How Direct Sourcing Works & Works for You

Your workforce is the engine of your business. A good employee increases your income, upholds company values, and strengthens client relationships. However, the right employee won’t always show up when you advertise vacancies. One wrong move during recruitment and you miss out on a good hire. Not to worry, however, you can beat your competitors to top talents through direct sourcing. 

What Direct Sourcing Means

This recruitment model uses in-house tools to build a workforce instead of recruiting through hiring agencies. You can engage manager referrals, freelancers, former workers, and even retirees. Another option is reaching out to silver-medalist candidates. These are applicants who reached the final recruitment stage in the past but missed employment by a small margin.

Remember, not everyone can succeed with self-sourcing: Workforce planning is necessary before implementing this strategy. You can source directly if you have a forecasting plan in place. Moreover, self-sourcing works well with volume hiring. This is especially true if you’re looking for the same qualifications in geographically-concentrated areas. That notwithstanding, you can still implement your strategy on a smaller scale, targeting specific roles and regions. 

Advantages

Employers love direct sourcing because:

• It’s faster and cheaper: Because you have trusted professionals in your database, you don’t waste time on interviews when filling urgent vacancies. You also avoid recruiter commissions; some agencies charge up to 30% in hiring fees. Moreover, you can pick someone who matches your budget from the talent pool instead of being overcharged by an agency. 
• It fosters stronger relationships: If you hire through an agency, reengaging the talents on subsequent projects can raise compliance issues. However, you can work with independent talents as often as you choose without worrying about legal consequences. The best part is you can rank contingent workers according to their results. This way, you work with only the best talents in the future.
• It promotes company culture: Contingent employees are loyal to your business when you hire them regularly. They understand company values and work passionately because they care about your business.

Self-Sourcing Isn’t DIY

Some employers fear direct sourcing because it seems like too much of a hassle. However, you don’t have to do everything by yourself. Instead of building a sourcing system from scratch, you can take advantage of the recruitment technologies available in the market. You can even experiment with different sourcing methods until you find a solid acquisition strategy.

Do you want to optimize your self-sourcing strategy? Let’s discuss your direct sourcing options today.