Stop Posting and Praying: The Power of Diversifying Recruitment Sources

Stop Posting and Praying: The Power of Diversifying Recruitment Sources

One of the primary reasons clients partner with Xelerate is our ability to go beyond traditional recruitment methods. By diversifying hiring sources and engaging passive candidates, we help organizations like yours build stronger teams that align with your mission.

Whether you’re a current partner or have worked with us in the past, you know the challenges of recruiting in healthcare and behavioral health: staffing shortages, high turnover, and the need for highly skilled, mission-driven talent. These challenges require innovative approaches that move beyond “posting and praying” for active applicants.

At Xelerate, we specialize in identifying and connecting with passive candidates—those not actively seeking new roles but open to opportunities that match their skills and values. This approach ensures access to top talent, even for the most challenging roles.

Expanding the Talent Pool 

• In the U.S., 65-70% of the workforce consists of passive candidates, yet many talent acquisition teams focus primarily on active applicants.
• Xelerate Impact: Our clients experience an average 45% increase in candidate submissions, particularly for hard-to-fill clinical and leadership roles, through proactive and diverse sourcing strategies.

Improving Candidate Quality and Retention 

• Passive candidates and referrals tend to stay longer because they are more deliberate about their decision to change roles and are more engaged in the mission of the organization. By tapping into multiple sources, recruiters access a broader and deeper talent pool, including high-performing individuals who may not actively be seeking jobs but are highly qualified and open to the right opportunities.
• Xelerate Impact: For one client committed to tracking retention, the commitment to sticking with our diversified sourcing strategy demonstrated a 25% higher retention rate among new hires.

Helping You Address Workforce Shortages 

• Staffing shortages are a persistent challenge in healthcare and behavioral health, with many positions going unfilled for months. Diversifying recruitment sources ensures a broader and more responsive talent pipeline.
• Xelerate Impact: By implementing a multi-source recruitment strategy for a client serving the developmentally disabled population, Xelerate reduced the average time-to-fill for critical clinical staff positions by 20 days. This improvement not only ensured operational stability but also allowed the organization to maintain uninterrupted, high-quality care for their clients.

Reducing Bias and Promoting Inclusion 

• When recruitment is done through multiple channels, it helps mitigate the risks of unconscious bias. Hiring from a variety of sources connects with different demographic groups, promoting diversity and inclusion in an organization.
• Xelerate Impact: For clients requesting a diverse candidate pool or candidates from underrepresented demographics, Xelerate has the ability to build customized reporting to track DE&I metrics.

Visualizing the Impact

The chart below illustrates the stark difference between the “post and pray” strategy and a diversified sourcing strategy. Specific sourcing percentages can vary depending on whether the focus is on high-volume or low-volume positions. However, the chart provides a clear representation of how a more balanced approach leverages a variety of sourcing methods to broaden the talent pool and improve candidate quality. This approach ensures organizations are prepared to meet their unique hiring needs effectively.

Your work has a profound impact on the communities you serve, and we’re honored to play a role in supporting your mission. Whether it’s finding innovative solutions to recruitment challenges, leveraging diverse sourcing strategies to access untapped talent, or analyzing data to refine your approach, we are committed to adding value to every partnership. By prioritizing diversity of source, we help ensure your teams are not only skilled and mission-aligned but also reflective of the communities they serve.