Talent Pools can be used for many different things and will differ in every organisation. In JTGO we have defined two distinct activities:

1. Keeping candidates in your database for potential future opportunities, either:

• Those that have been assessed and would like to keep on file - sometimes referred to as ‘Silver Medallists’
• Speculative CVs you’ve gathered

2. Grouping applications in a way that helps fill a number of similar/identical jobs:

• ‘Bucket’ / open ended jobs - where there are frequently recruited for jobs, rather than advertise each one individually, one advert is created, and the ‘bucket’ job is used to gather applications
• The same concept can also be applied for bank staff

There is no one set function or method in JTGO for talent pooling - there is flexibility to support both of these activities (Keeping or Grouping). This guide covers the following functionality:

1. Using talent pools
2. Using the standard job functionality for talent pools
3. Searches & alerts

Please note talent pools are only accessible to HR Superusers and are not visible for Hiring Managers.

What's included in this guide:

• Creating a talent pool
• Setup - communications
  • Email template information
• Assigning candidates to a talent pool
• Viewing candidates in talent pools 
• Utilising job functionality for talent pools
• Creating a talent pool job
• Adding candidates to a talent pool job
• Assigning candidates to talent pool jobs 
• Example email content

CREATING A TALENT POOL

Go to Talent Pools in the main menu.

If any public talent pools have already been created, a list will be displayed here. Any private talent pools you have been granted access to will also be displayed here.

To create a new talent pool, press Create Talent Pool in the left-hand menu.

• Pool Name: Add a clearly labelled talent pool name here.
• Location: Choose a location here from the available options. Location is used to make it clear for other JTGO users. 
• Is Public: Toggle this to green for this talent pool to be made visible to other JTGO users with HR Superuser access. To keep this talent pool private, toggle this to red. Specific user access can be granted in the sharing section (visible after pressing Save). 
• Description: Use this section to add guidance for your colleagues to describe the purpose of this talent pool.

Complete all the required information and press Save.

After saving, two new sections will be displayed - Sharing and Notes. It's not essential to complete these but we have explained this functionality below.

Sharing

If this talent pool is private, it’s here where you can grant individual users’ access to the talent pool by selecting from the Add Users field. Hiring Managers do not have access to talent pools so do not add them here.

Your name will automatically be displayed here as the creator of the talent pool.

Notes

Use this section to add any necessary notes as the talent pool evolves. To add a new note, press the Add Note button. When all information is completed, press Save to complete the talent pool setup.

SETUP - COMMUNICATIONS

The next thing to consider is how to communicate with candidates when they are assigned to a talent pool. The most effective way is via email, as a record of these communications will be saved against the candidate's sent emails record.

You may wish to create a several email templates that cover different scenarios such as:

• Candidate is unsuccessful after application/interview/assessment, but has been assigned to a talent pool for future opportunities
• Candidate’s skills are better suited to another job type, so they have been assigned to a talent pool for future opportunities within that business area
• Candidate has been assigned to a talent pool

To create a new email template, go to the Settings cog in the main menu, then Communication in the left-hand menu.

• Select Email Templates
• A list of all existing email templates will be displayed
  To create a new email template, press Create Email Template in the left-hand menu
• A new page will open to add in the email content

Email template information

• Email name: add a clearly labelled name here.
• Email subject: add an email subject.
• Location: whilst not essential, adding a location here can help other users find the email template.

Add the main body of the email content and use the formatting tools available.

Any content copied and pasted here we always recommend copying the content into Notepad first before pasting it into JTGO to strip out any hidden formatting.

Merge fields

Using merge fields in an email template helps to personalise it for candidates by pulling chosen information already stored against their record into the email, such as their first name or their application status.

To add a merge field, put your cursor in the area of the email where the merge field will go. In the merge field drop down, above the email content block, begin typing the name of the merge field or choose from one of the available options. Once selected, press Insert/Update Data Field.

How to add a link/URL in the email: Select the paperclip icon   Add Display Text: this is the wording that the link will be used on in the email Link Type: select URL Protocol: choose what precedes the URL - https:// or http:// or one of the other options available URL: add the URL/link Press OK
Add a link to an email address: Select the paperclip icon Add Display Text: this is the wording that the link will be used on in the email Link Type: select E-mail E-Mail Address: add the email address here Message Subject: add a message subject Press OK   Once all formatting is complete, and any merge fields are added to the email template, press Save then Exit.

Check our email content ideas for content inspiration.

ASSIGNING CANDIDATES TO A TALENT POOL

Now the setup is complete, you can start assigning candidates to talent pools.

Check the box beside a candidate's name, then in the left-hand menu press Add or Assign, then Assign to a talent pool.

A pop-up window will be displayed. Check the selected candidates are correct, choose a talent pool or create a new talent pool, add any necessary comments then press Assign.

A message will be displayed to advise that the candidate has been successfully assigned to the talent pool.

If you chose to add a new talent pool during this stage, we recommend visiting the talent pools section to check the new talent pool has all the necessary information and add more details where required.

Update the candidate’s status next to the application status you created earlier. If an email was not attached to the status, an email will need to be sent to the candidate advising them that they have been added to a talent pool.

VIEWING CANDIDATES IN TALENT POOLS

To view talent pools and the candidates assigned to them:

• In the main menu, go to TALENT, then Talent Pools
• Press the name of the relevant talent pool
• A list of candidates who have been assigned to this talent pool will be displayed

Select a candidate’s name (or press the eye icon) to view the candidate’s details.

Displayed here are all the jobs the candidate has previously applied to and the status of their application(s). This is where the talent pool candidate status comes in useful to clearly identify which job they were assigned to a talent pool from.

Talent pooling is a centrally managed recruitment tool driven by HR Superusers. The talent pooling functionality allows you to assign candidates who have already applied for roles (or registered for job alerts) to talent pools but doesn't allow you to manually add candidates to JTGO.

MANAGING CANDIDATES IN TALENT POOLS

Within a Talent Pool in the left-hand menu, you can carry out the following actions for each candidate:   

• Assign to Talent Pool
• Assign to a Job
• Communicate via email & SMS (this will be documented in the candidate’s history and sent emails / SMS tabs within the candidate record)
• Remove from Talent Pool

If you remove a candidate from a Talent Pool by accident you can assign the candidate back into the Talent Pool if required.

What if you want to create talents pools where you can:

• Upload speculative CVs / candidates
• Or a speculative talent pool / job where candidates can apply directly

In cases such as this, we advise creating a job as a talent pool so you can:

• Manually add your candidates
• The job can also be advertised on your candidate site to allow candidates to express their interest in working for your company along with submitting their CV and some basic personal details

UTILISING JOB FUNCTIONALITY FOR TALENT POOLS

This is used to support:

Keeping activity 

• Invite speculative applications directly from candidates

Grouping activity

The benefits of using jobs for talent pooling are:

• Manually add candidates
• Advertise the job on your candidate site for candidates to express their interest in working for your organisation along with submitting their CV and some basic personal details
• Complete all the typical actions performed against non-talent pool candidates such as screening forms, forward details, etc.

This functionality uses the same logic as standard talent pools but instead of creating a talent pool, you will need to create a normal job vacancy - but we will set this up slightly differently.

Communications consideration: Before you start to build a talent pool job, it is worth considering creating additional acknowledgement emails for talent pooling purposes. As each time a candidate applies for or is assigned to a job an acknowledgement email is sent to the candidate.

CREATING A TALENT POOL JOB

Follow the steps below to create a new talent pool job:

• Select JOBS in the menu at the top of the page
• Then Add a job in the left-hand menu
• Create a new job by copying from a template, copying an existing job or by creating a new job.

For more information, read our application forms guide to assist you with this.

Complete the Details page as normal and consider the options below. For more information on adding a job, follow the guidance in our add a job guide.

• Closing date: Consider leaving the closing date blank if you plan to display/advertise this job on your candidate site to gather speculative applications
• Employment Type and Reason for Vacancy – we have included Talent Pool as an option in these dropdowns

Press Save & Continue.

Add the Advert content and press Save & Continue when complete.

Assessment

• Application Form: Candidates will either be manually added to this job or candidates will submit their details to be added to the talent pool job. Therefore, consider creating an application form that’s specifically for talent pools, captures basic contact details and a CV so it's a quick process to apply and manually add candidates
• Acknowledgement Email: Tailor the acknowledgement email here that candidates receive when applying for the job/or being added to the job, as this will likely differ from the standard job acknowledgement email.

Press Save & Continue when complete.

Approval Form

As this is not a live job being advertised which requires approval, a Job Approval Workflow does not need to be selected, so you can Save & Continue to move to the next section.

Job Access

Add the users who should have access to this job.

Press Save & Continue when complete.

Search and Alerts

Add the search criteria for the talent pool job here.

Press Save & Continue when complete.

Job Notes

Add any relevant notes in here.

Press Save & Continue when complete.

Post the Job

If this job is just for manually adding candidates to, it’s worth considering assigning this job to the status of TalentBank to distinguish it as a talent pool job.

If the job is intended for candidates to register their interest to, then change the job status to Live.

ADDING CANDIDATES TO A TALENT POOL JOB

Select SEARCH in the main menu, then Search Jobs.

Then in Job Status choose TalentBank from the dropdown list. Jobs with this status will automatically be displayed beneath the search box.

1. Select the relevant job
2. In the left-hand menu, select Add or Assign, then Add External Candidate
3. A new page will be displayed to complete the application form

Complete the required information and submit the application. Having a short application form here is useful as it makes adding candidates simple and quick. The candidate will now be displayed in the list of candidates page in the job at the candidate status of New Application.

ASSIGNING CANDIDATES TO A TALENT POOL JOB

If the candidate already exists within JTGO, they can be assigned to the talent pool job. This is very similar to the assign to a talent pool process.

1. Identify the candidate to assign to the talent pool job
2. In the left-hand menu, press Assign to a Job (from within a list of candidates against a job), or the Actions menu button (from within a candidate search)
3. Select a source job: this is a list of jobs the candidate has already applied to - choose which job they should be assigned from.
4. Select a target job: Use either the magnifying glass and filter on TalentBank jobs, or type the job reference or job title in the search box to find the specific talent pool job
5. Target Status: add the relevant status the candidate should be at in this talent pool job.
6. Add notes if required. These will be added to the candidate(s) history
7. Press Assign

EXAMPLE EMAIL CONTENT

We’ve added some suggested email content below for emails to talent pool candidates.

Email template: Reject at Application but assigned to Talent Pool

Email template: Reject at Interview but assigned to Talent Pool

Email template: Talent Pool Acknowledgement Email - Cands added

Email template: Talent Pool Acknowledgement Email - Cands applied