Often, when we think of recruitment, we’ll be thinking of active candidates – those who are actively seeking a new role – rather than passive candidates.

Yet with such a competitive hiring market, particularly when it comes to highly-skilled roles, knowing how to attract passive candidates is essential and can give a competitive edge.

Unlike an active hospitality candidate that will likely be scouring job boards and ads for hospitality roles, a passive candidate needs to be enticed away from their current job by a role that they may be even better suited to.

Why are passive hospitality candidates beneficial, and how can your business attract them?

They are valuable assets

The benefit of working with an agency to look for passive candidates is that they are currently employed and therefore content in their work, which generally means that they are a strong asset to their current employer.

Unlike an active candidate, a passive candidate is already employed and gaining experience as they work, which is highly beneficial as it puts their skills into context in terms of their experience.

This can also mean that there is a lower likelihood of a passive candidate needing further training, as they’re already well-versed in the skills you’re looking for and have been putting them into practice already.

They can be more open

Unlike active candidates who need to find a new job, passive candidates don’t, meaning that they are less likely to feel the need to inflate their skills and experience.

They already have security in their current role, so the prospect of overstating their qualifications isn’t necessary because in many passive candidates’ eyes if you are approaching them for a role, they already have the necessary skills.

Rather than having to go back to the drawing board as you would have in cases where active candidates exaggerate their skills, you can instead be relatively certain that a passive candidate is exactly as their CV describes.

They align with your organisation

A passive candidate isn’t going to leave their current job that they are happy with without good reason.

Part of this will come down to the way you or your recruitment partner approaches and motivates them, but it’s also reliant on how well a passive candidate feels they will align with your organisation in terms of values and goals.

According to The UndercoverRecruiter, passive talent prospects are 120% more likely to want to make an impact and 56% more likely to want a corporate culture that fits their personalities, making value alignment both a benefit and essential part of attracting passive candidates. 

To guarantee the best cultural fit, we’d advise working with an agency that has experience with accessing passive candidates as they will already have a clear process in place.

How can you attract passive candidates?

There are a number of ways you can begin to attract the untapped talent pool that is made up of passive candidates, from referrals to the right platforms, preferably with an experienced recruitment partner that understands best practice when it comes to passive candidates.

So how can you successfully attract passive candidates?

– Leverage your team

In the same way that word of mouth is still as effective as ever in marketing, asking your colleagues for referrals is a great way to attract passive candidates.

The significant advantage of this approach is that your colleagues will understand better than most the skills, qualifications, and cultural fit necessary for the role as they have first-hand experience.

Additionally, there is a sense of trust that makes referrals advantageous – as the passive candidate knows the individual within your organisation that they’ve already worked with, it is far likelier that they will have established a rapport.

Research has indicated that referrals are the highest quality hire, #1 in retention rate after one year, with statistics also indicating one out of every five referrals gets hired.

If that wasn’t enough, referrals are also five times more likely to be hired – much faster than the usual drawn-out hospitality recruitment process.

– Social networking

Looking for passive hospitality candidates through social media – whether LinkedIn or Facebook – could pay off considerably in the long term.

By engaging with passive candidates and networking with them, even if you can’t attract the candidate now, there are always future opportunities since you can stay connected.

The best approach to take is a personalised one.

For example, on LinkedIn, you could send a passive candidate a brief message detailing your company, the specific position you’re looking for them to fill, and why you think they would be a good addition to the team (e.g., ‘I’ve seen your post where you shared your thoughts about ___’).

Making it as easy as possible for candidates to submit applications or have a call to discuss the role further is essential, given that they will likely be extremely busy juggling the day-to-day of their current job and should be accommodated accordingly.

– It’s a wider talent pool with less competition

The pool of passive candidates is generally greater than the pool of active candidates, and since most passive candidates are unlikely to be receiving multiple offers from different competitors (as active candidates would) there is a lower level of competition.

Of course, this also means that there is more labour involved in ensuring that the candidate believes the opportunity is worth their time, but a great recruiter can help in this endeavour by outlining the salary and other benefits involved to garner enough interest.

– Build a consistent network over time

No matter how you decide to connect with passive hospitality candidates, whether through hospitality networking events or on social platforms, building a strong talent network takes time and consistency.

With passive candidates, it may be the case that whilst an initial offer was rejected, later down the line they get in touch again – you’re building a network for the future, rather than dropping out of touch with useful contacts.

If you’re struggling to do this by yourself, finding a proactive and experienced recruitment partner is the best course of action as they will already have an existing network of passive candidates.

Get in touch 

If you’re looking to find the best hospitality and catering candidates, we can help.

Having worked in the hospitality and catering industries ourselves, we understand the needs and expectations of both our clients and candidates – give us a call to find out more about how we can help you today.