How to build a sustainable talent pipeline in 6 practical steps

The days of “post it, and they will come” are gone. In fact, today there are two jobs posted for every worker available. Businesses are redesigning work and how it will get done in the future. With that as a more long-term strategy, let’s focus on some tactics for building strong talent pipelines to fill the future’s open positions for your organization.

Imagine when your executive asks how you are going to fill XX number of your key roles, and your reply is, “We have X on schedule to graduate over the next three years. Or you follow a student from high school through their college career – giving them a mentor and a place to work during breaks or when they’re not in class. Perhaps, they even wear your swag on campus and recruit even more candidates for you. These scenarios don’t have to be a dream – they just take sustainable talent pipelines to make them happen. Here are six steps to get started building a pipeline in your organization:

Step 1: Identify your target roles. Look for positions that you hire for most. These are typically entry-level roles. Then, research the short- and long-term growth for each role. Talk to the leaders in your organization to find the roles that are “up and coming” or those that will be the sustaining roles to ensure the business keeps functioning.

Step 2: Set your target number of hires. Project how many of these hires you will need in two to four years. The outcome should be the number of annual hires needed for these roles.

Step 3: Create a clear path for these roles. Take the roles you’ve identified and break them down into skills, certifications, or experiences candidates need to be successful. Create internal training programs or partner with external education providers to provide training to candidates.

Step 4: Design the program and gain approval. Design your program to ensure participants are supported and rewarded for their time. Key elements should include a salary paid during training, complimentary education/training, and a mentor or other support throughout training. Extras could include transportation, child care assistance, or a work commitment post-training.

Engage with a training provider, hire an instructor, or find an educational partner that can provide the training. It’s advantageous if the training is held at or near the work site and during the hours that participants will typically work post-training so that they can set a work routine that will work even after the training.

Step 4:  Recruit candidates to your programs. First, look internally for people in other areas who may want to grow into a more robust role in the organization. (This can include a re-skilling of those whose roles may be obsolete with automation.) Then, look externally for high school or college students or others looking for a career change that aligns with your opportunity.

Step 5: Deliver training and support: Once you have the candidates, let the training begin! Match them with a mentor or their “to-be” leader as soon as possible during the course and ensure they are supported with resources and materials to help them succeed.

Step 6: Graduation!  After all this work, as your classes begin to graduate, you’ll have a predicted source of candidates to fill your roles today and on into the future. Then, the planning begins for your next set of needs, candidates, and pipeline.

There are a multitude of ways sustainable talent pipelines can be accomplished depending on the roles, level of training needed, and education partners. Many community colleges welcome the opportunity to help you train and skill up your workforce and will often help with onsite training or help you sponsor a cohort. All it takes is a little planning to identify the training and skills needed to get your pipeline up and running.