Building a candidate “hot list” is a great way to cut through cold recruitment efforts and provide a steady stream of preferred candidates. Here are some practical ways to make a hot list work for you.

First published in Forbes. Read below, or read it on Forbes.

Hiring the best people has a lot to do with timing – the appropriate position has to become available just when the candidate is ready to take it. So, what can companies do to maintain relationships with excellent potential future employees when it’s just not the right time?

Many companies are surrounded by pools of talented people but lack systems to track them or stay connected so they will be pre-disposed to say yes to a job offer. As a result, every time companies need to hire, they have to start from scratch – digging up fresh candidates who may or may not know the firm and working through lists of people with whom they have no prior experience.

Most firms address this problem by paying a lot of money to recruiters. This usually includes costs of advertising, as well as the effort to review stacks of CVs and staff time to hold lots of interviews and panels with inappropriate candidates. It’s a big investment in time and resources.

A creative alternative solution is to build a list of “hot” candidates. Whether it is lawyers for a law firm, engineers for a software firm, or whatever field appropriate, every company will know of people in its community who could be a good fit in future. Setting up, consciously building and actively managing a “hot list” is a great way to cut through cold recruitment efforts and provide a steady stream of preferred candidates. This is a core technique of staffing companies who compete to be the first to fill open positions for their clients.

The list will only include people who have the required skills, and because they arise from existing connections, are also likely to fit with your culture. They may work for rival companies or potential partners or suppliers, so you know them, but the timing is not right. Perhaps they are younger, emerging talents, and are developing their abilities in a way that will be appealing down the line.

“We actively maintain and build our hot list or what we call our ‘jalapeno list,’” explains Kathy Krumpe, Chief Operating Officer of Future State, the 75-strong consultancy group based in Oakland, CA. “It’s our name for potential team members we go to first when we need to quickly hire for specific projects. We organize events, follow-up communications for us to get to know us better and visa versa.”

Here are some practical ways to make a hot list work for you:

1. Always be on the lookout for talent, even when you don’t need it. Spread the word throughout your employee ranks with this mindset. Help the team understand that doing this will reduce burnout and pressure as the firm grows since you’ll be able to get talent faster when needed. Explain that building relationships ahead of hiring will help vet incoming talent. And it’s a great way for everyone to feel they have a part to play in building up the team.
2. Set up your hot list. Decide which positions are worth a hot list. The storage system for hot-listed candidates could be a simple Excel spreadsheet or better yet a CRM-like system. There are many candidate-management programs that could work well.
3. Put someone in charge of the program. Usually this will be within HR, such as your in-house recruiter. Whoever it is, someone must be accountable for building the depth and breadth of the hot list and making sure it is kept “live.”
4. Create a series of scheduled touch points. A pre-programmed schedule of communications could be industry or professional events, purely social events or even point-to-point contact – like a friendly catch-up phone call.
5. Build positive relationships. These communications will help future candidates get to know your company, its direction, people and culture. The contacts will help you track their career, achievements and interests, and also appreciate their family and other personal priorities.

Setting up and maintaining a hot list does take time and attention. Many companies will feel they are too busy to add this extra work. This could be because they have gotten behind in their hiring. But when a hot-list system is in place, it can represent a big saving in effort and an improvement in your hiring results and can ensure that you don’t get behind in your hiring again.

Communications also have to be handled with care. Some future candidates may be worried that their current employer will find out they are in touch with you, for example if they attend an event, so recruitment events may not work in all cases. One solution is to invite your hot list to gatherings for other purposes, such industry or skills training, etc. Some firms ensure that their key employees attend, to connect directly with future candidates. You may also need to hold one-on-one communications, such as direct calls or, for some selected talents, private informal get-togethers.

Maintaining a candidate hot list can be a great investment. It will ensure your company stays top of mind with your best candidates, and build a sense of familiarity between candidates and the firm. It will make sure you are in touch as job openings arise, and make it easier for them to take the leap to switch to a new environment. If you help your candidates think, “I’m sure I will work for them someday,” it’s a good chance that, at the right time, they will.

“We believe in being a ‘connected organization’ – ensuring that everyone in the company is engaged and working together towards a shared vision,” says Krumpe. “And for us, that begins as early as possible, even before you work with us.”