We've all heard the buzz around talent communities and how they are the wave of the future to beat the war on talent.  First of all.. there is no standardized definition of what a talent community is.  Some companies could be calling a black hole (aka ATS) their talent community and others may have a separate CRM that they call a talent community. Whatever your definition is, the fact is.... if you do not nurture your talent community, it's nothing more than a fancy name for a candidate database.

I believe the candidate is the most important aspect of any talent community.. without them.. your community can't flourish.

Here are my thoughts on how to create, manage and nurture a solid talent community:

1) Organize- I tend to lean towards the thought of passive and active communities and then narrow based on your hiring trends by job function.  If you are catering to the potential candidate, you need to cater to their goals.  A passive candidate has different needs than an active candidate.. kind of like "love languages"  you have to speak their language.

2) Create- Decide what technology you are going to use.. ATS or CRM.. it really depends on your existing system's capabilities

3) Dedicate- You need someone dedicated to the upkeep of the talent community.  There are a lot of things to consider... Who will create and send out:

• Webinars  For Active-it would need to be related to career searching, interviewing, resume tips, etc For Passive, career progression, professional enrichment, industry information.
• Newsletters
• Event updates & Reminders
• Company updates (press releases, product information, etc)
• White Papers/Business Cases
• Industry Trends
• Interaction from employees within your company

4) Nurture- Give the candidate the warm and fuzzy feeling.. Show them why your company is innovative, different, they are important and you aren't a resume black hole.

5) Have fun and be creative- There are so many avenues to draw from to differentiate yourself from your competitors.. be creative and your talent communities will appreciate it and thrive.