Finding and attracting the best-fit candidates to fill a role has always been hard. Yet, as talent pools are continuously shrinking, the competition for skilled staff is higher than ever. To put it in even more simple terms – everyone is chasing the same talent. However, there is a way to enlarge your talent pool while simultaneously diversifying it. In this blog, I will explain to you the consequences of having a small talent pool. And how using Talent Analytics in recruitment leads to a considerable competitive advantage & a larger talent pool!
A talent pool is your safety net
After all, it is the first place you go to look for qualified candidates when a new job role opens. If you’re lucky and the talent pool is big – you will be able to find the best-fit candidates for each open job position you might have. So yes, the talent pool serves as a safety net for your company. And perhaps at the moment having a small talent pool does not feel like such a pressing issue for you. Yet, trust me – once you start thinking long-term and begin setting future goals such as hiring 10 more people at the end of the quarter – what happens if your talent pool has increasingly shrunk since the last time you set out to fill a role? Well, that brings me to my next point – three consequences of a small talent pool. Just continue reading!
Three consequences of a small talent pool
So what happens when your talent pool shrinks and is more shallow than ever? These are the three consequences you are likely to face:
Consequence 1. Job roles stay open for too long
At first glance, this might not seem as such a bad thing. Not filling a role right away is actually in a way saving money – no salary, no benefits to be paid. A job role that is open for too long implies that at one point or another, other employees will have to chip in to cover the duties and responsibilities associated with it. What does this imply in the long run? A decrease in productivity that leads to a decrease in overall quality of the work. This eventually leads to a decrease in revenue generation and eventually, profitability.
Consequence 2. Oops, now you’re settling for less
Desperate times ask for desperate measures. You might be in a situation where the productivity level of your current employees is drastically decreasing as they are forced to take upon more and more duties due to other job roles staying open for too long. This might drive you in a corner. You will start to hire anyone that applies, without taking into consideration their suitability for the role. Perhaps, this is the biggest mistake of them all when it comes to hiring. It will not only result in large financial losses, but also bring you back to square one – an open job role that you are struggling to fill.
Consequence 3. Lack of diversity
Diversity in the workplace – a direct representation of diversity within the talent pool. Plus, having a diverse workforce matters – as diversity is the absolute catalyst for ensuring growth. Let me give you an example. If your talent pool consists of 100 candidates, and only 1 of them is a woman – she might as well look for a job elsewhere because her chance of being hired is close to none. It is only equal representation within a talent pool that can balance out the odds of diverse talent being hired.
What is Talent Analytics?
Talent analytics in recruitment is focused on gathering candidate insights that can be used as means of making better hiring decisions. These insights are data based. They are objective and bias free – allowing you to learn more about the cognitive abilities and behavioral traits of current employees and potential future hires. In fact, talent analytics measures General Cognitive Ability (GCA) which is the #1 most important trait determinant of job performance. Below you will find the main differences between resume based screening and screening that is based on TA:
This is how using Talent Analytics in recruitment can help enlarge your talent pool
Now that you know what Talent Analytics is, how exactly does incorporating data analytics within your talent acquisition strategies will lead to a considerable competitive advantage & a larger talent pool?
Using talent analytics will allow you to:
- Begin looking and hiring for potential. Talent analytics allow you to gain insights into the unconscious behavioural and cognitive processes of candidates.
- Remove bias from your hiring process. Thus, preventing wrongfully rejecting candidates and as a result create a talent pool that is diverse and inclusive.
Curious to learn more about how exactly using talent analytics in your recruitment process will allow you to look beyond what’s hidden in plain sight? Take a look at the playbook we made about this to get all the answers you’re looking for!
Get your playbook here!
Cheers, Anete
