Peter Hetherington
Global Talent Lead Sourcing
If you want to convince potential candidates to consider your organization over your competitors, you need to know what moves them. It’s time to analyze your potential weak points as well as your competitive advantage.
- What stands out about your employer brand?
- What can your company offer potential candidates that others don’t?
A lot of this information is public and you can learn more by talking to people who work, or have worked, at rival companies.
Understanding competitive salary, perks, incentives and vacation information gives you a stronger talking point when engaging new people from that company, knowing what sets you apart. Which brings us onto talent mapping: the process of identifying your competitors’ employees. As well as helping you understand how these organizations tick, you might want to consider the talent within their ranks.
Deciding whether or not you want to go down this route is a strategic decision, but your competitors’ employees represent a huge potential talent pool for you. Using technology to map out organizational and team structures, you can identify high-potential candidates and plan for future hiring and even pipeline these candidates proactively.
Quite often it’s a small world and hiring managers will be able to provide additional input about individuals you’re targeting. So ask them if they know any of the people you’re trying to engage. The impact of these interactions and engagements can quickly ensure that your efforts are being focused on the right type of individuals.
