Recruiting has shifted in a clear direction – one where social recruiting has become the norm.  Being able to connect with potential candidates online has opened up a whole new world of possibilities with expanded networks and reaching passive candidates with much more ease.

Out of this trend, new technologies like talent communities, portals, networks and others have emerged.  There are many versions of these, ranging from engagement as a simple Facebook page to something more complex like an interactive SaaS-based talent engagement platform that integrates into your ATS.

Selecting the right platform to develop and nurture your talent prospects requires several considerations.  Namely, you want to select something that fits both your needs and the needs of the people you want to reach, but also something that fits within your budget, collects the right kind of data, and is user friendly.

1. Assess your company’s needs – To assess the needs of your company, look at your company’s history and well as projected growth.  Consider the volume of hiring in the past and expectations for the next couple years.  What types of roles has you been filling, what is your turn over rate like, what type of candidates have you typically been attracting?

2. Assess your candidates – Take a look at how candidates are currently finding you; are they coming through referrals, specific social media sites, your career page, etc.  Where do your ‘fans’ gather typically?  Do you have a large following on Facebook or LinkedIn?  Look at demographics and relate that information to studies that reveal facts (ex. In some cases, Gen Y is more likely to receive mobile messages than open an email).

3. Cost – How much money can you invest?  While you certainly don’t want to cheap out on a talent engagement platform, there is also no sense in overextending your budget.  There are many options out there that range in price.  Be sure to run cost and feature comparisons between different platforms.

4. Data collection – What kind of information are you hoping to learn about your talent prospects?  There is a lot of data to be collected, however, gathering the right kind of data is what matters.  Whether you are looking for alignment, geographical regions, best time of day to elicit responses… Figure out what kind of data you want to know, and how you will be able to use the results build on your recruiting, marketing, and organizational development strategies.

5. User friendliness – There is nothing worse than having to use a program that is complicated and frustrating to use.  Look for a platform that is easy for both of the users from your organization and the members of your talent pool.  Anything that requires complicated flows with multiple clicks, lengthy loading time, ill-placed buttons or multiple windows, for example, will likely turn people off.  The easier it is to use, the easier it will be to get buy-in from both sides.

Last, but not least, when looking at different platforms to use, don’t hesitate to contact the companies directly to ask questions.  HR technology companies – from our experience – are usually full of friendly people with lots of helpful information!

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About Melissa: Melissa is the Client Success Manager with Qwalify, a talent management platform transforming the candidate experience and talent engagement experience.  Learn more.

Original content posted here.