Other Voices: Creative Sourcing Strategies & Recruitment Tools

Editors note: This is the last of ten columns by Rodney Apple on recruiting. As always, you can feel free to email me with your thoughts at [email protected]. Bob Trebilcock, editorial director, Supply Chain Management Review.

With today’s tightening labor market and talent shortage within the supply chain discipline, do your supply chain recruiters have the tools and resources in place to fill your hiring needs in a timely manner? Are your recruiters leveraging multiple sourcing channels to identify, attract and engage both active and especially passive supply chain candidates?

If you’re having difficulties with sourcing and hiring supply chain talent, check out our list of the sourcing channels and recruitment resources that you should consider adding to help drive better results.

Expand Candidate Sourcing Channels
It’s important to note that a successful recruiting program goes beyond relying on an applicant tracking system (ATS) that primarily serves as a tool for processing inbound job applicants generated from job advertisements.

It’s critical to focus your efforts on developing or improving your ability to “direct source” talent from your competitors and other companies that employ the type of supply chain talent that fits your unique company mold.

We have covered the importance of proactively direct sourcing candidates in a previous post on using creative channels for top talent. In short, these sourcing channels can and should include:

• Tap into the leading supply chain associations and turn your supply chain employees into talent scouts

• Develop an employee referral program

• Create partnerships with supply chain universities

• Mine your internal resume database

• Post jobs on specialized, niche job boards using strong job descriptions that attract top supply chain talent

• Engage with a supply chain recruiting firm before making your decision” (be sure to consider these variables)

Upgrade (or Implement) an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
An ATS can help employers automate many of their recruiting and hiring processes, which leads to increased productivity, stronger employer branding, and a better candidate experience. If you’re using an older, legacy system that leads to a “work harder not smarter” user experience, such as having to click through too many screens or forcing candidates to fill out too many data fields, then it’s time to upgrade to a more advanced system.

There are dozens of applicant tracking systems to choose from these days, some great and some that really shouldn’t be in business, so take plenty of time to thoroughly evaluate your options to ensure you select the best package for your particular needs. In addition, we strongly encourage you to thoroughly check customer references once you narrow your ATS choices down to a few finalists, as many software providers are very good at putting on a strong demo but often times fail to address limitations or issues with their software.

What does a Strong ATS look like?
• Excellent communication and sourcing capabilities to identify and engage candidates quickly with as little effort as possible e.g. SMS texting and drip email campaigns
• Less clicks and data entry requirements
• Social media sharing & website integration for job postings
• Strong reporting capabilities to track and measure recruiter productivity and KPIs
• Omni-platform system: accessible via mobile phone, tablet, and computer
• EEOC & OFCCP compliant (critical if you are a government contractor)
• Robust online training & excellent customer support
• Integration / syncing with your email service provider and calendar
• Automates routine steps in the process (candidate scheduling & communications)
• Integration with free and paid job boards to reduce administrative burdens associated with manual job postings
• Integration with your ERP or HRIS system is a plus to improve data reporting while mitigating duplicate data entry tasks

Implement Additional Candidate Sourcing & Recruiting Tools
There are dozens of tools beyond an ATS system that can simplify your ability to identify supply chain talent and streamline your recruiting process. These tools range from add-ons for your ATS and CRM system to browser extensions that can aid with finding email addresses, to email add-ons that allow you to gain deeper insights into candidates and more.

We’ve included some highly reputable resources below that cover the top tools, systems and sourcing methodologies that your organization can explore for improving your ability to source and recruit supply chain talent.

Some of the Top Recruiting Tools & Advice:
Boolean Black Belt Sourcing/ Recruiting

• A trove of over 100 sourcing and recruiting resources, from LinkedIn hacks to Boolean Search advice to utilizing social media for your open opportunities. A few include:
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o How to Find Email Addresses– How to Use Gmail and Rapportive to Find Almost Anyone’s Email Address

o Lean Recruiting- What is Lean Just in Time Recruiting

o Semantic Search– What is Semantic Search and How Can it Be Used for Sourcing and Recruiting?

o LinkedIn- How to Get a Higher LinkedIn InMail Response Rate

o Sourcing Advice– How to Become a World Class Sourcer

Recruiting ToolKit
• A complete list of Google Chrome extensions that will aid with discovering and engaging candidates. There’s not one single extension that can do everything, but here are a few to combine to make “sourcing magic”.

Top Sourcing Tools to Download

• Recommended Chrome extensions and other tools that integrate into many ATS systems.

Rodney L. Apple is the managing partner of SCM Talent Group, a supply chain recruiting agency. He can be reached at [email protected].