The other day, I was working in my home office when the doorbell rang. As I opened the door there was a man in a bright blue jacket handing me a little bag. Without much of an introduction, he said he was from a nearby pizza parlor (it’s actually a chain in my area). He pointed out that inside the bag there was a coupon for a free pizza and some other coupons as well. He asked if I had ever been to the pizza place, and when I mentioned it had been a while because I was trying to cut down on cheese, he immediately said they have pizzas without cheese. This statement he delivered to me with a big smile and proceeded to tell me about their new dessert pizzas. Leaving me a bit disoriented from the whirlwind presentation, he gave me one final smile and endorsement for the pizza place and turned around and left. As I stood there in the cold doorway, my eye caught the back of his jacket, which had a slogan written in big yellow letters: “Random Acts of Pizza.” Of course, my mind immediately started wondering about this experience. I looked in the bag and, sure enough, there was a coupon for a medium or large free pizza. No questions asked, just come and get it. I had to admire this grassroots, door-to-door marketing campaign that was:
I’m sure you are wondering where I am going with this. Well, my next thoughts turned to recruiting, and how high-touch or out-of-touch the sourcing process can be. What if each targeted lead was given this much attention, a customized message delivered to your door, bundled with an immediate reward ó one that was so memorable that you decided to write about it? The problem with this pizza restaurant’s approach is that it’s not scalable in a high-volume or geographically dispersed recruiting environment. So what can we say then about grass-roots level marketing or recruiting? Do we discard all high-touch personalized sourcing methods in favor of more automation-driven sourcing and bulk campaigns? Let’s take a look at the concept and principles of “blended sourcing” in this article. In Part 2, we’ll examine the practical application of these principles in source tracking. Blended Sourcing In the training and development world, there is a term called “blended learning” ó blending high-touch personalized classroom learning with desktop-delivered e-learning. There are different strategies that have been built around this type of hybrid approach, but most experts agree that blending the two methods of learning yields maximum effectiveness both organizations and individuals. The PC-based e-learning process covers the scalability and mass-deployment challenges of training, while the classroom addresses the deeper individual penetration, meaningful exchange, and customization needs that training also requires. The same can apply to sourcing strategies. The electronic, high-volume, high-yield sources such as corporate career sites and job boards can solve scalability and distribution challenges, while personal networking and niche events can provide deeper individual penetration, meaningful exchange, and tailored messages to potential candidates. Focusing solely on high-yield sources may provide a great pipeline, but high-touch sourcing may yield that one candidate a year that can turn the sales organization around in six months. Blended Sourcing Strategy Whether centralized or decentralized, most corporate organizations have some type of sourcing strategy, one that is usually defined around budget time, when funds are allocated for the year. In addition, individual managers may have sourcing dollars in their budgets for recruiting expenses. From a corporate perspective, a typical sourcing strategy usually includes a fairly one-dimensional list of sources, starting with either the most successful, frequent, or traditional sources at the top, and followed by the more esoteric, less scalable sources at the bottom of the list. Here’s a typical list of sources on a non-scientific continuum of source type:
A blended sourcing approach should have a good mix of high-yield and high-touch sources. There is no rule that says that high-producing, high-impact performers cannot come from high-yield sources; however, recruiting efforts focused on personal relationships and network building will help target these individuals more directly. High-yield sources that are backed by relationship management automation and processes also have a better chance of targeting the right individuals for the job. There are a few issues for staffing decision makers to consider when using a blended sourcing strategy:
Approaching a sourcing strategy with a blended approach ó that is mixing high yield with high touch sources ó will help your organization maximize its dollars and penetration. Understanding specific sources, especially for high-touch sourcing, can get down to the individual recruiter level or even job level, so tracking sourcing in a blended model can be a challenge. In my next article, we’ll examine some practical application for sourcing metrics and tracking.