Sourcing has never been easy. Good candidates have always been difficult to find, and just as difficult to approach and convince. But the recent Sourcing Benchmark of Cooble ‘s almost 50 specialists shows that things are not getting any easier. For example, the data from the third quarter of 2023 shows that the response rate of candidates has been declining for three quarters in a row, while on average it also requires more and more sourcing hours to fill one vacancy.
‘The labor market is still tight in the Netherlands and competition with other recruiters and sourcers remains.’
“The response rate shows how many messages need to be sent on average to receive a response from a candidate,” says Milou Verhoeks, one of the owners of Cooble. ‘A personal and relevant approach therefore remains essential to increase the chance of a response. The labor market remains tight in the Netherlands and competition with other recruiters and sourcers remains.’
Number of hours increased sharply
This development is perhaps most apparent when you look at the average number of sourcing hours per hire. While an average of ‘only’ 77 hours was required per vacancy throughout 2022, this was no less than almost 166 hours in the third quarter of this year. A huge increase, but Verhoeks qualifies it somewhat. ‘There has always been considerable variation in the number of hours required per vacancy, depending on supply and demand in specific target groups.’
‘We see that we need to expand the personal approach more and more.’
In addition, she says, ‘we are seeing lead times increase in this quarter due to the holiday period. That is why sourcing was sometimes used for a vacancy for a longer period of time, because we continue to source while a candidate is in the process. We also see that we need to expand the personal approach more and more. The result is that it takes longer before you can score a high-quality hire .’
Need more reminders
Another indication that sourcing is not getting easier is that Cooble‘s sourcers have to send more and more reminders before an approached candidate actually responds. While this was still 35.5% of the candidates approached in the first quarter, this has now risen to 38.8% . “This emphasizes the importance of proactive follow-up and the role that reminders can play in increasing candidate involvement,” says Verhoeks, who advises recruiters to write clear and attractive messages, “with a convincing call-to-action to recruit candidates .” to encourage them to respond immediately.’
Most indicators in the benchmark indicate a market in which sourcers are not having an easy time.
Other indicators in the benchmark also indicate a market in which sourcers are not having an easy time. For example, Cooble‘s sourcers spoke to 7.2% of the candidates approached in the past quarter, slightly less than the previous quarter. The number of candidates subsequently presented to hiring managers also decreased slightly, to 59.9% . On the positive side, 46.0% of candidates received an offer in the third quarter of this year, an increase compared to the previous quarter. Unfortunately, the number of candidates who subsequently refused such an offer also increased to an average of 33.3% .
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More trends?
Want to know more about the situation and trends in the labor market? Can we expect further cooling next year, or more tightness? And how do you respond to that? It will all be discussed on November 29, during the always well-attended Labor Market Trends seminar . With Mathijs Bouman and Eveliese Luiting as speakers. So register quickly:
