Hiring managers want deeper pipelines and recruiters don’t have any time to spare. Organizations who add dedicated sourcers into the mix are on the right track, but HOW you incorporate sourcers is the difference between success and failure of your recruitment model.
There was a time when sourcing did not exist separate from recruiting. It was assumed that the role of a recruiter was to source talent and manage the hiring process. This is often still the case in smaller organizations where hiring volumes are low and it makes sense for an individual to cover the lifespan of recruiting. When this starts to be too much for one person, it’s a healthy sign of organizational growth.
We love growth! Organizational growth often represents exciting business opportunities, greater impact and new jobs. Unfortunately for the recruitment function, it’s often the last to the party. The automatic assumption is to add recruiting headcount rather than reevaluating the structure of the team to determine if it can support the company direction.
This is the making of an exhausted recruiting function: requisition loads pile up and recruiters become resume pushers instead of strategic talent partners.
All of the recruitment technology in the world — even when coupled with the most efficient, buttoned-up process — will not change one simple truth: recruiting is human-centric. Great people know how to attract, engage and hire other great people.
Creating space in your recruiting model for sourcers is the first step toward hiring success in the year ahead, but this alone is not enough. You need to create a thoughtfully structured sourcing model to set your new sourcers up for success.
3 key building blocks for a successful sourcing model
Prepare a place for your dedicated sourcers to thrive by implementing these three key strategies:
- Integrate sourcers into your recruitment team as equal partners. Recruiters and sourcers need to be partners attached at the hip. There needs to be trust so that recruiters can free up their time while sourcers can get creative with their outreach. The best sourcers are not just scouring LinkedIn. They are testing creative messaging, interacting with industry-specific networking groups, using a multitude of social media platforms and getting to know potential future hires, not just the “right now” hires.
- Include sourcers in discussions with your hiring managers from the onset. Sourcers need information and often have questions that are not top of mind for recruiters. Looping them in on intake calls will not only save time but also provide them the nuggets of information they need to turn a good search into a great search.
- Appreciate and optimize the fact that sourcers are the external face of the organization. We work so hard to avoid the order-taking recruiting model, and there’s good reason for it! It’s important to avoid a culture where sourcers feel like recruiters’ order takers. It must be a partnership with mutual respect for what each person brings to the table. Sourcers invest a lot of time nurturing relationships and have a very strong pulse on what’s happening in the market. Their work frees recruiters up to spend time with their clients and manage the interview process without worrying about sourcing new talent. It’s a win-win.
Consider this:
Give a mediocre sourcer the best tech stack and buttoned-up process, and it is very likely that the job will not be done to satisfaction. Remember, sourcing is a human function — always. We use technology to help find qualified people and at a more rapid pace. It gives the sourcer information, but it doesn’t change the fact that the sourcer still needs to leverage the technology on a regular basis and then forge a relationship with prospects. The hardest part of sourcing isn’t finding the talent; the hardest part is engagement to the point that the person actually applies for the job. A mediocre sourcer will struggle to engage and nurture that relationship.
However, give your team the best sourcer over a top-notch tech stack and the job will still get done, and done well. While having the technology to expedite their searches is ideal, the best sourcers know how to find and connect with people on a human level. They have high EQ and know how to meet potential candidates right where they are. While we always talk about time to hire metrics, great sourcers actually play the long game. They realize that not everyone is ready to apply to a new job today but that they might be ready tomorrow.
Now imagine if you gave your team the best sourcer AND a great tech stack. This is a proven formula for massive wins!
Great people find and hire great talent, and it all starts with sourcing.
