Sourcing in Today's Market

There have been a lot of mixed signals in the hiring world lately. On one hand, you’re being warned by economists of a looming recession and seeing a wave of layoffs, hiring freezes, and companies rescinding offers. And on the other hand, you are hearing that the job market is still incredibly strong, employees and candidates continue to have the upper hand, and for the majority of companies, it is business as usual. With headlines changing constantly, it’s hard to know where this ride is going to take us. Despite potential bumpy roads and an unclear map, staying focused on your final destination is crucial.

Where Should Companies Be Hyper-Focused? 

In terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), a lot of organizations promised change within the past couple of years. DEI statements were released, diversity goals were set, internal training was offered, and real conversations took place at work. The dialogue moved from why DEI was important to how companies were going to push DEI initiatives forward and make improvements. With diversity, equity, and inclusion at the top of the priority list, progress seemed to be happening.

But in the blink of an eye, everything can change. And right now we're at a critical crossroad. With nerve-wracking headlines and businesses falling into a reactionary state of mind, companies have to decide if they are going to stand by their promises and prioritize diversity and inclusion. Or, will they let these initiatives fall by the wayside? 

We might be biased, given we are a company focused on making the world more equitable by broadening access to transformative careers, but now is not the time to abandon diversity hiring and inclusion initiatives. Instead of scaling back efforts to build diverse teams, it’s time to double down on building a representative workforce and focus on the bigger picture. There’s no denying the impact of doubling down on DEIB, diverse teams are better for organizations, organizations that prioritize diversity & inclusion see increased overall revenue and candidates are more likely to join companies that support and invest in DEI. 

The pressure is on now more than ever to increase representation, optimize processes, make the most out of every open position, and increase efficiency. When it comes to hiring diverse teams, where should your company be hyper-focused? 

Sourcing is the answer.

The Power of Sourcing 

Any long-term, forward-thinking talent acquisition strategy must include sourcing. Not to mention, for companies that care about hiring untapped talent, sourcing is where you can make the biggest impact. Now is not the time to be passive when it comes to finding candidates. With outbound candidate sourcing, you can identify untapped talent, build an equitable top-of-funnel pipeline and establish authentic connections with qualified job seekers.

If you need more convincing, below are three reasons why you organization should not be ignoring the power of talent sourcing.

‍Sourcing Reduces Costs 

Businesses spend an average of $4,129 and 42 days to fill an open position, according to a report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). That’s a substantial amount of money. Finding ways to reduce costs, especially with a potential recession ahead is paramount. Sourcing allows you to nurture talent and build authentic connections long before your team needs to fill an open position. When a role opens up, you’ve got an active and carefully curated top–of-funnel pipeline that you can reach out to immediately. You’ve just sped up the hiring process considerably and increased efficiency.  

‍Sourcing Improves Effectiveness

The volume game is no longer the best winning strategy. Instead of trying to have as many candidates in your pipeline as possible, it's now more important to focus on qualified candidates at the top of the funnel. Now, the emphasis is on effectiveness. Rather than concentrating on building a large top-of-funnel pipeline, strive to build an equitable pipeline—and sourcing helps with exactly that. When you source candidates, you have more control over your hiring process, are able to broaden your reach, can improve the quality of hires, and vet candidates early on to increase efficiency.  

Sourcing Increases Diversity in the Workplace 

Indeed, you can create inclusive job advertisements, showcase your inclusive employer brand, and partner with organizations to reach underrepresented communities. But if you want to take your diversity recruiting initiatives to the next level, sourcing is the answer. With talent sourcing, you can be very intentional about creating a top-of-funnel pipeline that is diverse. Is there a team at your company that is lacking in a certain demographic? With sourcing, you can take action and be deliberate about including more untapped candidates in your pipeline.  

Want to build an equitable top-of-funnel pipeline? 

With Untapped’s Talent Sourcing, you can instantly discover a new pool of qualified applicants by easily filtering through 75+ data points including demographic, experiential, and cognitive diversity. Create a more inclusive pipeline by sourcing candidates who attended HBCUs/HSIs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, AAPI Serving Institutions, Women’s Colleges, graduated from a Bootcamp, and more. 

Sourcing Best Practices 

Now that you know the benefits of sourcing, it’s time to move on to the best practices. In addition to doubling down on sourcing, you should also reevaluate your sourcing practices. Is your team as effective and efficient as they could be? Do you follow recommended practices when it comes to candidate sourcing?

Rely On The Right Tools 

Recruiters have a lot of activities to prioritize, sourcing being one of them. Sourcing candidates from scratch, using manual spreadsheets and various tools, with no means to track what’s working can make this process overwhelming and disorganized. There are also sourcing challenges, such as finding underrepresented candidates, getting job seekers to respond to emails, and managing the recruitment pipeline. For a talent team to succeed, having the right recruiting tool is essential. You’ll want to invest in a platform that helps you streamline your process, quickly source underserved talent, and track important metrics along the way. 

With a platform like Untapped, you can efficiently source candidates by unlocking the power of our talent pool of more than 35 million searchable profiles. You can easily filter through demographic data points to build that equitable top-of-funnel pipeline by using Untapped. 

Track and Measure Sourcing Metrics 

Tracking and measuring against KPIs is critical when it comes to hiring, especially when trying to build a more diverse workforce. Not only should your team be tracking the total number of hires sourced as well as sourcing channel effectiveness, but you should also measure candidate demographic data at the top of the funnel. 

You can't manage what you don't measure. Therefore, if you aren’t tracking diversity disparities in your sourcing process, you’ll never be able to make informed decisions on how to reach and source a more representative workforce. You’ll want to be able to slice and dice the data as you see fit. Furthermore, being able to identify how your top-of-funnel pipeline compares to organizations similar in size and industry will be very beneficial. 

Learn more about how Untapped's self-reported data can help your team make impactful decisions.

Create a Strong and Inclusive Employer Brand 

Upon making your first outreach attempt to a sourced candidate, what do you think the candidate will do first? Search online for information about your company. Your organization’s online reputation is going to either entice the candidate or deter them. In a recent report we surveyed nearly 800 Early In Career (EIC) participants, 2 out of 3 internship & first job seekers shared they “would not accept a dream opportunity with a poor DEI rep company. 

That’s why it’s imperative that you create a strong and inclusive employer brand. For starters, you’ll want to make sure you have a company page featuring your mission, values, and employees. Demonstrating your organization’s dedication to DEIB will mean a lot to candidates who are seeking to join diverse workforces. Lastly, sharing annual DEIB reports that include employee demographics will illustrate to candidates your company's commitment to transparency and accountability.

Make Recruiting Events Your New BFF

It should be no surpise that meeting candidates either face-to-face or virtually at recruiting events is a very effective way to source candidates. Moreover, candidates find it to be very meaningful.  In our recently published survey, The Early Talent Seniment Report, 7 out 10 internship and first time job seekers “would rather attend an event before applying for a role to evaluate the position and the company and to gather information.” Create an impactful recruiting event by setting up your goals beforehand, researching how to make it memorable, being creative, and making sure you have a post-event strategy to continue engaging candidates afterward. If you’re looking to create engaging, relevant, and impactful recruiting events, our end-to-end event solution will help maximize your ROI.

It Starts With Sourcing

At this critical moment in time, we will see which companies stand by their words of diversifying their workforces and continue to drive change forward. If your organization is committed to building a representative organization and finding underrepresented talent, remember that it all starts with sourcing. 

Need help with starting off on the right foot? 

Download The Ultimate Guide To Diversity Sourcing to access worksheets, checklists, and useful tips for building a diverse pipeline of candidates.