When looking for executive candidates that aren't currently seeking new jobs, companies have to be thoughtful about the best way to approach them. Although many hiring managers know about the importance of appealing to this group, they often don't have the expertise necessary to reach them successfully, which makes for an ineffective and costly executive recruitment campaign.
Instead, boards should work with professional recruiters, who have the relationships needed to approach and win over passive candidates.
Why is this important? Because, as Dr. John Sullivan writes, passive candidates aren't just "not looking": they could be avoiding the standard means that hiring managers use to find them altogether. That includes not responding to calls, letting their online profiles go out of date and skipping over job listings. When asked, these employees could make it sound like they are content with their current jobs.
Furthermore, Dr. Sullivan points out that just because a person isn't looking for employment doesn't mean they are worthy of an open position. Badly-informed businesses that automatically equate "passive" with "top performer" overlook the actual quality of a person's work.
Liz Ryan touched on a similar point in a 2013 piece for Bloomberg Business, where she warned against businesses trying to solely appeal to those candidates who already have jobs.
"Before corporate HR departments try to morph into headhunters (an arrogant move, given the years that seasoned third-party recruiters have spent honing their skills and building their networks), they'd be wise to remember that relationships drive business," she wrote. "Calling unsuspecting people at their desks and pitching them on your opportunities doesn't make a company hipper or improve its employer brand," she adds.
By working with professionals who already have these important relationships, businesses will improve the quality of their hires.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people – for all company functions, across many industries and globally.
