What is a talent pool and how can you build a strong one?

Bottom line up front: A talent pool is a database of qualified candidates you can pull from to fill open roles. Candidates in your talent pool should already possess the skills and experience needed to perform the job. Talent pools can expedite hiring, allowing you to hire candidates quickly without a lengthy search.

In the increasingly competitive job market, having a list of candidates who can quickly take on a role is helpful. As an HR professional, your talent pool database connects you with people with the skills and education to handle a position.

A talent pool can consist of both internal and external individuals. Hiring internal candidates motivates existing employees, allowing them to envision a future where they grow within your company. Typically, external candidates consist of professionals who previously expressed interest in working for your organization.

Talent pools can lower your recruiting costs and limit the potential of a bad hire. As such, they’re a must for any company that regularly needs workers to fill open and new roles.

Hiring talented workers can make your workforce up to eight times more productive, according to Scott Keller of McKinsey & Company.

Building a strong talent pool

Creating a talent pool requires a plan.

Simply saving a few resumes isn’t enough to optimize your talent pool. Instead, you must strategically identify and connect each candidate’s competencies with current positions. That way, when a role opens, you can quickly turn to your talent pool and notify qualified candidates.

There are a few factors to consider when building your talent pool.

Key skills and competencies

Ideally, you’ll create segmented talent pools for your departments and positions. You’ll want to identify the critical skills qualified candidates should have to succeed in each role.

The skills will vary depending on the open function. For instance, a VP of Sales will require different competencies from a Finance or Marketing Manager.

Attracting and retaining talent

While your talent pool should have some external candidates, like people who previously applied for an open position or individuals referred by existing employees, you shouldn’t ignore your internal workers.

Your internal team is already familiar with your organization and processes. Promoting internally can be a great way to retain your existing employees, especially talented ones.

Developing and nurturing relationships

It’s critical to stay in touch with external candidates who are a part of your talent pool, especially if you think you may need them in the future.

Regularly communicating with these individuals via email or other channels is a great way to get your organization to stick in their minds. For instance, you might email them when open positions are available or your company achieves something you can share.

Creating a strong employer brand

Your employer brand refers to your company’s reputation as an employer.

Typically, organizations seek to influence their reputation as an employer through their website, social media accounts and word of mouth. For instance, if your company values innovation, intelligence and flexibility, you’ll regularly promote those attributes to your existing and potential employees.

Challenges and solutions

Building a talent pool takes time and effort. You’ll probably encounter a few difficulties if talent pools are new to your organization. Here are a few common challenges employers experience and how to overcome them.

Lack of diversity

Most companies want a diverse group of workers. Diversity can spur creativity in the office, resulting in various viewpoints and ideas from people with different experiences and backgrounds.

However, diversity isn’t always easy to achieve. A company’s reputation can discourage people from applying, and internal biases from existing employees can hamper diversity efforts.

To overcome the lack of diversity in your talent pool, you’ll want to make DE&I policies clear in your organization.

There should be a mix of people from various backgrounds and ethnicities at all company levels, including management. Your HR team should post job advertisements on sites where people from diverse backgrounds will be likely to see them.

You can also participate in recruitment events at historically black colleges and universities and other places attended by people from differing backgrounds.

High turnover

Companies with high turnover are always hiring. Consequently, there’s little chance to develop a qualified talent pool, as the company is constantly filling roles.

Some companies, such as restaurants and retail stores, are more prone to high turnover. People who fill customer service roles don’t tend to stay for the long term. They may be working through school or taking on the job for extra cash.

If your organization has a high turnover rate, make it a point to find out why. Your compensation package may not be competitive, or internal issues may drive qualified employees away.

Limited internal resources

Sometimes, companies see the need for a talent pool but don’t have the resources necessary to create them. They may not have the right IT system to support a talent pool, or there may not be enough team members to manage it.

If you believe your organization could benefit from a talent pool but need more resources to develop one effectively, talk to your management team. If you make a strong enough case for needing help, your company may provide it.

Tactics and frameworks for maintaining and growing your talent pool

Building a vast talent pool won’t happen overnight. You’ll need the proper framework to find qualified candidates and retain their information. You’ll also need to determine how to include your internal employees in the talent pool and encourage them to update their profiles for new achievements.

Utilizing technology and data

One of the most critical attributes of your talent pool is the technology you use to manage it.

Software programs not adequately equipped to handle talent pool management will end your efforts before you start. If you don’t have the necessary technology to oversee a talent pool, consult your management team to obtain it.

There are two tools HR teams ordinarily find helpful for talent pool management: sourcing tools and applicant-tracking systems (ATS).

Sourcing tools are useful for identifying people who aren’t actively looking for a job but have the qualifications you possess for a role. You can use sourcing tools to find and reach out to experienced candidates through platforms like LinkedIn, encouraging them to apply for an open position.

ATS, meanwhile, helps manage the end-to-end recruiting process.

With an effective ATS, you can store resumes and identify where each candidate is in the hiring stage. If the hiring manager decides not to move forward with an applicant, you can keep their information in case another more fitting role becomes available.

Regularly evaluating and updating your pool

If you don’t actively manage your talent pool, its quality will deteriorate.

Most people don’t remain stagnant in their careers – they may pursue additional education or gain experience that qualifies them for other roles in your organization. If you notify them of a job that they’re now overqualified for, chances are they won’t reply.

We recommend emailing external individuals in your talent pool every few months, encouraging them to update their profiles with your organization. That way, you can ensure you have up-to-date data.

People who respond to your email will still be interested in working for your organization, whereas you can remove those who don’t respond after several attempts at communication.

You should also ask internal candidates to update their profiles every three to six months. That way, you’ll know if they’ve gained additional skills or experience that you should factor into your decisions.

Offering professional development and career opportunities

The best companies typically groom their existing employees for higher positions. They don’t expect them to stay in the same role for life. Instead, they’ll encourage team members to work on their skills and education, which can prepare them for more responsibility in the future.

You can encourage existing employees to develop their professional skills by offering incentives, such as tuition reimbursement.

Other companies provide resources for their workers to grow their skill sets. For instance, they might pay a talented employee to attend a skill development conference or class, or partner with a local professional networking organization.

Encouraging employee referrals

Another way to expand your talent pool is through employee referrals. Employee referral programs ask existing workers to recommend friends or acquaintances who want to work for the organization. Typically, employees recommend people with skills or abilities that align with the organization’s needs.

Employee referrals will likely feel comfortable working with the company since they know some of the current staff. They generally assimilate quickly and can communicate with their colleagues when they need help.

Employee referrals are the way to go if you need to expand your talent pool quickly.

Consider incentivizing your workers to recommend qualified applicants. For instance, you might grant them a small bonus when they recommend someone you hire or offer them an extra benefit, such as a free week of vacation.

Talent pools help you access qualified candidates

Rather than relying on job advertisements to reach talented workers, create a talent pool of individuals with the right qualifications to work in your organization.

With a talent pool to draw from, you’ll find you spend less time looking for people with the skills and education to do the job. There’s also less risk of a bad hire since you’ll have several talented candidates to choose from during the hiring process.