I just attended a think tank on this subject in the UK and I think your early point on buzzwords in this article is an important one. What came out of the think tank is that we all talk about “talent pipelining” “talent pooling” etc. but all 12 companies who attended had a different view on what it is. Most described talent pooling – a database of people who may be useful at some point in the future. Others talked about specific individuals lined up for specific jobs (or job groups)which we collectively agreed is more in line with the concept of talent pipelining.

One thing that was clear is that there appears to be 3 situations where effective talent pipelining is perhaps most feasible:

1) Where there are effective workforce plans in place
2) Where there are, year on year, re-current jobs
3) Where there are high volumes of recruitment with “predictable patterns”

Without one or more of these it becomes a challenge (and is perhaps in some cases time ineffective) to do anything but talent pooling?

Philip

@Keith: You’re right, open houses are nothing new. But execution is everything, and what stood out for me here is the seamless integration of the company’s brand and online experience through the program. I don’t see that often enough.

Keith “Seen a Lot of It Before” Halperin

The interesting element of the meet ‘em Meetup is that in theory you only attend once. Once you’ve met by Meetup, there’s no longer a reason to attend another meeting.