These days, engineers are among the most in-demand professionals in various fields like biotechnology, life sciences, and manufacturing. But as is with highly technical talents, they are elusive to find. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 140,000 new engineering jobs are expected to be created by 2026. Yet, the current talent market is experiencing a shortage that makes securing a promising candidate extra challenging. This is where building a candidate pipeline can work wonders for your recruitment needs.
There’s more to building a candidate pipeline than meets the eye. Beyond simply being a great recruitment strategy, it’s about fostering relationships. Hiring managers need to go the extra mile in building genuine connections, so they don’t just find quality candidates but also keep them interested even if they don’t offer them a job the first time around.
Essentially, the foundations you build on your candidate relationships today can save you time and resources in the future when an opening pops up. The immense pressure from deadlines and frantic scrambling to fill vacancies? That will be a thing of the past when you have a roster of highly engaged candidates with whom you’ve been building rapport for some time now.Â
The best part of it all is that building and maintaining a candidate pipeline isn’t complicated at all. You can do it in three simple ways:
PROMOTE WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY
Over 40% of candidates now consider workplace flexibility one of the major things they look for when considering a job. This trend means benefits like remote work and flexi-time are no longer just nice-to-haves but essentials in attracting qualified candidates.
Especially given that unemployment in the United States has now recovered to 6% from 14.2% in April 2020. Along with this is the rise of voluntary turnovers. All the indications that we’re already navigating a candidate-driven market and job-seekers are less willing to compromise on their non-negotiables.
Companies that adopt and extend flexibility will be one step closer to expanding their candidate pipeline and winning over quality engineers for your business. Why? Because it demonstrates that you’re willing to listen to what your team needs, and you value them enough to act on it.Â
It’s not rocket science to know that acts of authenticity and genuine care for employees can be a compelling reason for a top candidate to pick you over your competition. At a time when work-life balance and mental health are gaining popularity, showing compassion through flexible policies can leave a lasting impression. This will naturally enhance your employer brand and increase your chances of being an employer of choice.
That said, it’s essential to keep in mind that workplace flexibility isn’t just about remote work or flexi-time. Here are some things that you can consider:
- Hybrid working model
- Flexible working shifts
- Optional four-day week shifts/compressed shifts
- Additional paid time off
- Mental health leaves
- Caregiving leaves for parents
Of course, your organization has operational needs, too. So, the best approach to this is to consider the best and most flexible setup that will allow you to operate optimally while still providing your people the flexibility they need.Â
INVEST IN A REFERRAL PROGRAM
Did you know that referrals are one of the best-kept secrets of the recruitment industry? If you’re looking to build a quality candidate pipeline while saving valuable resources, investing in a referral program is one of the best ways to do it. Here are some of the most significant advantages to hiring referrals:
- Referrals are hired faster and cost less. Studies show that referrals are approximately 55% faster to hire than candidates sourced through job advertisements and career sites. This is because you don’t have to wait and sift through dozens of applications to find a suitable candidate; instead, you leverage the good relationships you have with your employees to generate quality leads. And when you spend less time and resources to find one suitable candidate, you end up saving more in the long haul.
- Referrals stay longer and perform better. Referred candidates have a 46% average retention rate and typically last for three years or more in a company versus conventional candidates with only 33% retention rates. Plus, they tend to bring a whopping 82% return on investment (ROI). Since employees have a good idea of your company culture, requirements, and standards, they are effective screeners of good culture and job fit. On top of this, a referred candidate would come, knowing at least one familiar face in the organization, making the onboarding process much more pleasant than starting as a stranger.
- Referrals can bring in top talents. One of the advantages of a referral program is that it opens opportunities to reach passive candidates: top talents who are not actively seeking a job but open to considerations. Valuable leads would be challenging to get otherwise, especially in niche industries like engineering.
The quality of the candidates you have in your pipeline is just as important as its quantity, and referrals can give you the best of both worlds.
PARTNER WITH A RELIABLE STAFFING FIRM
The primary mission of staffing firms is to build bridges. Specifically, mediate the potential relationship of a candidate to clients like you. They live and breathe relationships and pay attention to the experience of the candidates as they go through the recruitment process. This is why partnering with a staffing firm can provide you an added advantage: they become your ambassadors as they help candidates get to know your brand, values, requirements, and culture.
On top of this, they are the experts in recruitment and spend weeks learning the industry they need to tap into. From job trends to candidate behaviors, recruiters make it a point to conduct thorough research and studies to know exactly where the brightest candidates can be found. As a result, they can efficiently allocate recruitment budgets toward sources and channels that will yield the most return-on-investment (ROI) for you in the long haul.
Best of all, partnering with a staffing firm will clear your internal human resources (HR) of taxing recruitment responsibilities so that they can focus on other high-value tasks such as employee development and safety and health programs
FIND THE BEST ENGINEERS AND GROW YOUR CANDIDATE PIPELINE
Recruiting can be time-consuming, taxing, and costly when starting from scratch.Â
With Agile Workplace Staffing, you can get access to a network of sourced and pre-screened engineers from any industry. We have made it our mission to provide the support you need to create a talent acquisition capability that ensures you’ve got a steady stream of candidates for every long-term or temporary vacancy. In addition, we can create and maintain your candidate pipeline from talent sourcing until the job offer so that you can focus on your prime operations.
We take every partnership with a serious commitment to excellence and dedicate no less than the best engineers in the placements we make. So talk to us today, and let’s take a step toward building a successful candidate pipeline.
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