Passive recruitment, also called passive hiring, is the act of pursuing job candidates who aren’t necessarily in the market for a new opportunity (hence the use of passive, which in this context refers to the candidate, not the process itself). Often leveraged when qualified candidates are scarce, passive recruitment is a far cry from active recruitment – the age-old act of posting a job to standard channels, and then screening only candidates who apply.
Most businesses and experts agree that passive recruitment can result in particularly strong hires. As Forbes points out, passive candidates-turned-employees tend to have high retention rates, among other benefits we’ll elaborate on below.
Despite its returns, though, passive recruitment isn’t put into practice as often as you might expect. Some companies fear its risks and practical challenges. Others lack the resources or skill set to pull it off. Both are valid. However, any talent sourcing strategy should at least include consideration of passive hiring.
Below, we’ll lay out key determinants – that is, circumstances in which passive recruitment might be ideal for finding and ultimately (fingers crossed!) hiring a stellar candidate for a role, as well as guidelines for executing it.
But first, a closer look at passive recruitment’s potential and the difference between it and active recruitment.
As touched on above, the differences between active recruitment and passive recruitment can be boiled down to a candidate’s intent.
Whether they’re employed but looking for a new position or unemployed and seeking work, active candidates are individuals on the hunt for a job. myHR Partner generally defines an active candidate as anyone ready for a job interview. In active recruiting, a position is posted to carefully selected job boards (including industry-specific boards, when applicable). From there, active candidates can apply.
Passive candidates, meanwhile, are individuals who are not demonstrably looking for a new opportunity. They’re often employed, but not always. Because passive recruiting is often reserved for hard-to-fill roles and specialties, passive candidates sometimes include professionals on sabbaticals or even retirees. A key takeaway here is that these individuals don’t think of themselves as job candidates. As such, it can be hard to earn their trust, let alone their interest in the position you’re proposing – leading to passive recruitment’s delicacy, which we’ll explore in a moment.
A third category of candidates, smack dab between active and passive, also begs mention: Tiptoers. An example of a tiptoer is someone who posted a resume on a job board two months ago but hasn’t thought about it since, or who keeps an eye on job boards but has never applied. By any name, tiptoers are a good reminder that active and passive candidates aren’t always neatly organized into two buckets; in reality, they exist on a spectrum. By some estimates, tiptoers make up about 15% of today’s workforce.
The need for passive recruiting is often borne of necessity. Passive recruiting is a go-to approach in scenarios when active recruitment hasn’t produced, or isn’t likely to produce, a right-fit candidate. But hiring managers also opt for passive recruiting because of its track record of success. Passive recruiting is known to yield the following:
When it comes to passive recruiting and active recruiting, neither is “better” than the other; rather, it’s a question of fit.
As mentioned, passive recruiting is often reserved for hard-to-fill positions, for several of reasons. For one, response and conversion rates tend to be low for passive recruiting – a reason to leverage it only when it’s needed most. In large part because of these low conversion rates, passive recruiting requires a sizable investment that rarely makes financial sense for lower paying jobs (specialty jobs are sometimes an exception).
Other circumstances can also play a role in determining whether passive recruitment should make its way into a hiring strategy:
A non-negotiable across all of these determinants is a high degree of hiring expertise and care. At myHR Partner, we only outline recruitment specifics after engaging our clients’ hiring managers and learning the details of a job. Once we decide whether passive hiring has a place in a sourcing strategy, we determine the extent of its role. Sometimes passive recruiting comprises the entire hiring strategy. Other times it goes hand-in-hand with active hiring.
In any scenario, passive recruitment in practice is a delicate dance. Unpolished or aggressive passive recruitment efforts can be seen as poaching and can come up against conflicts of interest, foiling hiring efforts and potentially even taking a company’s reputation down with it. As such, expertise and experience are vital. Nuances among passive candidates – even “little” things like how often or recently they post to LinkedIn – can and should impact the approach taken by a recruitment professional leveraging passive recruitment strategies.
For this reason, it’s wise to turn to a time-proven pro like myHR Partner. Our passive recruitment tactics include:
Want to put hiring – and passive hiring especially – in the hands of time-proven professionals who are your best shot at success? myHR Partner hireVision offers the utmost in hiring strategy and execution. A far cry from outdated ‘one-size-fits-most’ tactics, we take a holistic, forward-leaning approach to sourcing and screening talent – one marked by expertise, care, and an unwavering commitment to the candidate experience and to your specific business goals.
Reach out today for a free myHR Partner consultation.