Getting your talent pipeline back on track

Talent pipelines have existed for a while, but you might be missing out on their full potential…

Your average talent pipeline may have the following: a few active candidates, a few passive candidates, and a load of candidates that may or may not be that relevant what you're looking for. That might be the case for talent pipelines that aren't well looked after, but it doesn't always have to be. In fact, a strong talent pipeline may be your hidden HR superpower that's just waiting to be unearthed. Here are a few of my thoughts on this and how this could have an impact on Motorsports teams who are recruiting. 

The importance of talent pipelines

For an industry like Motorsports, this truly cannot be understated.

For both junior and more senior positions, having a pipeline of excellent talent available to you (or at least familiar or engaged with you!) when needed is necessary for a number of reasons. Maybe the most important, it can keep you competitive in your racing series. Racing is a team sport, and leaving any role unfilled at any time can put the team at a serious disadvantage; as with any large machine, the loss or failure of a single small cog can cause catastrophic failure. A clear talent pipeline where there are processes in place to keep future prospects warm can help minimise how long you have gaps in your team and keep you competitive.

A career in Motorsport is quite desirable, especially for those that are racing fans - having the opportunity to work in the sport you love is the ultimate dream. But there are often a few reasons that can put people off trying for a career in the industry, and that is maybe the most important need for talent pipelines…

Breaking down barriers for more junior entrants

Having an influx of young talent is crucial in the longevity of the sport; those more experienced leaders want to ensure their knowledge can be passed down and the industry can keep on evolving long after they have retired. But one issue that impacts those looking for those more junior roles is both a lack of experience in the industry, and a lack of knowing where to get the required experience and skills from. Talent pipelines can help solve that issue.

Keeping in touch with interested parties is what turns a pipeline from a decent one to a lucrative one! Once you've got a pool of interested future candidates for a range of roles in your organisation, it is important that you continue to reach out to them on a consistent basis. This can be on a personal level or even through mass emails, but the touch points need to be important and informative. This can be as simple as letting this talent pool know of the skills that are most in-demand in the industry (with some advice on how to acquire said skills) or it can even be promoting work experience opportunities - any form of communication that keeps the pool interested in a future career with your organisation.

There's also the added bonus that talent pipelines can be developed as a way to bring underrepresented groups into the fold. Whether there is a gender imbalance or lack of diversity in a particular role in the industry, schemes can be put in place to address these and create an equal opportunity for every interested party. Scholarships or work experience focused on marginalised groups are fantastic opportunities to widen the future talent pool of diverse candidates.

Talent pipelines are excellent in bringing talent on board, but only if you know where to look…

Looking beyond traditional credentials

There is growing acceptance throughout the industry that hiring primarily from within the industry is not only a difficult task at times, but it may not actually be the most beneficial way to get certain essential skills into teams. This is especially true as the Motorsport industry keeps evolving to constantly integrate new technology, meaning there are often developments that make it essential to bring in talent from other industries.

For example, as the electrification of Motorsports continues to grow, there are a large number of industries where there are talented players ready to make an immediate impact despite lack of clear-cut experience. The electric vehicle industry is a relatively classic example of a skill-adjacent industry, but some others that may go under the radar with great prospects for roles in motorsports include the renewable energy sector and even industrial heating - any industry that has a solid understanding of the chemical reactions involved with electrification.

Talent pipelines are a great tool to start integrating skilled candidates from these non-motorsport industries by drip feeding knowledge that they need to scrub up on before beginning a career within Motorsports, helping to reduce the time to ramp once they enter their roles.
 
That's just a few of my thoughts as to why talent pipelines throughout Motorsport are crucial to long-term success, both on and off the racetrack. And if you find yourself tight on time to sort this for yourself, well you can always reach out to us if you want access to an existing talent pool of engaged, skilled candidates.