Active Sourcing

No service provider or industrial company can ignore digitalisation. It is something everyone is talking about and currently the most used keyword in the business world for the future orientation of a company. Digitalisation also plays an important role in recruitment. But is this finding really so new?

The World Wide Web has already been offering options for recruiting personnel for 15 years, and their methods have continued to develop over the past few years. At the same time, the function of head-hunters, personnel consultants and recruiters have changed, so that it is fundamentally different today in comparison with at the beginning of the new millennium. The exchange of electronic information has developed in terms of processes, even as it has significantly increased coverage and reduced costs.

For recruiting to be successful, the know-how and tools must exist to reach target groups or individuals on the internet. Companies themselves meanwhile have access to a large part of the candidate pool, which makes it possible for them to search for suitable profiles. At first glance, it seems temptingly simple to filter out applicants on social media and contact them directly, but reality soon sets in. Although target groups and individuals are both relatively easy to identify, the real challenge lies in evaluating the matching personnel profile and successfully contacting a candidate who is interested in changing positions. This requires much experience and a high tolerance for frustration, especially in the highly competitive specialist market.

To successfully apply active sourcing in recruitment, the volume of work needed is similar to that of standard headhunting. Out of the entire pool of candidates, up to 100 suitable profiles must be found and contacted. Of these on average one third actually show interest. Experience has shown that between five and 10 applicants are filtered out for the short list, of which three to six make it to the final selection.

All previous attempts at automating the research or selection process have failed. Experienced personnel service providers and in-house recruiters are still needed to identify and successfully contact the best talent. The expectation that successful active sourcing is simple, fast and inexpensive is fulfilled in only the rarest of cases. Practice shows that the process uses up a significant amount of time and that only specialists are able to really find the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Corporate Management Selection C.M.S. AG has been active throughout Switzerland since 1990. As a personnel consultant, it supports renowned companies in industry, trade, administration, finance, consulting and public authorities in their search for specialists and executives with a background in economics and/or business.