Using Talent Communities to Strengthen Your Company’s Recruiting Strategy

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Talent pools. Talent pipelines. Talent Communities. What’s in a name? Call it what you will, talent is what we’re all after. Building a talent community will likely help your company improve cost per hire, increase workforce planning on an enterprise level and increase employee engagement.

While everyone seems to have their own unique definition, it’s safe to say a talent community includes talent joined together by a common interest engaged in communication.

I recently turned to the team at Forrester Research (forrester) for some insight on a definition of a talent community. April Eldred, (AmazingTalent) Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition and Kate Forrestall, Senior Manager, Global Talent Acquisition Programs shared their definition of a talent community; “our Talent Community is a global hub for current candidates and potential united kingdom phone number library future candidates to experience our culture, products and values. At Forrester, we have a culture of transparency, collaboration and a focus on emerging technologies. Our Talent Community is a great representation of these values. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we believe that Talent Communities are really just a form of ‘inbound marketing’ for great candidates.”
Talent communities are ideal for pooling existing talent and gaining access to referrals and job seekers who would be a great company fit. Bottom line, a talent community is an organized group where employers can interact with current and prospective employees. This group should also include past applicants and past employees.



Creating Your Talent Community

1. Build a Hub

Begin by identifying a key platform, such as your company’s careers page to create a hub for all types of talent including current employees, candidates, past employees and even recruiters. For those companies out there with more sizeable budgets, you may consider recruiting software that allows you to create an internal talent network. Once a hub is established, find matching members to cultivate your talent community. It takes time to build relationships. Use the various platforms available to recruiters to drive interactions in your community. From Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - all interested talent should be able to navigate their way (easily) to your hub and once there, be able to access and contribute to the conversation.