Talent shortages are a common challenge for employers. Even though the labor market is predicted to rebalance in 2024, hiring remains competitive. Talent expert Tom, APAC Head of Sourcing, uncovers the talent pools you might be overlooking.
1. Passive talent
A talent pool often overlooked is comprised of individuals who may not actively be seeking new opportunities—passive talent. Passive talent might not be actively applying, but that does not mean they aren’t interested in joining your team. You often hear about this talent pool as being the primary target of talent sourcers, who are experts in finding and engaging passive talent with market-leading technology, and a deep understanding of your market and its competitive landscape.
2. Your employees
Before you cast a wider net, it is important not to overlook the talent pool right in front of you – your employees. Beyond their experience in their current roles, your workforce possesses a wealth of untapped skills, experiences and aspirations. Career management and internal mobility are a top-5 priority for HR leaders in 2024, according to Gartner.
3. Boomerang employees
Another talent pool that has an existing familiarity to your organization is composed of former employees. They can bring a unique perspective, having gained valuable experience elsewhere. This is a strategy we’ve also seen employed by Meta and Salesforce earlier this year and was identified as a key trend to watch by talent expert Joan.
4. Breaking industry boundaries
It’s common for employers to limit their search to industry-specific talent pools. However, there is immense potential in looking beyond these boundaries. Talent from different industries may bring new perspectives and innovative approaches. An example of this is when the big tech lay-offs happened in 2022, and most of these workers had been rehired by non-tech industries at the start of this year.
5. Talent re-entering the workforce
Finally, it’s all too easy to miss out on talent that is looking to re-enter the workforce. Life events or career pivots may lead skilled professionals to take a break, but their capabilities stay and may even be augmented by the experience they built in the time in between. Many companies have discovered the value of talent looking to return to the workforce and have ‘returnship’ programs in place, including Deloitte, Amazon and Accenture.
Do you want to discover more untapped talent pools, or learn more about talent pooling? Read Tom’s tips for getting started with talent pooling, and optimizing your talent pooling strategy, or get in touch with our talent experts today.
