Those of us involved in growing staffing firms know that finding clients is only half the battle. In fact, sometimes it’s less than half the battle. If you can’t find top talent for clients, you won’t keep them very long. And it’s not getting any easier. On average, it takes 51 days and costs $10,731 to fill an open position! Staffing management organizations have to do better.

Many of the Best Candidates Aren’t Looking for Jobs.

Only about 16% of the workforce is looking for a job at any given time, mostly through job boards. If you rely on job postings and applicant tracking systems, you only attract about 5% of the workforce, many of whom will never complete the application process on your web site. So while it’s possible to fill positions “the old fashioned way,” it can certainly take a while. And while the clock is ticking, the candidates you’re looking for aren’t looking for you. They are what we call “passive candidates,” neither entirely satisfied with their current position, nor actively searching for a new one.

Social Media Is the Best Way To Reach Passive Candidates.

Increasingly, staffing management professionals are using social media to reach the candidates who don’t even know they’re candidates, because even if those candidates aren’t cruising the job boards, they are active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any one of a number of other social media sites. Because of that, companies are expected to be recruiting more than 80% of job openings through social media by the end of 2012, using social sites to source applicants, post opportunities and screen candidates.

To date, more than seven out of every ten employers have successfully hired candidates using social media. Why? It’s simple: more candidates, more opportunities to interest passive candidates, and more tools to screen for the best available candidates. 

If your staffing management company isn’t actively using social media to help find and secure the best candidates for your clients, it’s time you got on board.