2. Key Challenges
• Recruitment demand planning and forecasting requirements
• Lack of ‘pooling’ capability from ATS
• Reactive recruiting vs proactive talent pooling (balance required)
• Maintaining the talent pools
• Risk on Employer Brand if it doesn’t work
• Lack of engagement and support from the line and HR
3. Defining ‘Talent Pools’
Many different terms and methodologies appear to be used – key ones as
follows from the group:
• Talent Pool – open and generic requisitions
• Talent Pipeline – requisition opened 90 days before a vacancy arises to
pipeline candidates for a specific future vacancy
• Talent Bank – engaged candidates that have already been spoken to and
part assessed
4. What works
Structure your recruiters roles accordingly
10% Direct Sourcing on
20% open roles
Building Talent
70% Pools
Other Initiatives
5. How to Talent Pool
• Draw up a list of target companies and find five people who have left and
ask them who they would recommend
• Employee referrals
• New starter referrals
• Leverage speculative applicants
• Build mechanism for continued engagement
• Treat every pool as if it were a requisition
• Choose the role carefully (i.e. Works well for volume requirements but
won’t work for senior finance roles!)
• Track pools on a quarterly basis
6. Talent Pooling Top Tips
• Only talent pool for your top talent and critical roles
• Be open and honest with candidates and ensure you are managing their
expectations
• Incentivise your recruitment team to talent pool
• Sort out your internal forecasting and planning first
• Ensure there is a real business need for a particular pool
• Get sign off at a senior level
• Ensure buy in from Line Managers and HR
• Using a great system (Harbour and File finder recommended!)
• Each recruiter should have 10-30 engaged ‘pipeline star candidates’ at any
one time that they are keeping in touch with
7. Many thanks to all the focus group
attendees for their inputs and
insights