Passive candidates…Is there ROI?

One of the more frustrating and heated debates right now in corporate recruiting is that a passive candidate is better quality that a active one.  Especially now, in this market, isn’t everyone an active one?  And, what about companies lovefest with the passive candidate and how they desperately need to get these gems into the hiring process?   You are throwing money away.   I repeat, you are throwing away money.  Why, I ask, why is this so important? Great perspective in this article written by Howard Adamsky for ERE:   http://www.ere.net/2005/05/01/the-myth-of-the-passive-candidate/

Realistically, with the right process, messaging and structure, over 90% of corporate jobs should be filled with active candidate flow. 

One client I was working with this year wanted to actively direct source passive candidates out of call centers and retail stores and entice them to come work at their call center. 

You got it — cold calling call center reps making $9.50/hr.  Are you crazy?  Plus, they were not very competitive on their pay rate.  Across the board, there is this perception that passives rule the world.  The question I ask myself is:  Am I crazy about the ROI of a passive candidate?  Please let me know.  In the meantime, as I anxiously await your feedback, here are some key things to consider when designing a passive recruiting strategy with ROI.  The hard dollar ROI with this approach is you should be able to cut search firm spend by 50%-75%.  

Key things to consider when designing a passive recruiting strategy with ROI: 

• Pick critical talent-identify a strategic job type with decent volume.
• Pick a core business unit or department.
• Revenue generating type jobs are a great focus.
• Must have compelling talent attraction message for the job type and not just overall employment brand.
• Must have talented recruiters to move passives “off the bag”
• Take dedicated team out of the day to day grind
• Position them as a recruiting business partner with business unit
• Must be willing to be aggressive with comp and sign-on bonus
• Think long term-It’s going to take a year of slugging it out
• Be realistic on costs and time to value
• Beware of loss of focus – “Requisition based” Corporate recruitment departments are reactive and get pulled in all directions.
• And, of course an executive sponsor