Hiring is one of the most important and difficult task that businesses face today. It’s similar to being a football coach – finding the right people and having them on the field to be successful. Companies need to recognize the need early for building “benches” or talent communities to never lose a beat in the workplace. By creating a talent community you are a building a talent pipeline (a team bench) to be called on at any time.
Why a Talent Community is Similar to a Football Team
When business is booming we tend to go on cruise control and think everything is great. This is when we get complacent and we don’t think about losing our most valuable player. But, this can happen and then we are scrambling to hire to keep our business successful.
When we scramble we tend to make a last minute hire. Last minute hires usually do not possess all the qualities, skills or requirements we are looking for. At this point we just need a body to fill the position. But, if we took the time to create a talent community, we would have a constant stream of players. Just like a football team has bench for when a player goes down.
Creating a talent community (similar to a bench) would allow you to have a running list of candidates to call on once a key spot opens up at your company. You would not be scrambling to fill the position, but you would have people to pick from and that are engaged with your company.
This is why football teams are successful if they lose a player to injury, they can call up someone from the bench. (The philosophy of “the next person up”). They have been groomed for this time in need.
If you anticipate your recruitment needs with smart, simple solutions like a talent community you will make life that much easier on yourself.
Image: Jenni C/Flickr
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