Recruiters no longer need to rely solely on new candidates to fill open positions. Today, organizations are seeing dramatic results by tapping into the talent pools right in front of them.
Talent rediscovery re-engages passive talent already familiar with the organization. Unfortunately, many HR functions overlook this recruiting tactic or lack the talent acquisition technology to enable re-engagement.
Michael Watson was a power user of Eightfold AI at Gigamon, where they used talent rediscovery to decrease time to hire and save millions of dollars with increased productivity. Seeing firsthand how AI changes the game for recruiters, Watson likens the introduction of AI to the transition from newspaper ads to internet job boards. Used correctly, AI opens the door to a new level of recruiting efficiency.
At Eightfold, Watson leads customer advocacy, helping clients go deeper into their talent pools to fill roles while debunking myths about using AI for talent rediscovery along the way.
On the Recruiting Future with Matt Alder podcast, Watson unpacked three of the top talent acquisition fallacies and shared insights into the benefits and practical results of AI-driven talent rediscovery.
Myth no. 1: Previous applicants will never be a fit
There are countless reasons why a person who previously expressed interest in a position didn’t get hired.
In many cases, it can be attributed to headcount limitations. Many candidates are great fits for a particular role, but the organization only needs to hire one person. Those silver and bronze medalists — whose skills have only grown since the last interaction — should not be out of the running when headcount expands.
“Passive talent should be the first stop when a position opens,” says Watson. “As a recruiter, it’s much easier to go to someone who knows who you are and what the company is about.”
Rediscovering talent changed the paradigm for Activision Blizzard, which experienced a tremendous reduction in time to fill. In 2021, passive candidates made up 41 percent of all new hires at the company.
“People can learn all sorts of skills in a short amount of time, now more than ever,” said Justin Ghio, Director of Talent Sourcing at Activision Blizzard. “Leveraging historical data allows us to reopen the conversation and find the right fit for them. Candidates are elated knowing they are being reconnected with, and we ultimately see this approach converting many of them.
Myth no. 2: It’s easy for recruiters to keep past applicants on file
Many hopeful candidates believe recruiters neatly tuck away resumes to revisit when the perfect role opens up.
Even if recruiters intend to revisit applications, many lack the talent-acquisition tools to resurface past applicants.
“There is an assumption that the resumes of people who apply for a job will somehow connect to another job that might come up in the future,” says Matt Alder, Recruiting Future Podcast. “But, in my experience, an applicant tracking system has never been very good at delivering on that.”
Organizations boasting AI as part of their talent-acquisition arsenal can provide a personalized, transparent, and inclusive candidate experience to past applicants by doing the following three things:
- Be transparent and humble in candidate outreach by acknowledging the organization’s failure to not reach out sooner with open opportunities. Then, highlight a future commitment to finding a good fit for the candidate.
- Share open roles that tap into transferable skill sets. Welcome candidates back into the talent network by showing them positions they qualify for based on their adjacent skills.
- Communicate from the top to build trust with passive talent. Consider sending emails penned by leaders, including a Chief Human Resources Officer, functional recruitment leaders, and so on.
Myth no. 3: Recruiters and hiring managers can’t make real-time decisions
For organizations aspiring to achieve a zero-day opening fill rate, there’s no time to waste. The old ways of sourcing candidates for weeks, only to have a hiring manager possibly reject them, are over.
Talent acquisition teams can transform how they work with hiring managers by surfacing candidates they may not have otherwise considered, often right in the intake meeting.
In addition to pointing to actual results, including a shorter time to fill, Watson recommends asking hiring managers if they prefer to approach warm or cold passive candidates.
When exposed to talent rediscovery, hiring managers understand the benefit of inviting passive candidates back into the fold.
With Eightfold Talent Intelligence, the system educates hiring managers on the implications of specific job requirements on the existing talent pool. Oftentimes, passive talent makes up a large percentage of the talent pool, enabling recruiters and hiring managers to walk out of the intake meeting with instant pipeline.
With talent intelligence as a conduit, recruiters can shave days off their time to fill and hire the best candidates with confidence.
To learn more about how to get the most out of your talent database through talent rediscovery and AI applicant tracking, read Don’t Start From Zero: The Power of Talent Rediscovery.
