For employers looking to expand, or fulfil a vacancy within an organisation, it can be difficult to know where to begin when searching for the right candidate. Broadly speaking, candidates can fall into two main categories:
- Active candidates, who are actively looking for a new role and applying for jobs, and will probably be available to start in the near future.
- Passive candidates, who are currently employed and not actively looking for new roles. They may not be available immediately, and they typically will not be organically applying for open vacancies.
Here, we will take a closer look at passive candidates, and how specialist recruiters can help you access this quiet, yet valuable pool of potential applicants.
What are the benefits of passive vs active recruitment?
Passive candidate recruitment offers a wide range of advantages, and working with an experienced recruitment partner who specialises in your particular industry helps identify the right people.
Active candidate recruitment requires casting a net far and wide, with the aim of receiving an application from someone who ticks every box you’re looking for in a candidate. However, this scattergun approach entails working through many applications, and there is no promise that the perfect candidate will be among them. Waiting for the right person to come to you can make it difficult to plan ahead and can cost valuable time and resources. There is also only a finite number of active candidates in the market at any one time, with some statistics suggesting that the best candidates can be off the market in as little as 10 days.[i] In industries facing a talent shortage, such as the informatics sector, or for roles that require specialist technical experience, demand is high. Here, you may well be competing with other companies for the best active candidates.
The passive market presents a huge opportunity for time and resource savings. Taking a more targeted approach and reaching out to potential candidates rather than waiting for them to come to you allows you to target your efforts to candidates who are the best fit, minimising time spent sifting through a bounty of applications.
Passive candidates are likely to be content in their current role, but may have their eyes open for new opportunities if and when they present themselves. As these candidates are not actively applying for new roles, there is a good chance that passive candidates will not be interviewing with any other companies, removing the competition in securing a candidate.
How can a recruitment partner help me?
An experienced recruitment partner will help you to engage with the passive talent pool, identifying candidates who may be a good fit based on their career history and relevant experience rather than waiting for only those in the active pool to apply.
Experienced recruitment specialists will already be well-connected across the industry, and may already have a candidate in mind when hiring for your role. Their experience within the industry and with the hiring process means they will know the best place to begin searching for your new talent based on your needs, which eases the burden on your HR teams in finding a suitable candidate. Working with an external partner also means they will do the legwork for you – speaking with their wider network, approaching candidates, pitching the business and the role, and gauging who might be interested – all while you continue your day-to-day business.
In informatics vendor and implementation project roles, where demand is high but candidates with the required experience are few and far between, a specialist recruitment partner can also offer benefits through their professional network. Experienced recruitment consultants are intrinsically engaged across their specialist sector and can offer unique insights across all facets of the industry. This includes what candidates are looking for when moving roles, what salary band and benefits other companies and organisations are offering to new hires, and what businesses need to do to secure the best talent in the field. Regular communication with key contacts is vital here, and experienced recruiters will have lasting relationships and regular contact with both clients and candidates – meaning you’ll be the first to know when a key candidate has expressed an interest in a change of scenery.
Working with a recruitment partner can offer you a wealth of opportunities to secure the best talent in the field, particularly in technical industries such as informatics where demand for talent is high but candidate numbers are low. For more information about how 32 Stripes can help you to source the best talent, contact us today.
References
[i] ‘Top 100 hiring statistics in 2022’, LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-100-hiring-statistics-2022-rinku-thakkar/?trk=pulse-article