These are tough times. All of us need to be as thrifty and productive as possible. Not only because it’s the right thing to do for our employers, but because it’s the right thing to do for us, as well. If we want to hang onto our jobs, even as our employers dramatically scale back on hiring, we’re going to have to use every resource we have to its optimum effect.
That’s why a recent Online Sourcing Survey conducted by TalentDrive is so disturbing. It found that almost two-thirds (64%) of the employers represented by the survey’s participants did not know how many qualified candidates were in their own ATS databases. These organizations had undoubtedly spent tens of thousands and, in some cases, even millions of dollars connecting with the the talent whose resumes they now stored, and yet those prospective candidates were largely still unknown to them. To put it in the starkest possible terms, their ATS database was a wasted asset.
So, what’s the alternative?
We have to stop treating our ATS databases as a static stack of digital documents and start using them as a platform for building relationships with candidates. Now, I know that I’ve expressed this view before, so why do it again now. Because in tough times, a wasted asset is likely to get the responsible party-and that would be us–thrown into their employer’s waste bin or what most of us call termination.
Yes, yes, I’ve heard all the rationales for why this happens. I know that recruiting teams are running so far below normal staffing levels that there’s simply no one available to do the work involved. I know that this is also a non-traditional activity-it isn’t sourcing or recruiting, at least as those roles are currently defined-so it doesn’t fit nicely into anyone’s job description. But here’s the rub: these are abnormal, non-traditional times, and we will either adapt to their requirements or we will suffer the consequences.
That means we have to achieve a better return on the investment that we made-not in procuring our applicant tracking system-but in pumping up its database. In other words, we must implement a program that will enable us to fill more of our openings from talent we have previously sourced rather than from individuals we must source anew (or again). Every requirement we can satisfy with the candidates in our resume database represents a savings in the cost of advertising and/or the cost of time required to deploy our sourcers. In other words, filling a vacancy from our database can generate real and measurable savings in both cost-per-hire and time-to-fill. That’s the closest you’ll ever come to a security blanket in tough times.
How do you achieve that goal?
Implement a communications campaign that is designed to leverage every applicant’s initial interest in your organization. They made the effort to apply for one or more of your openings, so tell them that you intend to make the effort to get to know them better. To be successful, however, this campaign must be positioned as a two-way street, a dialogue rather than a soliloquy. It shouldn’t be only you talking to them about how great your employer is or only them sending you an unending stream of updates on their employment qualifications.
The best approach is to create an interaction that provides value to both parties. You want to pre-sell them on your employer as a great place to work and acquire additional data about them to help you achieve your goal of putting the right talent in the right opening. They want to know about other vacancies in your organization for which they may be qualified and acquire additional information about your employer that will help them achieve their goal of putting their talent to work in the right place for them.
So, promise them that you will deliver the value they want-for example, you might offer them an “early opportunity system” (i.e., they get pre-advertising notice of any new opening in your organization for which they are qualified) as well as more information about your organization’s culture and values-if they will provide what you want-updates on their qualifications and their participation in a “candidate referral system” (i.e., they notify you of employment prospects who might be right for other openings that you may have).
These communications should be regular-no less than once a month-but not intrusive-no more than twice a month. They are not corporate memos or marketing collateral, so they should be written in a friendly, conversational style and be free of promotional hype and hoopla. Indeed, not everyone can write such copy, and even those who can, will take a while to get it done. To be successful, therefore, the communications campaign should not be viewed as just another “additional duty” that is imposed on everyone whether they are capable or have the time to accomplish it. It must, instead, be treated as a key talent acquisition initiative and staffed accordingly.
Over time, this two-way exchange will enhance familiarity and trust between your recruiting team and the applicants whose resumes are stored in your database. Those two factors are the pillars of genuine recruiting relationships. They enable you to transform your resume database from a static stack of useless documents into a reservoir of talent that is pre-screened, pre-sold and prepared to be considered for your employment opportunities. That’s an asset any organization would be pleased to have and, therefore, equally as loath to lose those who created it.
Thanks for reading,
Peter
P.S. Please tell your friends and colleagues about WEDDLE’s Newsletter. They’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness, and so will we.
This Issue’s Sponsor: Work Strong
This issue of WEDDLE’s newsletter is brought to you through the generous support of Work Strong: Your Personal Career Fitness System, Peter Weddle’s new book on conditioning your career for sustainable success.
Designed specifically for the challenging workplace of the 21st Century:
Work Strong not only tells you what to do for career success, but when, where and how to do it.
Work Strong helps you tap both sides of your brain in learning how to build a healthy career.
In today’s world of work, you have only two choices: you can be the master of your career or you can be its victim. Get the tools you need to take charge of the one-third or more of your life you spend at work. Get Work Strong today! You’ll increase the paycheck and the satisfaction you bring home from work!
But don’t forget about others. Get Work Strong for yourself and for your spouse, your sons or daughters and even for your mother and father. Everyone deserves to Work Strong. To place your order, call WEDDLE’s at 317.598.9768 or click here. Don’t delay. Get Work Strong right away!
Section Two: Site News You Can Use
News Item #1
WEDDLE’s is pleased to announce its User’s Choice Award winners for 2009.
WEDDLE’s User’s Choice Awards are the only awards in which actual users-recruiters and job seekers-are able to vote for the best job boards on the Web. Over 50,000 people cast their ballots in 2008, and as always, the top thirty vote-getters are declared the winners. Are there other great sites out there? Of course. But these winners have earned the acclaim of job seekers and recruiters alike, and to our way of thinking, there simply is no higher accolade. (To cast your ballot for the 2010 winners, please click here.)
WEDDLE’s 2009 User’s Choice Award winners are:
Absolutely Health Care
AllHealthcareJobs.com
AllRetailJobs.com
CareerBuilder.com
craigslist
Dice.com
DirectEmployers.com
DiversityJobs.com
EmploymentGuide.com
ExecuNet
GetTheJob.com
GOJobs
Hcareers
HealthCareerWeb.com
HEALTHeCAREERS
Indeed
Job.com
JobCircle.com
JobFox.com
Jobing.com
TheLadders.com
Monster.com
Net-Temps
SimplyHired
6FigureJobs
SnagAJob.com
TopUSAJobs
Vault
VetJobs
Yahoo! HotJobs
News Item #2
WEDDLE’s is pleased to announce the schedule for its 2009 Spring/Summer Training Series. The first program is in April, but if you register now, you’ll save 10% on the already low cost of participation.
WEDDLE’s training programs are audio-based. You get the PowerPoint slides for each program in advance, and on the day of the training, you simply call a toll-free number and have the presentation delivered right to you.
No less important, all of the programs are presented by WEDDLE’s Publisher, Peter Weddle, one of the most highly rated trainers in our industry. In addition, they draw on WEDDLE’s 12+ years of research into the Best Practices for sourcing and recruiting online.
The Spring/Summer 2009 series is listed below:
These are great learning opportunities presented by one of our industry’s most highly rated trainers. In addition, you can’t beat the price; it’s just $175 per telephone line. That’s unbelievably inexpensive for individual training, but consider this:
However you do it, you get world class training and save your employer money!
Registrations are limited, so reserve your seats now. Call WEDDLE’s at 317.598.9768 today. Please note that sessions are not recorded and reservations are final and binding.
“WOW!! I had the opportunity to listen to Peter Weddle speak last week at a conference and WOW!! does NOT do justice to how I felt after listening to him!”
News Item #3
WEDDLE’s also offers a number of other publications for recruiters seeking to win the War for the Best Talent and achieve a satisfying and rewarding career. They include:
So make sure you’re at the top of your game, get your WEDDLE’s books today. Click here or call WEDDLE’s at 317.598.9768.
Section Three: Site Profiles
Site Spotlite … from the pages of WEDDLE’s 2007/8 Guides and Directories
There are 40,000 job boards now in operation in North America and an equal number operating elsewhere around the world. The key to recruiting top talent online, therefore, is knowing where to find and how to select the best sites for each of your requirements. WEDDLE’s 2007/8 Guide identifies 350 of the top sites worldwide and provides the information you need to determine which job boards will deliver the optimum yield for you. For example:
Jobing
Post full time jobs: Yes
Post part time, contract or consulting jobs: Yes-All
Distribution of jobs: Regional-USA: AZ, CA, CO, FL, NM, NV, RI, TX
Fee to post a job: $249-349/posting
Posting period: 30 days
Can posting be linked to your site: Yes
Resume database: Yes
Number of resumes: 1.2 million
Source of resumes: Direct from individuals
Top occupations among visitors: Administrative, Finance & Accounting, Information Systems, Management , Sales & Marketing
Other services for employers: Assessment instruments, Automated resume agent, Banner advertising, Status reports
Member, International Association of Employment Web Sites: Yes
Get Work Strong Today & Strengthen Your Career!
This issue of WEDDLE’s newsletter is brought to you through the generous support of Work Strong: Your Personal Career Fitness System, Peter Weddle’s new book on conditioning your career for sustainable success.
Designed specifically for the challenging workplace of the 21st Century:
Work Strong not only tells you what to do for career success, but when, where and how to do it.
Work Strong helps you tap both sides of your brain in learning how to build a healthy career.
In today’s world of work, you have only two choices: you can be the master of your career or you can be its victim. Get the tools you need to take charge of the one-third or more of your life you spend at work. Get Work Strong today! You’ll increase the paycheck and the satisfaction you bring home from work!
But don’t forget about others. Get Work Strong for yourself and for your spouse, your sons or daughters and even for your mother and father. Everyone deserves to Work Strong. To place your order, call WEDDLE’s at 317.598.9768 or click here. Don’t delay. Get Work Strong right away!