Use candidate databases as talent pools...
... not filing cabinets: Study
Recruitment news, 17th July 2006
Most employers are still failing to effectively use their internal candidate databases as a valuable talent pool, a new report has revealed.
According to a report by recruitment systems company PageUp, more than 30 per cent of employers surveyed didn't search their talent pools before advertising vacancies, and the majority failed to accurately measure the success of their talent pools.
"Many organisations are still using their database primarily as a filing cabinet, instead of a dynamic candidate relationship system," the report said.
"However, as companies adopt a more pro-active approach and cost and time benefits become more tangible, barriers to adoption are expected to diminish."
The report, The use of talent pools in Australia, was carried out over a two-year period and included 85 of Australia's top 100 companies (defined by total workforce).
The first survey (conducted in May/June 2004) showed that 27 per cent of employers had a candidate database. This figure increased to 43 per cent when the group was surveyed again at the end of 2005.
Of those employers that didn't have a talent pool, one third said they recognised the importance of building a candidate database, and were planning to implement a system within the next 18 months.
By the end of 2007, 63 per cent of employers surveyed are expected to have set up an internal talent pool, the report said.
One of the key findings of the study showed that the most successful approach to building a talent pool was through a phased implementation, with the initial introduction of a recruitment management system.
Most (94 per cent) of employers had either built an in-house recruitment platform, or purchased a third-party software system. Six per cent of employers said they were still using a manual process (either paper-based or Microsoft Excel) to store candidate data.
Employers that had developed a talent pool during the two-year period said the three main reasons for this strategy were:
- to build a pool of rare skill types
- to reduce time-to-fill rates a
- to minimise recruitment advertising costs.
The study showed that employers with comprehensive talent pools had a centralised in-house recruitment model, and had implemented the necessary technology to ensure candidates provided the internal recruiters with personal information updates.
Cost still a major barrier to building talent pool
The study found one of the main barriers to establishing a talent pool was the significant costs involved in the technology and associated infrastructure.
Other reasons that employers gave for not establishing a talent pool were:
- it would be difficult to manage a talent pool in a de-centralised recruitment model
- hiring was outsourced to recruitment companies
- candidate details would become out of date too quickly
- the company was not currently recruiting
Employers that were planning to implement a talent pool within the next 12 months said the main hurdles involved were re-engineering recruitment processes, and replacing established manual storage systems for candidate information.
The report is available for purchase please contact Heidi Kreuchen on (02) 8252 8252.