The HR world is abuzz with these two recruiting strategies – Inbound recruiting and Outbound
recruiting. But what do these mean? Let us try to understand !
Inbound recruiting is about attracting more applicants and candidates to a company though indirect methods like job advertisements, careers pages, and creating an employer brand. Outbound
recruiting focusses on hunting down individual candidates to fill open positions in organisations.
Before we begin our journey to understand the differences and similarities between these two
recruiting strategies or methods let us first know that like all forms of recruiting, the purpose of
inbound or outbound recruiting is to hire the right candidate for the required position.
It is extremely important that your in-house recruiting team or your recruitment agency should
understand the purpose of hiring before they choose the method of hiring. A good recruitment
company always gets to the root of the issue and purpose rather than superficial targets or number
of candidates to be hired. And in the long term this kind of approach pays you rich dividends. So
along with the methods of hiring choose your recruitment companies very carefully.
Coming back to the definition of inbound and outbound recruiting. Well in simple words:
Inbound recruiting means attracting the candidates so that the candidate comes to you for a job.
Outbound recruiting means searching for candidates in the job market.
Timebound difference
Lot of experts and recruitment agencies have different opinions about which method is better, its
pros and cons, the results these generates, the long term impact they have etc. Some recruitment
agencies consider inbound recruiting as a continuous process of attracting candidates that takes a longer time to hire the required candidate. In contrast to inbound recruitment, outbound
recruitment gets you faster results. However if you are looking at longer terms benefits inbound
recruitment works better.
Difference in methods used
Outbound recruiters like to adopt methods like cold-calling, poaching, database calling etc to push
out messages and pursue the candidates to apply for the job. Inbound on the other hand focusses
on things like creating a recruitment guide for targeted candidates or sending weekly newsletters to a database of prospective candidates or educating them about your company etc. This makes the candidate come to you for the job.
Types of benefits each offer
Inbound recruitment is more beneficial in terms of cost and quality of candidates in the longer terms. This is because you are allowing the candidates to analyse whether the company and the profile is a good fit for him and whether that particular role is his true calling. If yes he is bound to love his job, be more productive, and stay longer with the company.
In outbound recruitment you call the candidates for interview rounds, give them brief understanding
of the role and a brief window of time to understand the company culture etc. This does not give
him enough information and knowledge to decide whether that particular role is his true calling.
Which one is better?
The big question is which recruitment strategy is better? Inbound or outbound. The answer is not as
simple as it may seem. If you are an HR manager in a company or somewhere related to recruitment
process of your company your would have realised that your candidates do a lot of research about
your company on the internet before they come to your for an interview. In a way they already know a lot about your company through social media sites, job sites, company website, webinars, newsletter etc. So it is extremely important to cover these touch points to create a good employer
brand. This can be achieved through inbound recruitment marketing.
On the other hand, outbound recruitment marketing works extremely well if you are looking at filling an important position faster. Outbound recruiting gives a personal touch to hiring. You call up an applicant, speak with him to understand his role, gauge his interest and abilities and then finally set up the interview process.
It is advisable to use both the strategies appropriately and as and when required. A balanced mix of these two processes of hiring can ensure you never run out of good applicants and talent for your company. So do not get bogged down by the jargons in the talent acquisition world. Focus on your core purpose, live your values, keep an eye on what’s trending in the market, lover your applicants
just like your customers and you will know which strategy to use at what time. Afterall recruitment is
a process of dealing with human beings. Here sensitivities will always overpower strategies.
At Collabera we are not just another recruitment agency. We understand the recruitment strategies
well and are fully equipped to take up inbound or outbound recruitment processes for you. We
source the best talent for you. We work as your partner in becoming the employer of choice.
We take care of fundamentals of hiring like reaching out to candidates, negotiating salary rates,
setting career expectations, checking skill-sets and other hiring complexities. Besides these, we strive to become a collaborator who can advise you on strategic HR solutions and keep you ahead of your competitors.
Collabera has a highly dedicated, qualified and trained team of professionals who thoroughly
understand various technologies and the needs of the clients. Our strength lies in identifying candidates with ideal blend of technical skills and relevant experience. Our years of experience and unmatched quality centric approach, can become your competitive advantage and help you realise your full business potential.
Collabera is one of the best global recruitment companies. It has more than 25 years of experience
in supporting small, medium, and enterprise clients including Fortune 500 clients. Collabera has the
team of experts who know everything about hiring candidates along with exposure to hiring and
placing candidates in various geographies and skills. Be it technical or functional, Collabera ensures that the job seeker gets the perfect company in the least possible time and in the most efficient manner.