We are in the throes of a global economic transition and recovery. And, while this creates new business opportunities, it also creates new human resource challenges. According to a Bersin by Deloitte research report: Predictions for 2014:  Building A Strong Talent Pipeline for The Global Economic Recovery – Time for Innovative and Integrated Talent and HR Strategies, during times of growth, companies should focus on:

• Sourcing, recruiting and competing for talent
• Building global leadership
• Reengaging the workforce we have

The report goes on to say that externally, organizations need to focus on building and communicating a strong and relevant employment brand, and to treat every employee as a brand ambassador.

And, don’t forget about potential candidates. They can also work as brand ambassadors. How? It’s simple. Build a passive candidate sourcing database from their references.

Enter…Automated Reference Checking

The Bersin report continues that more than two-thirds of the companies it talked with says that they are currently experiencing some type of “HR transformation.” The reason points to the fact that now, more than ever, the value of HR is measured by its ability to source, attract, retain and build talent – not simply its ability to deliver service to employees.

As a result, one of the biggest trends for 2014 is the continued growth and focus on talent analytics. This brings together analytics around recruiting, leadership, performance, engagement skills and more.

And, a vital component of hiring new talent is checking their references. However, more research shows that while nearly all organizations check references, fewer than 25 percent of those phone calls produce any valuable feedback. In fact, traditional reference-checking often causes delays in the hiring process which not only leaves open positions, but also costs companies time and money. It can even put your firm’s brand at risk if performed incorrectly.

The good news is that reference-checking has evolved. There is now a way to get actionable and valuable feedback from references, while uncovering new passive candidates – automated reference-checking. And, it not only captures valuable feedback for potential new hires, it also builds sourcing pipelines and improves your reference-checking efficiency, all while helping to build your recruitment brand.

The bottom line is that sourcing for passive candidates puts you in the driver’s seat as you look for candidates with specific experience and/or skill sets and it also gives you the opportunity to showcase your brand. And considering that most employers ask for three references, you should be able to build up a healthy passive candidate sourcing database in no time; your recruitment brand will thank you too.

Guest blog post from Greg Moran (President/Founder of Chequed.com). 

About the Author: Utilizing more than a decade of human capital management, sales and leadership experience, Greg Moran is President and CEO of Chequed.com. Greg is also author of Building the Talent Edge: A Field Managers Guide to Recruiting the Best (Spring 2005) and Hire, Fire and The Walking Dead (June 2006, W Business Books).

Previously, Greg served as Founder and VP of Sales for PeopleAnswers America, a leading provider of behavioral assessment software to mid market and large companies in North America. Before PeopleAnswers America, Greg founded and served as President of Pinnacle Technology Solutions, an executive search, staffing, and human capital management services firm. Also, Moran served as Vice President of Best Resume/Career Management Services in Latham, N.Y. During his tenure, he co-authored Job Hunting: The Ten Best Steps to Success, a job search workshop and audio/video tape series.He is a rising thinker in the field of human capital management, having been quoted in numerous national publications including Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, and Inc. Magazine.