The Key to Hiring Innovative Talent: Candidate Relationship Management

Hiring innovative talent takes more than posting your job description, sitting back and screening the applications as they come in. According to an Indeed survey of tech recruiters, 86 percent of respondents said they find it challenging or “very” challenging to find and hire top tech talent. As the talent market gets more competitive – particularly among companies seeking technical project staffing solutions – businesses cannot afford to ignore the importance of candidate relationship management.

Candidate relationship management is a vital part of the talent acquisition framework. By putting the relationship first, hiring managers can more effectively keep track of candidates for current openings, as well as help you plan for filling future opportunities.

Important Factors in Candidate Relationship Management

Pay attention and follow these important factors of candidate relationship management to better focus your efforts on hiring innovative talent. In addition, apply the accompanying tips to be the most effective:

Talent Getting Lost in the Shuffle

One of the biggest challenges hiring managers face when recruiting innovative talent is simply sifting through all the applications they receive for a position. Even in a market where talent is in short supply, there is no shortage of job applicants. NPR reported that a standard engineering job received 25,000 applications – with not one candidate ultimately qualified for the position.

For hiring managers, this flood of applicants can amount to too much noise, which in turn can actually overshadow the qualified candidates. Through applicant tracking systems, a degree of automation, and baseline level screening, candidate relationship management can help create a viable pool of candidates, saving both hiring managers and talented professionals time and energy.

Identifying and Cataloging Skills

Screening and interviewing talent can be a largely subjective process – only you know what kind of person will have the relevant skills and personality to be a good fit for the job. What is not subjective is the skills and experience a particular candidate brings into an interview. An emphasis on high-quality candidate relationship management means understanding what each candidate brings to the table and cataloging these skills. This can be invaluable when filling not only a present need, but hiring innovative talent for a future position. Even if a candidate doesn’t fit what you are looking with the job on hand, having a catalog of prospective employee skills can mean that you can quickly and easily call up a candidate who has already made it through your screening process.This makes your hiring process faster and more efficient.

Following Up, Regardless of Outcome

Many applicants complain that the hiring process can be anything but transparent. An interview they felt went swimmingly can lead to a deafening silence from the formerly encouraging hiring manager. This can turn into resentment, which in turn can mean that, if another position opens up, foster resistance of an offer to interview with the company again. To avoid this and fully leverage a catalog of existing talent, it is important for hiring managers to frequently communicate with candidates. Even if you cannot offer them the job they interviewed for, it is important to have a simple phone call or email – all noted in your candidate relationship management software – explaining that, while this position proved to not be a fit, you would like to keep lines of communication open for when another opportunity presents itself.

Candidate Relationship Management with Profiles

Profiles knows a thing or two about candidate relationship management best practices. Contact Profiles for your marketing and creative staffing needs. Between industry experience and extensive knowledge of the creative talent landscape, you can rest assured your open position is in good hands with Profiles.