Posted about 14 hours by Jonny Grange
The best time to start hiring is usually months before you actually need to. Most businesses do the opposite. They wait until a role opens, then scramble to find a suitable candidate under pressure. The result is longer time to hire, weaker shortlists and roles that stay open far longer than they should.
At Digital Waffle, we work with employers across tech, digital, data and marketing, and the ones who consistently hire well are almost always the ones with a talent pipeline behind them. Building that pipeline is not glamorous work, but it is one of the highest-return activities any hiring team can invest in.
In this blog, we explain what a talent pipeline is, why it matters, how to build one and how to keep it useful over time.
What is a talent pipeline?
A talent pipeline is a group of potential candidates you have already identified, engaged with and built relationships with for roles you know you will need to fill. It is different from a database of applicants because the people in a pipeline are usually passive, not actively job hunting, and would only consider a move if the right opportunity came up.
A strong pipeline includes a mix of candidates across seniority levels, disciplines and specialisms, so that when a role opens, you already have people you can approach rather than starting from scratch.
Why does building a talent pipeline matter?
Businesses with talent pipelines hire faster, with less stress and often at a lower cost. The commercial case for pipelining is strong once you break it down.
It shortens your time to hire
The single biggest impact of a talent pipeline is on time to hire. When a role opens, you can approach known candidates immediately rather than spending the first two weeks writing job descriptions, posting adverts and waiting for applications.
Read more: 8 proven strategies to reduce time to hire
It gives you access to passive talent
Most of the strongest candidates in any market are not actively applying for jobs. They are working, happily or otherwise, and would only move for the right approach. A pipeline is how you reach that talent before your competitors do.
In our experience, the roles that get filled fastest are almost always filled with passive candidates who were already known to the business or the recruiter.
It reduces pressure on your team
Hiring under pressure often leads to rushed decisions, poor screening and expensive mis-hires. A pipeline removes some of that pressure by giving your team a head start whenever a role opens.
Read more: The true cost of a mis-hire & how you can avoid this
It supports better long-term hiring decisions
When you have relationships with candidates over time, you get to know them better than a single interview would ever allow. That deeper understanding leads to stronger hires and better cultural fit when the right role comes up.
How to build a talent pipeline
Building a pipeline is a long game, but the steps are practical. Businesses that commit to a small amount of pipelining consistently usually see the biggest benefit within six to twelve months.
Start with your hiring plan
Before you build a pipeline, know what you are pipelining for. Look at your business plan for the next twelve to eighteen months and identify the roles you are most likely to hire for.
Read more: How to create a hiring plan for growing teams
Define your ideal candidate profile for each role
For each role you expect to hire, write out what the ideal candidate looks like. This includes skills, experience, background, seniority and cultural fit. The clearer the profile, the more targeted your pipelining becomes.
A pattern we see is businesses trying to build a general pipeline without defining what "great" looks like. The result is a list of contacts rather than a genuine pipeline, and it delivers very little when a role opens.
Identify where your ideal candidates come from
Once you have the profile, work out where those candidates spend their time. That might be specific industries, competitor businesses, conferences, communities or online platforms. The more specific you can be, the easier it is to reach them.
Build relationships before you need to hire
The heart of pipelining is building genuine relationships with potential candidates over time. This might mean regular check-ins, sharing useful content, inviting people to events or simply keeping in touch through LinkedIn.
The key word is genuine. In our experience, pipelines built on transactional outreach rarely deliver. Pipelines built on real relationships almost always do.
Read more: How to attract passive candidates to your business
Use your employer brand to attract inbound pipeline candidates
A strong employer brand supports pipelining without you having to do all the outreach yourself. When candidates see your business as an interesting place to work, they may reach out proactively even when you are not hiring.
Read more: The role of employer branding in candidate attraction
Track and organise your pipeline
A pipeline you cannot access when you need it is not really a pipeline. Use a simple CRM, spreadsheet or applicant tracking system to keep records of who you have spoken to, when you last engaged and what they are looking for.
The best pipelines are actively maintained. A pipeline that has not been touched in six months rarely delivers when the moment comes.
How do you maintain a talent pipeline over time?
Building a pipeline is one thing. Keeping it warm and useful is another. Without maintenance, even the strongest pipeline decays quickly.
Stay in touch consistently
Regular, low-pressure contact is what keeps a pipeline alive. That might be a quarterly check-in, sharing news from your business or a short update about relevant roles you are considering opening.
The goal is to stay top of mind without ever feeling like you are pestering. Consistency matters more than frequency.
Refresh the pipeline as roles and priorities change
Business priorities shift, and your pipeline should shift with them. Review who is in your pipeline every few months and adjust based on what you are likely to hire next. Add new candidates as you meet them, and let older contacts drop off if they no longer fit the profile.
Work with a recruitment partner who maintains pipelines for you
Building and maintaining a pipeline in-house takes time that most hiring teams do not have. A specialist recruitment partner can maintain a pipeline on your behalf across the roles you hire most often.
At Digital Waffle, we build long-term pipelines for clients across tech, digital, data and marketing. Because we speak to candidates in these markets every day, we already know most of the people worth knowing, and we can introduce them to you when the timing is right for both sides.
A talent pipeline is one of the most valuable assets a business can build. It shortens time to hire, opens doors to passive talent and takes the pressure off your team when roles open unexpectedly. The businesses that invest in pipelining consistently outhire the ones that treat every role as a standalone search.
Need support finding and securing top talent? Submit your vacancy and one of our consultants will be in touch to talk through what you need.
