As the job market shifts into a candidate-driven market, employers are scrambling to develop strong strategies that will help them attract top talent applicants. This demand has forced companies to look at new hiring strategies that will help boost their business above their competitors in an effort to onboard the most qualified candidates. Two popular hiring methods are sourcing and 360 recruiting.
While many employers may look at sourcing and recruiting as one in the same, some very important differences must be evaluated when decided which hiring method is right for your company. Below is a closer look at the distinct differences between sourcing and 360 recruiting.
Reactive versus Proactive Approach
In the 360-recruitment model, a recruiter seeks to fill positions on an on-demand basis. As soon as a position becomes available, the recruiter will use a variety of reactive tactics, such as job boarding and social media posting and posting announcements on the company’s career page. These strategies allow the recruiter to obtain a large number of resumes in a short period of time.
Sourcing, on the other hand, takes a proactive approach. Rather than wait for a specific position to open up in the company, a sourcing expert continuously seeks to attract top-talent candidates. They engage with these candidates on a consistent basis, which enables them to identify a top-talent candidate as soon as a position becomes available. This approach can reduce the time-to-hire significantly.
Active versus Passive Candidate (or Both)
360 recruiters focus their attention on attracting active candidates – those actively looking for a job. The recruiter knows where active candidate are and how to attract them. This is why tactics, such as job board and social media posts, are so effective with this hiring model. The downside is that recruiters have a difficult time attracting passive candidates, which experts suggest make up 85 percent of the overall candidate pool.
By taking the proactive approach, sourcing experts can focus more attention on attracting talent. Rather than focusing on active or passive candidates, candidate sourcing works to attract both. These experts utilize hiring metrics to determine who the best candidates are, what their online behavior is and why and when they are ready to change jobs. This data-driven recruitment approach enables sourcing experts to reach out to both active and passive candidate where they are. A large candidate pool typically results in higher-quality applicants.
Resume versus Relationship
Unlike a sourcing expert, who is responsible for one specific stage in the hiring process, full-cycle, 360-degree recruiters are responsible for the entire recruiting process from start to finish. With so much on their plates, many recruiters rely heavily on resumes to screen applicants. Recruiters know exactly what they are looking for in a resume. This method offers short-term results that can be beneficial for employers looking to hire many applicants for the same position, such as a call center representative.
Starbuck’s Executive Chairman, Howard Schultz notes, “hiring people is an art, not a science and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into the company culture.” This is the crux of the sourcing method. These experts work to build relationships. They look beyond the resume to identify the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses and to determine if they are a good “fit” for the company or not. The sourcing method can help to foster the candidate experience and to provide long-term results for employers looking to boost retention rate, which can reduce overall recruitment costs.
The full-cycle, 360-degree recruitment method closely aligns with how many employers have been hiring for years. Today’s job market, however, has shifted and standard hiring practices are no longer enough. Sourcing can provide higher quality candidates, reduce recruiting cost, enhance the candidate experience and improve time-to-hire rates. Contact Tulsie today to learn more about the sourcing method and discover how it can help you attract the “right” candidates.
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