Candidate pipelines are built and nurtured methodically by recruiters. Potential employees are screened to ensure compatibility with the company and researched to determine their skills and fit.

Then, their information is kept on file, and recruiters contact those in the pipeline regularly to keep them “warm”—the opposite of a “cold call,” in which a recruiter contacts a person with no previous connection as a possible job hire.

Benefits of “Warm” Hiring

The typical hiring process is reactive instead of proactive. When a job opens up, the hiring manager or recruiter begins the repetitive tasks of:

• Creating a job description
• Posting it on the appropriate hiring boards
• Scouring resumes to set up interviews for candidates with potential
  
  

But with warm hiring, this process becomes easier — and more effective.

With a network of connections already evaluated and nurtured, recruiters know exactly who to approach for an available position. Those candidates have already shown interest and are more likely to be open to an interview.

This warm hire process is invaluable in fields like tech, where competition is fierce. It helps you land the top talent in the industry before your competitors do.

Because you’re not rushing to fill a crucial position and losing valuable time by screening unqualified applicants, you can focus on looking at the skilled individuals in your talent pool. You already know they’re vetted and warm leads, so you can be choosy in deciding which candidates to extend an offer to. This approach results in filling the position with those who have the best skills for the job.

At the same time that you’re nurturing a lead for your company’s best interests, you’re also establishing a reputation for the business as welcoming and warm.

Because your recruiting method includes kindling relationships, candidates have a personal connection to the company. This helps promote and retain loyalty and a positive professional image.

2. Build Your Employer Brand Around Your Ideal Candidates

In industries like healthcare and tech, where demand is high and skilled workers can pick and choose their career paths, the workplace atmosphere matters.

Your business has a brand, whether you’ve cultivated it strategically or not. This is the image people have of your company’s values, reflecting its views on:

• Social norms
• Economics
• Consumers
• Employees
  
  

For example, Chick-fil-A’s stance on staying closed on Sundays has resonated with the Christian sector, developing a brand that promotes family values and customer service. 

Building Your Brand to Stand Out in Tech

In the tech world, your brand can attract or repel top global talent, who are often looking for diverse-minded, inclusive workplaces.

Research shows that 82% of employees want to work for an employer with a purpose, creating meaningful tasks. They also want to be seen as valued individuals and provided with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge.

This goal can be challenging in an industry where AI and machine learning are intertwined. But developing a brand with human-centric values can offset this necessity.

Consider what you currently offer your employees. Do your benefits show you appreciate growth, diverse thinking, and inclusivity? If not, it may be time to renovate your workplace policies.

Cultivating a positive employer brand in tech can look like:

• Focusing on allyship by partnering with companies that promote diversity through training and advocacy
• Developing and implementing effective employee recognition programs that are connected to the company’s values
• Providing opportunities for continued professional development
• Including a job offer package that communicates your values, such as mental health and wellness benefits, flexible scheduling, or enhanced paid time off
• Representing your company’s culture across the board, from hiring to promotion practices
  
  

Remember, your brand can’t be faked or forced. It’s an organic representation of what your company consistently delivers to clients and employees.

By cultivating a positive brand image with candidates in your pipeline, you pique and keep their interest in a challenging market and entice them to consider your job offer more than your competitors’.

3. Decide Where to Focus Your Recruiting Initiatives

While having skilled candidates at the ready sounds like a hiring manager’s dream, the reality is that not every position actually requires a pipeline.

Although entry-level positions like receptionists or virtual assistants are crucial, filling them might not be worth the expense and time involved in nurturing a candidate pipeline. 

So, which positions are worth the cost?

The answer depends on your unique workplace situation:

• Where in your organization do you usually struggle to fill an open position? 
• Where is the need greatest for a diverse, high-talent individual?
  
  

These are the places where having qualified candidates already screened and ready to hire may be cost-effective.

If you’re an experienced hiring manager, you know through previous candidate experiences where the delays in filling a position often show up. However, since you’ll be spending valuable resources creating a talent pipeline, it’s wise to dig into the data and pull out research. 

Use insights and metrics from past hiring and retention experiences to find potentially unrecognized bottlenecks. Set targets for your ideal pipeline size, engagement, acceptance rate, and retention before you provide your recruiting team with instructions.

The more detailed you are regarding the types of job seekers you’re looking for to handle your hiring needs, the more likely you are to source candidates who meet your standards. Unlike with less strategic recruitment efforts, the quality of hires through this process increases significantly.

4. Go Where Your Candidates Are

Talent acquisition isn’t the same across the board, especially in ever-evolving areas like the tech industry. Your recruitment process should continually adapt to these changes, going where the talent is.

Today’s candidates have a variety of job boards and platforms to explore. Where do your ideal candidates hang out?

Sure, you could use the old standbys, like LinkedIn and Indeed, but if you’re looking for skilled, high-quality candidates to include in your network, they’re often on more niche platforms.

You can also integrate referral programs in your recruitment process, connecting with pipeline platforms like Obsidi® to partner with and monitor new and growing talent. Partnerships work symbiotically, with one side attracting a specific target candidate — in the case of Obsidi®, diverse tech workers — and the other side offering future opportunities for hiring in open roles.

Through a partnership, you’ll also connect with experiences you may not have known about otherwise, such as:

• Industry events designed for staffing
• Introductions to potential stakeholders
• First options for talent acquisition