If you struggle to find talented candidates for your open tech positions, it could be because you’re taking a retroactive approach to hiring. Waiting to start a search until a position opens often leaves you with a shallow pool of active talent. Building a talent pipeline of passive candidates who have in-demand skills, however, allows you to approach hiring proactively. But building a pipeline is often easier said than done. Here are some critical strategies for building that pipeline to streamline your next candidate search.

Create an Employee Referral Program

These programs reward your existing employees for referring a talented candidate who ultimately gets hired and stays with the company for a predetermined period of time. Employee referrals have the best closing ratio of applications to hires. Referred employees also have a higher rate of job satisfaction and a longer retention rate than employees hired through more traditional recruiting channels.

Build Your Employee Brand

You know the value of online branding, online outreach and SEO to attract potential customers to your company website. These same tactics can be used to build your employer brand. Passive candidates often research potential opportunities with other organizations, and building a strong online presence that showcases what it’s like to work for you can help draw talented people to you.

A strong brand is also important when engaging in passive candidate outreach. When a corporate recruiter reaches out to establish a connection with a passive candidate, those candidates will conduct research to see what you’re all about. Make sure you have a section of your website dedicated to corporate culture where you are posting videos, employee testimonials on social media and a blog that establishes you as a leader in the field.

Get Active in Professional Organizations

Talented tech pros are actively involved in local, regional, national and online professional groups. These organizations can be a boon for building a talent pipeline. Start attending local meetings and events to network with top-tier talent. It is also savvy to host events for professional organizations. Open your offices for a lunch-and-learn, a happy hour or a seminar to bring people in.

Leverage a Professional IT Recruiter

Building a talent pipeline can take years of hard work, and many HR teams find it difficult to get buy-in from leaders to invest more in passive recruiting because the ROI is slow to realize. However, there is a way you can instantly tap into a vast network of passive candidates who are willing to make a change for the right opportunity.

Professional IT recruiters spend a lot of time networking online and offline with passive candidates. They have the time and the resources to devote to building relationships with talent and they know just when to “strike” with a hot offer. They can also help you build your employer brand, acting as a sales rep with passive clients.

If you are looking for skilled technical professionals and want to improve your talent pipeline to make stronger hires, contact the IT recruiting experts at PEAK Technical Consulting today

About PEAK

PEAK Technical Consulting is a leading provider of IT and technical talent, offering contract staffing, contract-to-hire and direct hire solutions throughout the United States. With nearly 50 years of technical recruiting experience, we are committed to delivering real value to our clients by providing the resources, support and solutions they need to succeed.

PEAK consistently delivers top talent for even tough-to-fill positions. See some of the IT jobs we have recently filled for our clients:

• Program Manager – 74126
• Oracle Functional Analyst – 74114
• Test Software Engineer – 74073

If you are looking for skilled, experienced IT professionals to help your business grow and prosper, contact the IT recruiting experts at PEAK Technical Staffing today.