3 Tips for Hiring Passive Candidates

Greetings!

Do your competitor's have all the best people? Don't be fooled as you may end up hiring your competitors' misfits. Read on to learn the pros and cons of hiring passive candidates.

- Ann Clifford, President

Dos & Don'ts

"Can you make an agreement with your competitors not to "poach" one another's employees?"

(Answer provided at the end of the newsletter.)

Passive Candidates are Better - Fact or Myth?

Traditional "recruiting wisdom" portrays passive candidates as higher quality than active candidates. Is this true? Some might argue that passive candidates are resistant to change and thus, not entrepreneurially-minded. Regardless of which side of the fence you reside, passive candidates are certainly more difficult to find than active candidates.

3 Reasons to Pass on Passive Candidates:

Higher recruiting costs: Average retained/contingency search fee is 25-30% of the annual compensation.
Longer hiring cycle: Sourcing passive candidates may take 3 months or more.
Higher salary: You lose negotiating power because you chased them. Top candidates often command a "premium raise" of 20 - 30%.

3 P's to Hiring Passive Candidates

If you are determined to hire passive candidates, you will need to shift your hiring strategy to an aggressive "sales-focused" approach. Here are the three "P's" to hiring passive candidates:

Permission: Ask if they are open-minded to new career opportunities.
Persistence: They may initially resist; try again.
Persuade: Sell your opportunity as a great career move.

Pursuing passive candidates may be appropriate for highly skilled or high demand roles. Yet, smaller companies with tight budgets may have more luck in pursuing active candidates that are easier to target and attract.

Safari Interview Tip

Confidentiality is a significant concern of passive candidates. Be discreet when calling them during business hours. Best to call them at home in the evening or send email correspondence to a personal email address.

Answer to Today's Dos & Don'ts

"Can you make an agreement with your competitors not to "poach" one another's employees?"

No. In the fall of 2010, the U.S. Justice Department ruled that agreements such as this are a violation of antitrust laws. Why? Because it could potentially hold down wages by stifling competition for highly skilled workers.