By Sieron Dottin, VP, Global Direct Sourcing Product Leader at KellyOCG
Just two weeks ago, I watched a company rescind an offer due to budget challenges, after spending weeks evaluating that candidate. This scenario perfectly captures the costly paradox of today's recruiting: Companies desperately need talent faster than ever, yet their recruitment processes are driving away qualified candidates and burning through resources.
The hard truth is that lengthy, complicated hiring processes cost employers their best talent while wasting valuable time and money. This isn't an isolated incident. It's become my regular Tuesday.
But there's a better way. Direct sourcing strategies not only cut time-to-fill but also improve candidate quality and hiring efficiency. You just need to know how to implement them correctly.
In the past few years, the hiring world has done a complete reversal. We went from the "hire everyone who can contribute" days of 2021-2022 to this hyper-selective environment where both sides have become more discerning. In 2024, labor force growth slowed to a monthly average gain of 76,000 workers, and now it seems everyone's competing for the same talent pool.
But while companies may lament about talent shortages, hiring is taking longer than ever. The average position takes a median of 42 days to fill. For tech roles, the process can be even longer, with companies treating every hire like a critical executive search. Many candidates face up to five interview rounds. Companies aim for thoroughness, but this often leads to delays. While thoroughness is valuable, there's an opportunity to achieve the same quality assessment more efficiently.
Meanwhile, as hiring processes continue to stretch out, recruiters lose a lot of talent. Most job seekers expect an offer within two weeks. When presented with lengthy questionnaires, uncompensated assignments, and months of interviews, it’s not uncommon for highly talented candidates to simply say, “I’m not doing that,” and move on.
For those unfamiliar with the term, direct sourcing is a recruitment approach where companies build and maintain their own talent communities—often in partnership with specialized staffing providers—rather than relying solely on job postings and third-party recruiters. This proactive model focuses on engaging potential candidates before specific roles open up.
Here are four direct sourcing strategies that consistently cut hiring timelines.
Traditional recruiting is reactive. A job opens, and recruiters scramble to find candidates, often starting from zero. Direct sourcing flips this model by building talent communities before specific roles materialize.
Smart organizations constantly engage with professionals in specific skill areas and geographic regions. When a role opens, they already have relationships established and talent pre-qualified.
Say an aerospace company is looking to fill a highly skilled position. While traditional recruiters post jobs and hope for responses, a skilled direct sourcing recruiter is identifying three qualified candidates through ongoing talent community engagement. The role is filled in two weeks instead of the typical 30-45 day cycle.
In most organizations, hiring managers write job descriptions that get passed through HR departments, entered into applicant tracking systems, and eventually reach recruiters as sanitized job postings. By the time recruiters see them, the original context and nuance has been lost.
Direct sourcing can remove this game of telephone. Whether through internal talent acquisition teams or trusted staffing partners, the key is participating in intake calls with hiring managers before jobs are widely distributed. This direct communication allows recruiters to ask clarifying questions, challenge unrealistic requirements, and understand the true priorities behind each hire.
A tech company might say they need "10+ years of logistics optimization experience" for a role. The recruiter can ask some clarifying questions to discover that what they really need is someone who can think strategically about supply chains. Experience is important, but problem-solving ability is the key differentiator. Maybe someone with six years of experience can bring exactly the strategic thinking they need.
One of the biggest advantages of direct sourcing is brand power. When candidates receive outreach about opportunities at companies they recognize and respect, response rates increase dramatically compared to generic recruiting messages.
This brand leverage works even when formal co-branding isn't possible. Some companies have hiring managers repost job advertisements on LinkedIn, providing subtle validation that achieves trust-building effects while maintaining brand control.
Today, 75% of job seekers assess a brand’s reputation before applying for a job. Companies that make it easy for candidates to verify opportunities and connect with the actual hiring company see faster engagement and higher-quality responses.
When hiring processes become extended, it impacts candidate experience and creates opportunities for competitors to move faster. Here's where successful organizations excel: They regularly evaluate their hiring processes for unnecessary complexity.
Consider a financial company that wants to implement five interviews for a mid-level role. By reviewing each stage, they might discover that two interviews are covering similar competencies. They could redesign the process to three focused interviews with enhanced pre-qualifying questions. That way, they can fill roles quicker while maintaining quality standards.
Companies that regularly audit their hiring processes often discover that competitors are winning talent simply by moving faster, not necessarily by offering better opportunities.
While technology is essential for directly sourcing strategies, it works best when it enables human connections rather than replacing them. Technology plays a vital role in direct sourcing strategies, but it’s not everything. I’ve given over 100 sales presentations in the last 18 months, and it’s taught me a critical lesson: While clients are interested in the technology Kelly has to offer, what they’re really interested in is our people.
Ultimately, organizations invest in teams and relationships. They want to know who's going to be available when challenges arise, not what algorithms can do. While AI-powered platforms and automated sourcing tools are valuable, they work best when they enable human connections rather than replace them.
Don't get me wrong, automation is a valuable tool that can remove a lot of the grunt work so my team can focus on actual relationship building. But technology enables relationships, it doesn't replace them.
The future of efficient hiring lies in staying "top of mind" with candidates through consistent engagement, rather than chasing immediate results. By building sustainable talent pipelines today through a strong direct-sourcing strategy, organizations can reduce time-to-fill and secure top talent exactly when they need it most.
Finding candidates with the right skills remains a challenge, but the organizations that build these relationships today will have significant advantages tomorrow. Direct sourcing provides speed without the sacrifice.
Our philosophy at Kelly is straightforward: Build authentic connections while being ready to move quickly when the moment's right.
Companies that get this will go beyond simply reducing time-to-fill. They'll change how they think about talent acquisition entirely. And frankly, in this market, that change isn’t optional anymore.
Ready to transform your hiring process? Fill out the form below to contact us and learn how direct sourcing can reduce your time-to-fill and improve candidate quality.