An increasing number of businesses are looking to take control of their recruitment activities by introducing an in-house direct sourcing function. But, if you’ve spent years relying on agencies to fill your vacancies for you, you might wonder where to begin.
When your ambitions are large, the prospect of implementing a direct sourcing strategy can seem daunting, which is why it’s important to have the right resources to support you in your mission.
As Webrecruit recognises the importance of having the right tools behind you, we’ve compiled a list of the top five key resources that any HR professional needs when implementing direct sourcing within their business.
1. The right team
Having the right people to support your efforts and help you execute your strategy is vital. You might have a clear vision in your head of what you want to achieve but it’s your HR team who are going to put your plan into action.
Whether it’s bringing in an experienced in-house recruiter who’ll drive change and whip your strategy into shape, or training up your existing HR team, you need people behind you who are enthusiastic and passionate about your company’s targets.
Sitting down with your current or future team and making them aware of your goals and timescales is important so that everyone is on the same page.
2. Educational resources
As with any other major project, it’s important to do your homework. It’s worth investigating other businesses who have implemented a similar strategy and read about their successes, as well as any issues they encountered along the way.
This can help you to prepare for the challenges that you might have to face and provide you with helpful tips on how to overcome these obstacles.
There are also a number of ‘how to’ guides to help you on your way. An example of this would be Webrecruit’s In-House Direct Sourcing Guide.
3. Technology
Recruitment software is not only incredibly useful for managing all of your candidate activities, it also greatly reduces the amount of admin work involved in recruiting, freeing up more time for your team to actually source candidates to fill your vacancies.
Another major benefit that recruitment software can bring to your business is the reporting functionality. The flexibility to customise your reports allows you to calculate useful key metrics (more on that later) and identify which application sources are working for you, potentially saving you a great deal of time and money in the future.
4. The right recruitment advertising mix
With a countless number of job boards, aggregators and channels available to advertise your vacancy, how do you know what’s best to use, without spending a fortune?
This is the perfect time to audit your candidate attraction strategy so it’s important to do some investigative work and find out what job boards are working best for you.
You can work out your cost-per-hire per job board by taking its annual cost and dividing it by the number of hires you’ve made using that specific board. This will allow you to eliminate any underperforming boards or aggregators.
It’s also worth contacting a variety of advertising sources and obtaining price quotations, negotiating any potential discounts or asking for a free trial.
5. Metrics
Working out vital metrics, such as your current time-to-hire and cost-per-hire is important to help you measure your progress when implementing a direct sourcing plan.
These statistics will act as a starting point in your direct sourcing journey and will allow you to measure your achievements at designated intervals whilst your strategy is being implemented.
If you’re unsure about what metrics will allow you to measure your progress or confused about how to calculate these, why not take a look at our blog, 5 Metrics You Need to Audit Your Candidate Attraction Strategy.
Looking for more tips on how to implement an in-house direct sourcing function? Check out Webrecruit’s In-House Direct Sourcing Guide.
