If you’re an employer and looking for new hires, you’ll likely come across the concept of the ‘passive candidate market’. Data suggests that, on average, around 75% of the workforce is classified as passive and thus a problem for employer recruitment efforts. If you’re only speaking to 25% of the entire workforce, what are the chances you’ll find the right talent for your business? This is why it’s important to understand the passive candidate market and how to properly operate within it.
What is the passive candidate market?
The passive candidate market is the element of the workforce that isn’t actively searching for work but is open to potential opportunities.
It may be someone that has worked in a role for three years and would move for a better salary but just hasn’t explored the nearest opportunities. They’re not actively looking on job boards, they’re not interviewing and they’re not scouring LinkedIn for a new role
That said, according to research by LinkedIn, over half of the passive candidate market is open to new opportunities. This means a huge proportion of the workforce is missing your recruitment efforts but could be your ideal new employee.
So how can employers start tapping into the passive candidate market? It’s a fantastic resource that offers great results provided you know how to get involved.
Recruitment data suggests that employers are spending more resources and more time on in-house recruitment but these efforts are hindered from the outset because they’re not even hitting the entire market.
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How to access the passive candidate market
If you want to start finding opportunities in the passive candidate market, it’s time to rethink your approach. You can’t rely solely on job boards or random social media posts.
Remember, these people aren’t actively searching and unless you grab their attention, they probably won’t take notice of a new role. With that in mind, here’s how to approach the passive candidate market:
1. Identify passive candidates
One common way of hitting the passive candidate market is to identify prospects and contact them directly. This is now usually done via social media as it allows you to send a concise message that is relatively unobtrusive – provided it’s written correctly. In terms of finding these prospects however? This can be done via company websites, networking or even attending events.
Just remember that here you’re basically cold-calling people and the idea is to be as polite as possible. A simple message that details the position and benefits is enough and will generally be well-accepted by most people.
Remember that these people aren’t actively thinking about a new role, this means they’re more likely to be fussy about specific elements of the role as they effectively have nothing to lose.
2. Establish a concise recruitment process
The foundation of successful recruitment is built on a streamlined, efficient process. A lengthy or complex application process doesn’t attract anyone, let alone the passive candidate market. The best thing to do is make sure the journey between job listing and complete application is as simple as possible.
Encourage people to send in CVs, cover letters and other useful application documents so that you can quickly start screening candidates. Once you have people engaged and start receiving applications, you can start asking the more detailed questions and push your screening further.
3. Work with a recruitment agency
While all of the above is useful for employers looking to improve their in-house recruitment efforts, it still requires a huge amount of time and resources from the business. As an employer, there’s no guarantee that you won’t hinder day-to-day operations with recruitment that isn’t even leveraging the whole market.
This is why we always suggest speaking with a recruitment agency. Not only will they be able to offer local market knowledge and experience but they’ll also have the power to tap into the passive candidate market.
At AD Finance, for example, we have a broad network of existing candidates and clients across the Midlands ready to speak to, as well as the resources to directly contact potential candidates out in the market.
This means that by working with us, you’re able to access that network without having to lift a finger – until the interviewing process, obviously.