Where do you find talent?  

Alex Opacic, Founder, Athlete2Business

So, you’re a business or hiring manager, and you want to hire the best? Where are you finding your talent? Interestingly, business and sports share many similarities in terms of talent acquisition. Let's take a look at some strategies and outcomes for sourcing talent.

Let's imagine that a football club wants to sign a couple of new players. Ideally, they want to find the best players available that they can afford.

Now if that professional football club were to advertise for “open tryouts”, they might get a few hundred players show up. Amongst those few hundred players there might be 1 or 2 promising players who with a bit of guidance could maybe contribute something to the team.

The players that are not going to show up to that open tryout, are the players who are already performing well for another team. 

So, in order to get access to the best players possible. Whether that be the best veterans, or the best rookies coming through. The club needs a network of talent scouts and agents that are keeping an eye on the talent in various football markets. 

If the club were to recruit solely based on who showed up to open tryouts. Then it’s highly likely, the club would fail to reach their lofty ambitions that season.

Now, if you’re a business owner or hiring manager, looking to grow your team and you also have big ambitions to achieve in the next couple of years. 

What’s your plan for finding high performing talent?

Do you rely solely on posting job ads? Which is essentially like holding an open trial?

If you’re only holding open tryouts, you might find one or two promising candidates… or you might not… Where are your next batch of high performers coming from?

Who is your talent scout out in the market building relationships with the best talent, guiding them towards you and your business when you want to grow?

If you don’t have a trusted talent scout to help you grow your team, then we highly recommend you find one. Don’t hold open tryouts and expect Messi to show up. Get yourself a talent scout to keep an eye on existing and emerging talent in your market.