How can you stop sourcing in the HR world? Or researching? Or name generating? Or pipeline building? How can you say you never need to look for people or that you have enough? OK, I’m done let’s close shop? Not happening in my world!  

I love the JIT Sourcing concept from Glen Cathey (you’re my latest hot thing BTW Glen <smiles> ) and am all over the lean concepts which help you maintain that fine balance between efficiency and effectiveness (two different things in case you don’t get it) but in my holistic approach to HR, whether it is for a new company preparing to explode with good talent, a third party recruiter working a search assignment for an external client or just a really well established, been-around-for-ages firm, doing what they do best everyday; the “quest” for finding talent never really ends. Unless of course you get hit with a Recession BAM! like we did last year (the economy is still climbing out of the ditch mind you). But even in the deepest depths of a horrible last year, smart recruiters and sourcers kept going.  Even when working a search, the best recruiters know the search is not done till it is done and so the sourcing for fresh meat continues (my apologies Vegans – you can read that as fodder or grass).

Knowing where to go to get good talent is like having that quintessential little black dress in your closet. OK dudes, a suit and god forbid I ever get into a little black dress! The knowledge that it’s always there no matter what and that you can use it in any kind of emergency, formal or informal, is priceless! Keep looking, happy sourcing.

*Definition:
• Main Entry: com•mu•ni•ca•tion
• Pronunciation: \k?-?myü-n?-’ka-sh?n\
• Function: noun
• Date: 14th century
1 : an act or instance of transmitting
2 a : information communicated b : a verbal or written message
3 a : a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior <the function of pheromones in insect communication>; also : exchange of information b : personal rapport <a lack of communication between old and young persons>
4 plural a : a system (as of telephones) for communicating b : a system of routes for moving troops, supplies, and vehicles c : personnel engaged in communicating
5 plural but sing or plural in constr a : a technique for expressing ideas effectively (as in speech) b : the technology of the transmission of information (as by print or telecommunication)
*Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication

Communication… a vital part of human existence, yet an area in which we all fall short at times.  A noun by function, dating back to the 14th Century, communication has been a key role in every aspect of life, sometimes in ways we don’t even realize.

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