored and ranked based on deep compatibility, reducing candidate review and shortlisting time by 50%.

Candidate Rediscovery: The AI in Arya can also be leveraged to score and rank your own internal talent pool enabling candidate rediscovery and allowing you to capitalize on talent you’ve already invested in.

Measure Results and Learn from the Metrics

Once you’ve implemented your nurture campaign for a while, it’s important to measure the results to determine how effective your strategy is.

Key Metrics to Measure

• Conversion rates: How many of your nurtured candidates have moved through each stage of the pipeline, from initial engagement to application and hiring.
• Time to hire: How long does it take to hire candidates who have been nurtured versus those who have not?
• Cost per hire: What is the cost of hiring candidates from your talent pipeline compared to traditional recruitment methods?
• Candidate satisfaction: How satisfied are candidates with their experience of being nurtured?

By analyzing your campaign’s results, you can determine which elements are working and refine your campaign to achieve optimal results.

Final Thoughts

Let’s face it, without a robust talent pipeline, filling open roles is not just difficult, it’s virtually impossible. However, taking the necessary steps to find, nurture, and keep talent engaged is not impossible and with the right strategy, can take your recruiting to the next level with a robust pipeline for every hiring need. Integrating the right AI sourcing tool is a giant step in the right direction! If you’d like to Learn More about the 2023 HR Tech Award winning sourcing platform that is Arya – book your demo today!

FAQs

What is a candidate pipeline?

A candidate pipeline is a pool of potential job candidates who have already expressed interest in working for your company. These candidates are not actively looking for a job at the moment but can be nurtured over time to eventually fill a position in the company.

Why is candidate nurturing important?

Candidate nurturing helps to build a strong talent pool that can be accessed whenever there is a hiring need. It also helps to establish a relationship with potential candidates, making it easier to attract top talent when a job opening arises.

How do I build a talent nurture campaign?

To build a talent nurture campaign, you first need to establish candidate profiles based on your company’s needs. Next, create a communication plan that includes a variety of channels and content that resonates with your target audience. Leverage employer branding to attract candidates and use AI and automation tools to streamline the process.

What channels should I use to communicate with potential candidates?

There are a variety of channels you can use to communicate with potential candidates, including email, social media, newsletters, and job boards. You should use a mix of channels to reach a wider audience and tailor your messaging to each platform.

How can I leverage employer branding to attract candidates?

Your employer brand is your reputation as an employer. To attract candidates, showcase what makes your company a great place to work through employee testimonials, photos, videos, and social media posts. Highlight your company culture, values, and benefits.

Can AI and automation help with candidate nurturing?

Yes, AI and automation can help with candidate nurturing by automating repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails and scheduling interviews. It can also provide insights into candidate behavior and preferences, helping you to tailor your communication and content to their needs.

How do I measure the success of my talent nurture campaign?

You can measure the success of your talent nurture campaign by tracking metrics such as open and click-through rates on emails, social media engagement, and the number of candidates who move through the hiring process. Use these metrics to identify areas for improvement and adjust your campaign accordingly.

What are the benefits of having a strong candidate pipeline?

Having a strong candidate pipeline allows you to access a pool of potential candidates whenever there is a hiring need, reducing the time and cost of recruiting. It also allows you to attract top talent and build a reputation as an employer of choice.

Resources

• https://www.greenhouse.com/blog/key-learnings-from-the-2022-greenhouse-candidate-experience-report