Top 5 Secrets to Successful Talent Clouds

The idea of Talent Clouds — a network of known or unknown talent sourced and nurtured specifically for a given skill set, role, or organization — is not a new concept. These talent communities are sometimes referred to as talent pools or candidate pools, and have been around for awhile as a way to engage qualified talent quickly. They are made up of talent that has been sourced, referred, previously worked at an organization, as well as talent that have willingly joined your cloud in an inbound way.

Talent cloud, or talent pool, providers can take care of an organization’s known talent, capture existing 1099s, and ensure interns, retirees, and top performers are engaged (and stay that way) until their next project.

These providers can also build a talent pool of quality, hard to find talent within a given skill set, new, emerging technology, or industry, and vet that talent so a hiring manager knows when a resume comes across their desk, they are qualified and ready to work.

Successful talent clouds happen when talent is curated and vetted in a scalable way. This can be done via AI-enabled technology like assessment and testing platforms. However, if you’re not coupling that technology with subject matter experts who can deliver a high-touch, efficient process to engage and evaluate them, you’re missing out. Below are the top five secrets to getting maximum performance from your talent pools and talent clouds.

1 – Engagement

Talent clouds are most successful when curation extends beyond communicating with candidates during a hiring event. If they aren’t kept warm and interested and engaged in your brand consistently, you risk losing them permanently.

The majority of employers and recruiters cut off communication with talent the moment they reject them for a role. This causes frustration with talent that perhaps wasn’t right for that role, but may work well somewhere else in the organization.

What’s more, talent forms an opinion about your company based on the very first touchpoint that they have with your brand. If you don’t have a consistent process that builds a meaningful relationship immediately, you will lose out in today’s market.

2 – Preferred communication

Using SMS communication is perfect for rapid, single, or bulk communication, and is a preferred experience for all levels of talent. The truth is, candidates don’t want to work with staffing and recruiting firms, they want to talk to you. Incorporating expert-vetted, curated talent into a talent cloud, or talent pool, technology allows you to build loyal, private talent communities, keep quality talent engaged, and quickly deploy ALL of your talent globally at a lower cost.

Did you know 27% of talent in a talent pool, such as a High5 Talent Cloud, say “yes” to joining a shortlist on-demand? In a dedicated talent cloud, talent’s response rate is just 17 minutes. That’s because they are getting information the way they prefer it (and are used to receiving it via social media and other apps).

What’s more, you can improve diverse sourcing outcomes by close to 15% by actively sourcing, curating, and vetting this talent. There, you can instantly sort and organize your talent pools for D&I initiatives and structure your talent clouds based on employment terms, experience, skill set, or language. Then, you can funnel specific, tailored communication to them in a meaningful way.

These best practices show talent a company’s commitment to invest in them and makes talent feel like their time, and the quality of their candidate experience, matters.

3 – Source-first rule advantage

It’s important to establish clear guidelines for a workflow process for all open requisitions/positions. Give curated talent clouds 2-3 days lead time over other staffing methods. This provides a sense of commitment to this pool of prospective talent you’ve invested in. This commitment breeds loyalty, which means when a role opens, this known, vetted talent is ready to work for you.

Having the right technology to leverage direct sourcing through both public and private talent clouds will ensure you have access to the most qualified candidates — both known resources that can be redeployed and talent being vetted and curated by a partner, such as High5. It also automates all onboarding, payment, and engagement documentation, so the speed-to-hire is much faster than traditional staffing methods.

4 – Improve referrals

It’s not just about the prospective talent. People who’ve had a positive experience with a company are much more likely to refer their friends and colleagues to join your talent pool or talent cloud. Talent who have had a positive experience are 80% more likely to apply again and twice as likely to recommend the hiring organization, according to IBM’s “The far-reaching impact of candidate experience” report.

Did you know 82% of employees rated referrals above all other sourcing options to yield the best ROI? Moreover, companies save on average $7,500 per hire when that person comes via a referral. Delivering a consistent, engaging process through talent clouds goes a long way in building confidence and positive reputation in the market.

5 – Engaging passive candidates

Finally, curating talent through talent clouds gives companies the opportunity to engage passive candidates. Seventy three percent of candidates are passive job seekers. This is a critical sector to get into your pipeline and begin to form relationships with.

Providing information about your brand and engaging them directly allows them to get to know you before a role opens up. When one does, passive candidates become actively interested job seekers who are invested in you already.

The future of work will continue to evolve as people demand to work in a different, more flexible way and companies need more agile, intuitive ways to attract and engage them. Companies need partners such as High5 that can flex with their unique demands and vet, curate, and provide qualified talent quickly and cost-effectively. 

High5 Talent Clouds are a transparent, scalable way for organizations to do this. Get started now!