UK 
United States
In this mini series of articles, we’re looking at talent pool management and how it is becoming a vital recruiting tool. This is particularly true in the current candidate-driven recruitment market. In fact, the UK could reach full employment in 2016, triggering a period of extreme candidate scarcity. In such a competitive market the ability to quickly market to a warm pool of passive candidates could be vital for making successful placements.
Last month we talked about “The Art of Segmentation”. But once you are happy with your talent pool segments, how do you communicate with them? While there is no definitive “one size fits all” solution, here are 6 tips on communicating with your talent pool.
1. Permission based communications.
For the best results, ensure that candidates “opt-in” to receive your communications. Studies have shown that candidates who actively “opt-in” are far more engaged with content than if you simply assume candidates want to receive your communique.
2. Unsubscribe doesn’t necessarily mean no
Well it does. It means the candidate doesn’t want to hear from you right now. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the candidate doesn’t want to work for you. Ensure that when a candidate unsubscribes, you honour their wishes. They may come back to you in the future. Modern recruitment software should be able remove any administrative burden and manage unsubscribes automatically.
3. A/B test
Split your segment in half. Send 50% an email at 10am and the other 50% an email at 12pm- test different titles as well. Using this method, you can quickly find out the optimal time to send out communications. It’s important to note that this may not be the same time for every segment. Passive candidates who are currently working might not want communications during their working day, but this could actually be the best time to contact active candidates.
4. Automation revolution
The ability to automatically schedule vacancy updates to your talent pool can be huge for the time strapped recruiter. Again, modern recruitment software should be able to handle this task with ease.
5. The power of mobile
Mobile communications can be a powerful recruitment tool. From SMS to Snapchat, communicating with candidates in the way they want to be communicated with. Snapchat and Whatsapp in particular can be powerful ways to win over millennial talent.
6. Company culture can attract top talent
Candidates in your talent pools don’t just want job alerts. They want to know what it’s like to work at your company. Use company culture as a way to show candidates why they have to work at your company.
As with all talent pool communications the key is to be relevant, timely and interesting- and modern recruitment software can help you to do just that.
