INTRODUCTION
A talent pool is a database that contains profiles of those people who wants to work in the company. In other words, it is a database of talent profiles. A talent pool consists of different sorts of descriptions. For instance, it can store the profile of those people who applied before but were not suitable at that time. Or the talent pool can have a biodata of passive candidates or former employees.
It can be challenging for managers for employee recruitment for their company. So, a talent pool is a crucial tool while selecting the best candidate. For instance, there is a vacancy for a post. Now managers can research their talent pool to find out which candidate is suitable.
WAYS TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A TALENT POOL
- Store the sourced candidates
During the hiring process, managers find some talented candidates. Some candidates fit for the current position while some don’t. In that case, you can enlist those candidates who are not suitable in the present but can be useful in the future in the talent pool. This way, managers don’t need to conduct another new hiring process. They can easily pick one from the talent pool.
Also, it is necessary to keep those candidates up to date. Therefore, managers need to post about their new policies or strategies. This way, those candidates will be interested in the company in the future as well.
- Make a dedicated landing page
Sometimes, there can arise a situation where the candidates like the company, but don’t find a suitable opening for their career. In such cases, managers can build a landing page as an alternative. The landing page refers to the talent pool. The candidates can stay there and also know about the updates of the company.
Many companies are using this strategy. For instance, blackboard built a talent community landing page for the interested candidates. Blackboard is an e-learning company that came up with this great idea.
- Re-engaging with those candidates who were not selected
The recruitment process is a very crucial process for an organization. People who had a bad experience during their selection tend to avoid the product or service of that company. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the process polite. If a candidate is not suitable, managers can keep him/her in the talent pool. This way, the candidate does not get upset or feel very bad. S/he can still know about the company.
There are few things a manager should do as polite behavior. Managers should communicate with the candidate as agreed. They should not keep the candidates waiting for too long. Also, managers need to answer their queries as soon as possible. Likewise, don’t exaggerate or lie. Give them honest feedback. It helps in making the relationship smooth.
- Have a regular look in the talent pool
There is no advantage if you make the talent pool and don’t use it. When there is a vacant post, the talent pool is the first thing to check. So, visiting the talent pool often is necessary. It helps you to know more about the candidates. This way, you can choose the right one when the time comes. Also, regularly visiting the talent pool helps to know what talent is missing there. So you can fill the gaps too.
ADVANTAGES OF TALENT POOLING
- A live talent pool of candidates
A talent pool provides you with live profiles of candidates. Here, live profile refers to those people who are up-to-date with the profession. The candidates are well aware of the skills and experience. Thus, this automatically increases the productivity. Also, managers don’t have to spend much time on finding a suitable candidate. So they can focus on other aspects as well.
- Minimum applicant rejection
In a talent pool, managers store the profiles of candidates who are fit for a position. It also consists of those profiles that can come useful for the future. So, it includes an improved list of people. Therefore, the need to reject an applicant, like in a job ad, is very less. It builds a positive hiring process. Also, it creates a long-lasting and healthy relationship between the managers and the employees. Likewise, the company’s reputation remains safe. Commonly, most of the people stop using the company’s product or service if they have had a negative recruitment process. So, a talent pool also avoids such problems.
- Diversity in workforce
Talent pooling does not differentiate candidates based on gender or race. It encourages pure talent. So, there is no bias in the selection. It leads to a diverse workforce.
Diversity in the employees is a good thing. People from different backgrounds have different thoughts. Therefore, the number of ideas and innovation increases. It is an advantage for an organization.
- Saves time
The employee recruitment process is a long one. It includes announcing the vacancy, listing candidates, calling them for interviews, and so on. Talent pooling cuts off all these steps. It is easy to select candidates from a talent pool. Therefore, talent pooling saves time.
- Reduces cost
Talent pooling provides direct access to the candidates. Managers don’t have to wait for a suitable candidate to come. They can easily pick one from the talent pool. This way, it reduces the cost.
The use of talent pool is growing day by day. University of Bamberg conducted a study on recruiting trends. According to the research, one in two companies uses a talent pool. 41.3% of top companies consist of their talent pools. Also, more than 30% of the companies are planning to use it. The talent pool is not only used by large companies. It is trending in small and medium businesses too. Talent pool is crucial for companies if they use it correctly.
