Crawl before you can walk: How to establish long-term growth using a solid framework – Part 1

Overnight success doesn’t exist in Direct Sourcing. Behind every milestone is a carefully curated process based on years of experience.

Without a solid framework, it’s easy to lose momentum and build a program that doesn’t match your needs. Common mistakes include creating a shaky foundation, not recognizing when it’s time to scale, and trying to grow too fast too early. 

In our 3 part series exploring TalentNet’s Evolution of Direct Sourcing framework, we’ll be looking at the 3 stages of building a successful program:

• Crawl, an essential phase where companies work to build solid groundwork for growth. 
• Walk, the point where your program is ready to scale. 
• Run, the final stage of the framework. Here, your program should operate at peak performance, delivering measurable impact.

In part 1, we’ll take a deep dive into Crawl to better understand how to build a solid foundation for growth. 

How do you lay the groundwork for Direct Sourcing success?

As the first stage in our framework, Crawl is essential to long-term growth. This is where companies educate their stakeholders, achieve buy-in, and implement their Direct Sourcing platform.

To properly build your base, it’s important to go through the following 4 stages

Stage 1: Initial set up

Known as the readiness and implementation phase, this is when you’ll work with your Direct Sourcing partners to understand which industry best practices match your goals. Here, you’ll establish solid work flows and processes, and will learn more about the tools you’ll be using. During this stage, your Direct Sourcing platform will be set up and you’ll likely go through training to ensure your teams understand how to use this tech.

Stage 2: Adaptation

Fully embracing new technology takes time and effort. This is when your teams adapt to the new processes set in place. At this point, you’ll work with your Direct Sourcing partner to spot any road blocks and optimize all processes. It’s helpful to have a program ambassador who champions your Direct Sourcing strategy and allows hiring managers and other stakeholders  to better understand the benefits of adopting this program. 

Stage 3: Stakeholder engagement

In order to launch a successful program, all stakeholders must understand the why behind your strategy. This is when companies will focus on actively engaging stakeholders through consistent touchpoints, workshops, and communication. It’s important to gather feedback at this stage so you can better finetune your strategy. 

Stage 3: Quick wins

Early success is a powerful motivator when introducing your Direct Sourcing program. At this stage, you’ll focus on identifying quick wins to build momentum and achieve company-wide buy in. 

For example, let’s say you’re a financial services company in a hyper-growth phase. Through TalentNet’s white-labelled platform, you can create a branded job page that allows interested candidates to join your talent community in 60 seconds using our AI-powered job-matching capabilities. This will allow for quick community growth by leveraging your natural brand power, helping stakeholders better understand Direct Sourcing’s potential.

What activities define the Crawl phase?

As you go through Crawl’s 4 stages, there are a few key activities you’ll need to complete to ensure a solid Direct Sourcing implementation. These include:

• Conducting a gap analysis.  Your Direct Sourcing team should review all processes and workflows to identify any issues or pain points within your program. This includes reviewing stakeholder feedback and performance data.
• Establishing hiring goals and success metrics. It’s important to understand what success means to you. At this point, you’ll decide which metrics are important to track based on your business objectives. Some examples include time to fill and talent community growth.
  • While Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are vital in measuring ongoing growth, it’s helpful to use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to understand the big picture. These help companies set ambitious, outcome-focused goals for the long-term. 
  • For example, if a company has an extensive list of suppliers, it could set an OKR to optimize the supplier base and focus on top-performing partners.
• Changing key processes and mindsets. This activity is focused on change management through consistent communication. In order to build a thriving program, it’s vital that key stakeholders understand the benefits of Direct Sourcing and what implementation will look like. This is done through training sessions, resources and ongoing Direct Sourcing support.    Early adoption. When hiring managers and key stakeholders are able to adopt a new Direct Sourcing program early in the process, it builds company-wide momentum. 
• Building your Talent Community. The Crawl phase is when your community is established and begins to grow. In the early days, your focus should be on creating engaged networks of candidates, specifically those who already have a level of brand loyalty or have worked for your company in the past and excelled at their roles.

Sustaining long-term growth

Every Direct Sourcing program starts somewhere. The Crawl phase defines your hiring strategy and creates key building blocks to future success. This is where stakeholders are engaged, teams are introduced to new tools and best practices, and platform implementation begins.

In part 2 of our 3 part series, we’ll explore the Walk phase, where the program starts to grow, but still needs careful management to ensure processes, communication, and curation stay aligned.

Without a solid Direct Sourcing platform, it’s difficult to build a thriving program. TalentNet’s intuitive solution includes AI-powered talent agents, deep industry knowledge and ongoing support. To book a demo, reach out here. 

Want to learn more about our framework? Contact us for access to TalentNet’s exclusive Evolution of a Direct Sourcing Program webinar.