Best Talent Communities – How To Build in 3 Steps and Its Benefits

Building talent communities is great for engaging with and retaining lively candidates, making them more likely to apply for your open roles. At High5, we ensure you have qualified candidates in your talent community by regularly checking their skill progression. Increased candidate engagement and a better hiring experience for both talent, and your hiring managers, is just one of the many benefits of a managed direct sourcing program.

Each talent community is different, which is what makes them unique to each employer. Learning how to build the best talent community for your company can be hugely beneficial. Just keep reading to find what best talent communities are, the importance of them and how you can build the best talent communities!

What is a talent community?

A talent community is a group of applicants who have the necessary skills for open roles. They possess the level of expertise that employers need for their company. This active pipeline also ensures companies can fill positions faster when referring to a group of strong candidates. Most of this talent will be considered for jobs that have full-time, part-time, contract, remote and freelance work. Here at High5, we make sure your talent community is fed by your talent acquisition efforts and through our network. 

Why are talent communities important?

Talent communities are important for developing your business, as you can learn to fill more crucial roles with qualified candidates. You can proactively plan your future hires when evaluating their suitability. At High5, we use our AI technology to detect skill gaps in your company, which is very important for maintaining and building talent communities. Here are some reasons why talent communities are important:

• Improves Your Hiring Experience: You won’t have to search for external talent by posting advertisements or scanning job board sites. Talent communities are right at your feet, with plenty of opportunities to expand them. Candidates are ready to find new roles quickly! 

• Fosters Strong Relationships: A community means a social unit that shares similar interests. This applies to talent communities and how people want to form professional relationships with employers. You can learn to build positive relationships with different people in the talent group. 

• Reduces Cost Per Hire: Recruitment is expensive when it comes to job advertisements and the onboarding process. This is why it’s important to use candidates from talent communities. You won’t need to spend money finding external talent that may not be suitable for your company. 

• Higher Offer Acceptance Rate: Best talent communities are full of people who are eager to find a role in your company. They are more likely to accept offers for new positions. External candidates may not accept roles if they’re looking for other jobs, too.

How to build the best talent communities in 3 steps

You can build a talent community by separating the candidates into different groups. Some criteria options are in-demand skills, educational background, work experience and career interests. Of course, this isn’t necessary, but it’s good to know before finding candidates.

Best talent communities are a powerful tool that helps you to stay aware of skill gaps and crucial roles that need to be filled in your company. The more effort you put into building a talent community, the more likely candidates will feel passionate about applying. Here is a guide that can help you build the best talent communities: 

1. Add suitable candidates 

Before building a talent community, you can expect to spend some company expenses on kick-starting the talent group. You might have to complete the regular job application process when finding new candidates for open roles. Job boards and global advertisements are good for gathering a few candidates in different locations, too.

If you find some candidates that aren’t suitable for current roles, you can add them to your talent community. This gives them a chance to develop their skills or wait for a role that applies to them. At High5, we ensure recruiters offer guidance to candidates who want to improve their chances for future roles. This interaction is great for engaging candidates that didn’t get the role.

2. Keep engaging with candidates

You need to interact with the candidates who are in your talent community. If you don’t, they might lose interest and find other jobs. Building long-term relationships with these candidates will motivate them to strengthen their skills and strive for greater roles in your company. 

Regular communication is one way to achieve this engagement. Simply update them with job news and positions that might be of interest to them.  You can do this by sharing social media posts or sending job links in a talent community chat. Recruiters at High5 can keep talent engaged through social media, too.

3. Maintain the talent community

Maintaining your talent community is very important for retaining candidates. You can regularly check how candidates are progressing with their skill development classes. If they are doing well, you might move them into a higher ranked group on your preferred applicant system. Candidates that aren’t making the effort can either meet with you or leave the group. This ensures that other potential candidates can fill their position in the talent community. 

Your talent group should be the first thing you refer to when opening new roles. If you have specialized roles that have distinct requirements, you can think about creating more talent communities that require specific skills and experiences. Extra talent communities can help you acquire more potential employees.

Summary

Overall, talent communities are great for retaining talented candidates in one big group. They don’t require advertisements or job boards. You can build the best talent communities by engaging with these candidates and listening to their career requirements. High5 will make sure that recruiters offer coaching opportunities and skill development classes for candidates to complete.

FAQs

Where can I find good talent?

You can find good talent on job boards, social listings, recruiting tools, recent graduate pages and online communities. Once you have found this talent, you can build a talent community who are interested in your company. Start with a few candidates and build your way up from there! 

How do you build a talent community?

The first step is to add your candidates to the talent community. You can keep them engaged through job postings and updates. If they feel more connected with your company, they’ll be more likely to apply for open roles. Most importantly – revisit this talent community and build professional relationships. 

What is the purpose of a talent community?

The main purpose of talent communities is to help companies plan their future hires. A talent community is also good for retaining qualified candidates who are suitable for a company. Employers can maintain and expand these talent communities when opening more roles.

Are You Ready For The High5 Experience?

Our team of industry leaders are ready to help your talent management program become the best it can be. Register with High5, your transformative talent management tool and make your next new hire the best decision you ever made.