Direct Sourcing

A Guide to Direct Sourcing

Companies use Direct Sourcing because it removes agency fees by sourcing talent direct through job boards and social media channels

Direct Sourcing describes the activity of harvesting the talent pool formed by their internal recruiting activities and brand reach to source gig workers.  This talent pool might include individuals who’ve approached an organization through its social media presence, former employees, retirees or applications within the company’s own applicant tracking system.

Using Direct Sourcing to find talent has never been more important

Organizations often complain about how difficult it is to get good people these days. And there are facts to back this up.

2019 research from Korn Ferry Institute finds that the global talent shortage could reach over 85 million people, costing companies trillions of dollars in lost opportunity. The USA is predicted to be hit the hardest by talent deficit, which will cost the country $435.7 billion in lost revenue, or 1.5% of the whole US economy.

Social media can help

Although finding talent might not be that easy, surprising few have taken steps to fully leverage talent within their reach. Think about the massive influence social media, particularly platforms like LinkedIn, has had on the recruitment industry; the number of companies that promote their interest in good talent on their company LinkedIn and Facebook pages. These platforms are ALWAYS ON.

Seven Fantastic Reasons to Use Direct Sourcing

1. Reduce recruitment agency costs

Going direct for talent means you don’t (always) have to pay agencies to find the best-fit talent you need.

2. Boost productivity and retention by employing people invested in your enterprise

Access individuals who’ve worked for you (or in a partner business perhaps) in the past, who are already interested in your brand and its values, or have previously invested time in approaching you for a previous role or position. These individuals are likely to be more motivated to work for you (boosting productivity) and WANT to work for your enterprise (reducing attrition).

3. Speed time-to-fill

We’re talking about a pool of candidates you already know about, or are just one message away from wanting to apply for your next role! That means you don’t have to wait for indirect partners to run around and find candidates for you. Use of direct sourcing is demonstrating its value in consistently reducing time-to-fill of vacant roles.

4. Decrease risk 

You can make a hiring decision with the confidence that someone in your business already knows (and can potentially vouch for) the individual you are considering hiring. They may even have a track-record of previous work performed for your organization. For individuals applying via social media or taking an interest in your business, there’s always the opportunity to pre-vet your talent pool—so you know that any of the available talent is already one step closer to joining your business because they’ve already cleared the hurdle of background checks.

5. Increase recruiting efficiency

Adoption of direct sourcing means the cost of recruitments goes down. Much of the work has already been done by self-service tools your candidates have done themselves in their own time. It’s also possible to integrate video interviews into your direct sourcing portal so that you already have a video testimonial of prospective candidates.

6. Direct Sourcing ‘First’ – Positively changing behaviors

One of the greatest challenges facing the recruiting industry at present is changing attitudes and behaviors around work packaging and resourcing. Decisions relating to the allocation and sourcing of work are normally so fragmented between IT, procurement and HR functions. Another issue is the segregation of full-time recruitment functions, indirect contingent staffing vendor management, procurement programs to source consultants and outsourcing; and IT teams responsible for automation (including the provisioning of robots that can be used to fulfil tasks instead of humans). In the case of Direct Sourcing adoption, it works better when departmental managers are encouraged to adopt a ‘direct sourcing first’ policy.