5 Reasons to Consider Relationship Recruiting in Talent Acquisition
2023 has proven to be a much different job market than previous years, for both companies looking to hire and jobseekers. Here at Cambium Learning Group, we have used this moment to not only recruit for current openings but build ongoing, long-term relationships with passive talent in the edtech community for future opportunities. This process is what recruiting professionals call “talent pipelining” or “relationship recruiting.” Relationship recruiting is making connections proactively with prospects that have aligned experience/skill sets to better understand their future wants and needs. There may or may not be a current open position that fits their interests, but an immediate hire is not the goal. Recruiters will continue to engage these prospects and build relationships over time to hopefully find the perfect future opportunity.
Here are the top five reasons relationship recruiting is important for not only hiring managers/teams but anyone actively or passively looking for their next career move:
- Looking Towards the Future. It’s important to shift your mindset from interviewing for an open position to thinking about what you or your company and team will want for the future. Pipelining changes the way companies hire. Because there is no rush, we have the opportunity to engage with talent who may never have been identified with the traditional hiring process. This change in hiring strategy will give employers and candidates alike the opportunity to prioritize future potential and career growth in their decision-making.
- Improved Candidate Experience. Creating an exceptional interview process is not easy. Nor is interviewing for your next career opportunity. By talent pipelining, employers have the time to learn more about the candidates themselves (and vice-versa) – what interests them and where their passions lie. It’s not just about filling an open slot, but truly getting to know the people you are meeting with, therefore giving candidates time to develop relationships and enjoy the experience in itself.
- Better Long-Term Commitment. Because there is time to learn more about the company and team (not just a specific position), candidates have the opportunity to evaluate their decisions and not feel rushed. They also have the ability to get more insight into the company’s culture, values and synergy. Because of this, hires tend to be happier with their decisions, resulting in fewer surprises once they start and longer-term tenure.
- Happier Hiring Managers. When you ask hiring managers, “When is the ideal start date?” nine times out of ten the answer will be “ASAP!” Because of this mentality, hiring managers feel pressured to make their decisions quickly. Candidates interviewing will likely feel the same way. By using the talent pipeline approach, recruiters have already taken their time to create relationships with identified, qualified talent that they already know are interested in the company. Hiring managers will spend less time interviewing disinterested/non-qualified candidates, resulting in a more streamlined interview process and a better hiring manager experience.
- Increased Quality of Hire. Once a position actually does open, the recruiters are able to deliver a more diverse slate of qualified candidates to choose from immediately. By having these engaging conversations proactively, we have more time to ensure candidates have the right skill set, cultural add, and genuine interest. Not only does the rate at which we fill open positions become quicker, but we can also increase the quality of hire and improve diversity.
While relationship recruiting can seem like quite the shift compared to traditional hiring practices, it can actually be the perfect solution for the modern job market. We encourage this approach as it allows us to build out our Cambium Family so that we can continue to pursue our purpose of ensuring both teachers and students feel seen, valued and supported. We are able to do that by connecting with top talent that shares our same desire to do meaningful work in the edtech community.
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