Are your current staff job hunting?

While it may be nice to assume that your staff are happy in their current jobs, a recent survey indicates that up to 70% of the global workforce is made up of passive candidates; that is, individuals that are not actively job hunting but would leave their current role for what they consider to be a better opportunity.

Active Candidates

This leaves an active talent pool of approximately thirty percent (30%). An active candidate will apply to a job posting or post their resume on job boards so that they may be found by recruiters.

As an employer, you will need to advertise to the largest audience to draw in as many candidates as possible, and then the onus is on you to screen and shortlist potential applicants. These applicants will most likely be open to your opportunity as they have already committed their interest.

Passive Candidates

A passive candidate will need to be sought out and may possibly need to be enticed. As an employer you will need to create a specific set of requirements and then set out to find a candidate that will match your specifications. There may be significant research in finding suitable candidates, and then often the applicant is not interested in what the employer has to offer. They may already be earning more, or up for a promotion or any number of other factors that means your offer will not be of interest. Sadly, this is where the employer must begin to lure the candidate to the “greener pastures” of your company.

This has the potential to create an uneven balance of power, which may not be the best first step in an employer/employee relationship. And it may backfire if the employee is not all that you hoped for and is terminated during the probationary period.