Creating Talent Pools

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Describe the purpose of talent pools.
  • Create a talent pool status set.
  • Create a talent pool.
  • Share a talent pool.
  • Add additional attributes to a talent pool.
  • Add candidates to a talent pool.
  • Manage candidates in a talent pool.

Introduction to Talent Pools

Talent Pools are groups of contacts who may be suited to various job opportunities. Note that Recruiting talent pools are not the same as the talent pools used in Succession Management. Staffing groups build Recruiting talent pools across candidates and employees to organize and manage critical talent needs. Recruiters create talent pools for prospective candidates from a career fair or online marketing or other recruiting campaigns. They also add "Silver Medalists" – promising candidates who have not been hired for an open position. Recruiters and Hiring Managers can search these talent pools as a more targeted method of candidate sourcing.

Private, shared, or public talent pools can be created. Configure one or more status sets for the talent pools. It is a leading practice to send candidates an email thanking them for completing a data capture form, and informing them of next steps. To keep candidates "warm," Recruiters send customized communication to groups of candidates in talent pools.

Anyone who has an account (Candidate Profile) can be added to a talent pool or email campaign:

  • Current employees
  • Candidates who completed an application
  • Candidates who completed the Create an Account page Join the Talent Community
  • Candidates who completed a Data Capture Form

Note that the basic functionality for Recruiting Talent Pools is available without enabling Candidate Relationship Management, but customers who do not enable Candidate Relationship Management cannot take advantage of the other features, such as the ability to add candidates who complete a Data Capture Form to a talent pool or the ability to send email campaigns to talent pool members.

Best Run requires a talent pool to manage candidates interested in the Sales Manager-Remote position.

Screenshot shows a list of candidates with their contact info and resume links for the position of Remote Sales Manager.

Talent Pool Status Sets

Before creating the first talent pool, you must create a status set for the pool. Talent pool status sets are a different entity from the candidate status set used in SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. Talent pool status sets are MDF-based and are created from Admin Center→Manage Data.

Multiple status sets can be created to support different needs. For example, a unique talent pool is often created to capture candidates who attend a hiring event. Some of those candidates can then be added to talent pools for positions that require a specific skill set. The statuses created for those two types of talent pools are often different.

Below is the talent pool status set we’ll create for the Remote Sales Manager use case. Notice that it contains a status to invite candidates to remote leadership training opportunities. We’ll name this talent pool status set Training Status Set.

Screenshot of a talent pool status set

A leading practice is to include statuses indicating that the candidate has been determined to not be a fit for the position or that the candidate is not interested in the position. This is preferred over moving the candidate out of the pool, because another recruiter who is sourcing for the same position may inadvertently move the candidate back into the pool.

Talent Pool Status Set Creation

There are three steps to create a talent pool status set, performed from Admin Center→Manage Data.

  1. Create (name) the Status Set.Screenshot of the Manage Data section with details of a status set named Training Status Set, including details such as ID, name, and description
  2. Create (name) each of the Statuses.A screenshot of a status named No Contact, including details for Status Code and Name.
  3. Map each Status to the Status Set.Screenshot of a Candidate Relationship Management Status Map, showing details of ID 1641, Status Set as Training Status Set, Status of Member as No Contact, and Order number 10

When mapping statuses to status sets, it is best to assign each status a two-digit decade number for the Order field, such as 20, 30, or 40. This makes it easier to later add new statuses between the statuses in the original set.

Create a Status Set for Talent Pools

Business Example

Best Run provides training opportunities for candidates interested in several kinds of positions. In this exercise you will create a status set for talent pools to support this use case.

Steps

  1. Log in to SuccessFactors HCM as the admin.

  2. Navigate to Admin Center→Manage Data.

  3. To create a new status set, from the Create New box, enter Candidate Relationship Management Status Set and select it.

    1. For statusSetId, enter training.

    2. For statusSetName, enter Training Status Set .

    3. For Description, enter Statuses including training.

    4. ClickSave.

  4. To view the statuses that have already been created in your training environment, from the Search box, enter Candidate Relationship Management Status and select it from the list.

  5. View the existing statuses from the next dropdown box (which contains No Selection by default).

  6. To create the additional statuses, from the Create New box, enter Candidate Relationship Management Status and select it from the list.

  7. Enter the first value in the list below for the statusCode, and the second value for statusName. Save. Continue until all statuses have been created. You will need to search Create New before each.

    Create the following statuses:

    1. screenedAdd/ Screened-Add to Reqs

    2. training / Send Training Emails

  8. To map the first status to the status set, in the Create New search box, enter Candidate Relationship Management Status Map and select it.

    1. (Status Set Item ID is auto-assigned)

    2. For Status Set, select Training Status Set (training).

    3. For Status of Member, select No Contact (noContact).

    4. For Order, enter 10.

    5. Save.

  9. Continue mapping each status into the status map using the following values.

    1. Screened-Add to Reqs: 20

    2. Send Training Emails: 30

    3. Not a Fit: 40

    4. Not Actively Seeking: 50

Talent Pool Creation

The user who creates the talent pool is the owner, which enables them to make edits later. When creating a talent pool, be sure to log in or proxy as the user who should have these permissions. For our use case that will be the recruiter, but for most organizations a recruiting administrator will create and maintain the pools.

Talent Pools are created from Recruiting→Candidates→Talent Pools. Click Create Talent Pool and enter a name for the pool. Select the status set and which status in the set candidates should be added to by default. (This can be changed at the time the candidates are added.) Select whether the talent pool should be private or public (see the next section) and save the pool.

Screenshot of Candidate Management system with a Talent Pools tab and Create Talent Pool button for managing candidates.
Screenshot showing a form to create a new talent pool, with fields for name and description, dropdowns for pipeline and candidate status, visibility options, and buttons to close or save

Talent Pool Sharing

There are two types of talent pools:

  • Private – Initially visible only to the user who created it. Private talent pools are often shared with other Recruiting users who are sourcing for the same position.
  • Public – Visible to all users who have the Talent Pool permission from Role-Based Permissions.

Only the owner of the pool can edit attributes of the pool or share it with other users. Users who have been shared the talent pool can view the pool and add members (candidates), but cannot edit. If the owner of a talent pool leaves, the pool is assigned to an admin.

Remember that all recruiters may not be able to view all candidates in a talent pool, depending upon the response the candidate provided for Make My Profile Visible to when they created their account. (The three options are Any company recruiter worldwide, Any company recruiter in my country/region of residence, or Only recruiters managing jobs I apply to.)

To share a talent pool, click Shared with X People and add individuals or groups who are working to fill the same position. To discontinue sharing, click on the icon to the right of the person’s name.

To organize the internal recruiting users who should have access to particular talent pools, create a recruiting group from Admin Center→Manage Recruiting Groups.

A screenshot of the Share with People section, which includes an Add More People field and a Remove icon next to a user's name.

Create and Share a Talent Pool

Business Example

You will create the talent pool for Best Run's Remote Sales Manager position, adding the status set you created in the last exercise.

Steps

  1. Proxy as Paula Price.

  2. Navigate to Recruiting→Candidates and select Talent Pools.

  3. Click Create Talent Pool.

  4. For Talent Pool Name, enter Remote Sales Manager.

  5. For Description, enterAdd candidates to open requisitions and invite them to training opportunities .

  6. For Pipeline Status Structure, select Training Status Set.

  7. For Default Candidate Status, select No Contact.

  8. For Privacy, select Private.

  9. Save.

  10. To share this talent pool with Paula’s manager, click Shared with 0 People.

  11. In the Add More People box, enter Grace and select Grace Griffin.

  12. Click +Add.

  13. Close.

  14. Save.

  15. Close.

Talent Pool Usage

Each member of the talent pool can select which columns to view; sort the columns; filter for more search options; edit, share, or delete (archive) the talent pool; and add all pool members to an email campaign. See the screen capture below for details.

The image shows a user interface for managing talent pools in a candidate management system. It features options to sort columns, manage columns via a gear icon, search talent pool names, filter results, and perform actions like editing, sharing, or archiving.

Talent Pools Search with Filters

Organizations may create hundreds of talent pools. To find the pool they need to work in, users can filter the list by attribute. Select Show Filter Bar and select the values you are interested in. Only talent pools that match those values will be displayed in the resulting list. For performance reasons, limit selection to 5 filters at most and less than 20 values in each filter.

Screenshot showing the following filter options: Last Modified, Owner, Visibility , with dropdown menus for each filter option, and a Hide Filter Bar button

Addition of Attributes to a Talent Pool

Any generic object (GO), both standard and custom, is available to be added as an attribute to a talent pool in order to be able to filter on the values. Standard GOs include Division, Department, Job Classification and Cost Center. An example of a custom GO is Retail Store, with details about the store. In addition, the Location Foundation Object can be added as an additional attribute to talent pools to make it easy to find pools associated with a particular job location.

The order in which attributes are added is the order in which they are displayed. It is possible to select one or more values for each attribute. In the following example of a talent pool for Web Developers, the Department GO has been added, and the Engineering Department has been associated with the pool. The Location FO has also been added, and New York, Chicago, and Denver have been associated with the pool. Users can locate this talent pool in the list by searching for Engineering or any of the three cities.

Screenshot of a dropdown menu labeled Additional Details with options for Department set to Engineering and Location set to Chicago with two more selectable locations.

Configure additional attributes to appear on the Talent Pool Create/Edit page from Admin Center→Configure Object Definitions. You edit the Candidate Relationship Management Pool Extension object definition to create an association with the object. See the screen capture below for an example of adding the Division and Location fields as attributes.

A screenshot of the Configure Object Definitions section, which includes a search bar that filters by Object Definition and a search field with the following input: Candidate Relationship Management. There is also a Take Action button.
Table of associations showing attributes: Name, Multiplicity, Destination Object, Type, and an option for 'Details'

Add Additional Attributes to a Talent Pool

Business Example

Best Run would like Recruiting users to be able to filter the list of talent pools by Division. That has been completed in your training environment. In this exercise, you will see how that was accomplished using the Candidate Relationship Management Pool Extension object definition.

Steps

  1. Log in to SuccessFactors HCM as the admin.

  2. Navigate to Admin Center→Configure Object Definitions.

    1. From the first dropdown list, select Object Definition.

    2. From the second dropdown list, use typeahead to select Candidate Relationship Management Pool Extension.

    3. Select Take Action→Make Correction.

  3. In the Associations area of the page, view the following information:

    1. Name: Division (saved as "cust_Division")

    2. Multiplicity: One to Many

    3. Destination Object: Division

    4. Type: Valid When

    5. Click Details.

    6. Scroll down to Label and enter Division.

    7. Click Done.

Addition of Values for the Additional Attributes to a Talent Pool

After configuring the objects that you would like to associate with a talent pool, the pool owner can edit the pool and select one or more values for the field under Additional Details. See the screen captures below which demonstrates our use case, associating the Sales Division with the Remote Sales Manager Talent Pool.

Talent Pools interface showing Remote Sales Manager under Talent Pool Name and a menu button (three dots), which opens a dropdown menu including an Edit option.
Screenshot of the Additional Details section showing a Division field, containing the selected option, Sales, with a link icon next to it

Filter Talent Pools by Additional Attributes

To locate talent pools by the additional attributes, the user clicks Filters and scrolls down to the Advanced section to select the filters they wish to enable. Now, when they click Show Filter Bar, the associated objects display in the list, and they can select the values they are interested in to filter the list of pools that are displayed.

Screenshot of the Advanced dropdown section with checkboxes for Division and Location, which have blank input fields next to them
A screenshot of the Filters section shows a Division dropdown set to Sales and a link icon

Add Values for the Additional Attributes in a Talent Pool and Filter Talent Pools by Attributes

Business Example

To make the Remote Sales Manager talent pool easy to locate, we will associate the Sales Division with it. Then you will practice how recruiters quickly locate talent pools for candidates who may be a good fit for Sales. And finally, you will enable both new attributes to appear on the Filter Bar.

Task 1: Add Values

Steps

  1. Proxy as Paula Price, who created and owns the Talent Pool.

  2. Navigate to Recruiting→Candidates→Talent Pools.

  3. Select the box before the Remote Sales Manager talent pool and, from the ellipsis button, select Edit.

  4. Scroll down to Additional Details and notice that the Division attribute has been added.

  5. In the Division field, click the double boxes icon and select Sales. Note that you can multi-select to add additional divisions. Click OK.

  6. Save and Close.

Task 2: Filter Talent Pools by Attributes

Steps

  1. As a recruiter who owns a Talent Pool or has a pool shared with them, such as Paula Price or Grace Griffin, navigate to Recruiting→Candidates→Talent Pools.

  2. Above the listing of Talent Pool, view the basic fields that are searchable for all Talent Pools.

  3. Click the Adapt Filters button.

  4. Select Division and click OK.

  5. In the Division field, click the double boxes icon and select Sales. Click OK.

  6. Click Go. The Remote Sales Manager talent pool is still in the list, but any other pools not associated with the Sales Division have been removed.

  7. To clear the filter, remove Sales from the Division Filter and click Go .

Addition of Candidates to a Talent Pool

Candidates can be added to a talent pool from many places within SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. We will explore those now.

Add Candidates to a Talent Pool - Candidate Workbench

While viewing a candidate’s information from the Candidate Workbench page, click Take Action→Add to Talent Pool. You can also multi-select candidates and click Action→Add to Talent Pool. And you can add candidates to a Talent Pool from the Inline Resume Viewer.

One screenshot shows the Take Action option and Add to Talent Pool from an option menu. A second screenshot shows an Action button and the option to select Add to Talent Pool from an option menu.

Add Candidates to a Talent Pool - Candidate Search

FromCandidate Search→Keyword and Item Search, there is an option to add selected candidates to talent pools and email campaigns. Also note the ability to:

  • Save Search
  • Search on Talent Pools
  • Search on Candidate Profile Extension fields

Add Candidates to a Talent Pool - All Candidates Who completed a Data Capture Form

If the Data Capture Form Code was completed when the form was added to the Landing Page, internal users can search for all candidates who completed a specific form and add them to a talent pool. The search can also be filtered by date range.

A screenshot shows the Candidates section with the Keyword and Item Search tab selected. A search bar for the Data Capture Form shows Remote Sales Manager in the Search field, Any Status selected in the Candidate Activity dropdown, and today in the Submission Data Range dropdown. There is a Save Search button.

Add Candidates to a Talent Pool - Saved Search

Customers have the ability to add members to a talent pool with a Saved Search that runs every night. First, create the saved searches from Recruiting→Candidates→Keyword and Item Search. For our use case, we will use the search shown above to add all candidates who completed the Data Capture Form to the Remote Sales Manager Talent Pool.

Note

This is a powerful tool, please use caution when creating Saved Searches that will auto-populate Talent Pools. The leading practice is to create multiple saved searches instead of one big one.

A screenshot showing an option to select Auto-populate by Saved Searches, and below that, a hyperlinked text that reads 'List of Saved Searches'

Add Candidates to a Talent Pool - Candidates Who Provided Specific Responses to Questions on a Data Capture Form

For our use case, Best Run will send email campaigns to candidates with little management experience to invite them to remote leadership training opportunities. See the screen capture below for an example.

A screenshot of the Search section showing options to search for candidates according to the following criteria: 0 to 2 years in the field labeled Years of management experience and the Years of management experience option selected from a Profile Extension dropdown.

Add Candidates to a Talent Pool - Candidate Profile

The Candidate Profile contains a number of portlets with information to aid Recruiting users:

  • Click on Candidate Profile Extension to view the candidate's answers from a Data Capture Form. Currently, this information is not visible to the candidate.
  • The Jobs Applied portlet displays all jobs that the candidate has applied to.
  • The Correspondence portlet displays the history of email communications with the candidate. Recruiters can email candidates directly from their profile, and are able to view emails that were sent.
  • The Talent Pools portlet shows the talent pools that the candidate is a member of, and candidates can be added to additional talent pools. This portlet is visible only to Recruiting users with the appropriate permissions, not to candidates.
  • The Email Campaigns portlet shows the Campaigns that have been sent to the candidate. Candidates can also be added to an Email Campaign from this portlet.
A screenshot of the Candidate Profile Extension showing numerous portlets. Selecting Candidate Profile Extension opens a window with data about a specific candidate.

Add Candidates to a Talent Pool

Business Example

You will add candidates to a talent pool in a variety of ways.

Steps

  1. Proxy as Paula Price.

  2. Add candidates who have applied for a related position by navigating to Recruiting→Job Requisitions.

  3. Locate the Remote Sales Manager position and click the number in the Candidates column to open the Candidate Workbench for that job.

    1. Select the checkbox for one or more candidates.

    2. From the Action dropdown list, select Add to Talent Pool.

    3. For Talent Pool Name, select the Remote Sales Manager.

    4. Select No Contact from the Place in Status dropdown list. (If these were "Silver Medalist" candidates, you would move them to a different talent pool status, such as Screened or Top Candidates. )

    5. Click Submit.

  4. Locate candidates from a Candidate Search by navigating to Recruiting→Candidates, and then select Keyword and Item Search.

    1. To search for candidates who have completed a specific data capture form, from the Activity dropdown, select Data Capture Form.

    2. From the Data Capture Form dropdown, select Remote Sales Manager, which is the data capture form code that was assigned when the form was added to the Landing Page.

    3. For Candidate Activity, select Any Status.

    4. For Submission Date Range, select today. (If you completed the Test the Data Capture Form exercise on a previous day, select the appropriate option.)

    5. Click Search and Accept.

    6. Select the box before a candidate’s name, and from the Actions dropdown list, select Add to Talent Pool.

    7. Select Remote Sales Manager and No Contact.

    8. Click Submit.

  5. To have candidates automatically added to the Talent Pool nightly based on a saved search, follow these instructions:

    1. From the Candidate Activity field in the previous search, select Submitted.

    2. From the Submission Date Range field, select today.

    3. Click Search and Accept. It does not matter if 0 candidates match this search.

    4. Click the Save Search button.

    5. For Search Name, enter Remote Sales Manager.

    6. Click Ok.

    7. Click Talent Pools near the top of the page.

    8. Select the box before the Remote Sales Manager Talent Pool, and from the ellipsis dropdown at the right, select Edit.

    9. Click List of Saved Searches.

    10. Enter Remote Sales Manager at the top of the page select that option and click + Add.

    11. Click Close.

    12. Save.

    13. Close.

  6. To add a candidate to the talent pool from the Candidate Profile, return to the Candidate search page.

    1. Select Basic Info→First Name.

    2. Search for Tina and Accept the results.

    3. Click Tina Tomas to open her profile.

    4. Scroll down to theTalent Pools portlet and click + Add.

    5. For Talent Pool Name, select Remote Sales Manager.

    6. For Place in Status, select Screened-Add to Reqs, assuming that you have already worked with this candidate.

    7. Click Submit.

    8. Click Ok.

  7. Confirm that three candidates have been added to the Remote Sales Manager Talent Pool by navigating back to Recruiting→Candidates→Talent Pools and clicking Remote Sales Manager.

    1. Notice that two candidates are in the No Contact status, and one is Screened.

    2. Click on the No Contact box. A list of candidates in that status displays.

    3. Select the box before one of the No Contact candidates and from the Actions dropdown list, select Change Status.

    4. Change the Status to Send Training Emails.

    5. Click Submit.

    6. Click Ok.

Candidate Management in a Talent Pool

For the members in the talent Pool, the following actions are available:

  • View Resume
  • Forward to Colleague
  • Forward to Job Requisition
  • Send Mail
  • Add to another talent pool
  • Change Status (in Pipeline)
  • Remove from talent pool

Mass Change Status of Candidates in the Talent Pool Status Pipeline

It is possible to move several candidates at once into a different status. For example, if a recruiter calls or emails multiple candidates who are currently in the No Contact status, they can all be moved to the Contacted status at once by selecting the candidates→Actions→Change Status→choose the appropriate status.

A screenshot showing a list of candidates ( selected by checkbox) and an Actions button, which includes Change Status in the list of options

Forward Candidates to Open Requisitions

When your organization opens a new job requisition, recruiters can first source from the appropriate talent pools.

Forward Qualified Candidates to Open Requisitions

Business Example

When Best Run opens a new job requisition for Remote Sales Manager, a recruiter will first source from the Remote Sales Manager Talent Pool. In this exercise you forward any candidates in the Screened-Add to Reqs status to the existing Sales Manager – Remote Position.

Steps

  1. Proxy as Paula Price.

  2. Navigate to Recruiting→Candidates→Talent Pools.

  3. Click on the Talent Pool Name: Remote Sales Manager.

  4. Click on the Screened-Add to Reqs box.

  5. Select the checkbox for the candidate in that status.

  6. Above the list of names, click Forward to Selected Job Requisitions.

  7. Filter if desired, or you can just click Search at the bottom of the page.

  8. Select the Job Title: Remote Sales Manager.

  9. Click Forward to Selected.

  10. Click Close.

  11. Confirm that the candidate has been forwarded to the requisition by navigating to Recruiting→Job Requisitions.

  12. Open the Candidate Workbench for the Remote Sales Manager position, by clicking the number in the Candidates column for that job.

  13. Click on the Forwarded status and move the candidate to the Invited to Apply status.

  14. The candidate receives the Invite to Apply email. (Applying for the position is optional.)

Learning

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