Over a decade ago, I developed one of the staffing and HR industry’s first full-scale research studies on total talent management (TTM), the programmatic concept that entails blending HR, procurement, and talent acquisition competencies under a single umbrella to find, source, engage, and manage both FTE and non-employee talent. Total talent management, by definition, requires this functional convergence on top of integrations between core workforce management systems and solutions, like VMS, ATS, RPO, and HRIS.
While total talent management has long sounded ideal on paper, its adoption has never really taken off in the 10+ years I’ve been writing and researching the program and its innerworkings. In any given year from 2012 up until late 2021, less than 15% of organizations had some semblance of total talent-like capabilities, which include consistent procurement and HR/talent acquisition collaboration, some integrations between HR and workforce systems, and converged talent intelligence (a miniscule percentage, perhaps less than 2%, have a fully-fledged program that has been in place for multiple years).
The typical knock on total talent management is that the two sides of the talent coin (FTEs and non-employees) represent two very different sets of guidelines and strategies. A standard criticism is that an organization would never apply core human capital approaches such as learning management and succession planning to its contingent workforce, nor would they cross any lines that would violate federal and regulatory policies concerning relationships with independent contractors and freelance talent.
At this point, nearly a third of the way through 2022, shouldn’t we be ready to take on total talent management given the vast transformations across the world of talent and work?
Last year, the Future of Work Exchange highlighted how total talent intelligence was an excellent “gateway” into the realm of total talent management:
“Thinking about integrations, cross-functional coordination, blending core HR and contingent workforce management competencies, etc. can be maddening, for sure. This is why, especially in today’s strange business world, enterprises should consider taking a much more streamlined path and prioritize total talent intelligence as an initial cornerstone for what could blossom into full-blown total talent management in the months and years to come. In essence, total talent intelligence gleans valuable worker-based insights from both FTEs and non-employees by harnessing collective data from Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), Vendor Management Systems (VMS), time and attendance solutions, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), Freelancer Management System (FMS), and similar platforms to gain the deepest possible view into an organization’s total talent pool.”
If total talent intelligence remained a viable “first step” into total talent management given the transformation of work and talent, shouldn’t the next logical step entail working closer to developing a true TTM program? Consider that:
- Talent retainment and talent attraction have become top-of-mind issues in a Great Resignation-fueled, Talent Revolution-led labor market. Workers, no matter if they are searching for a full-time or freelance gig, are after purposeful and meaningful work in a workplace culture that is inclusive and flexible. Total talent management in 2022 can be an effective means of ensuring that all workers, no matter the type, are attracted to the organization and want to stay once they are there. The convergence of HR and talent acquisition principles, combined with the power of procurement-led contingent workforce management, can ensure that consistent tactics are utilized in talent engagement efforts to put culture, brand, and similar attributes at the forefront.
- The commodity-driven days of extended workforce management are over. Procurement will always have a sustainable role in managing the extended workforce, however, the era of “commodity-led” measures has passed us by, replaced by a visionary approach that values skillsets and expertise over costs and budgets.
- A remote and distributed workforce requires more structure. In the early days of the pandemic, executive leaders found themselves unable to effectively track their total workforce in the wake of a “remote overnight” switch. Although the rigor behind workforce management has vastly improved since then, the vast majority of enterprises are still offering flexible workforce options for their staff and require more enhanced means of understanding where workers are, what they are working on, and how to address skills gaps if a business location requires a new infusion of talent.
- The focus on workplace culture permeates into the world of extended workforce management. While we know that there’s a barrier we cannot cross in regards to treating non-employees like FTEs, there is an arena in which the same cultural benefits of a positive and engaging workplace for traditional employees is just as attractive to freelance, independent, and extended talent. Aspects such as enterprise-wide communication, transparency into operations and projects, and “flexibility for all” can go a long way into ensuring that extended talent is not only attracted to the enterprise but will also want to be a part of that organization’s community even after their engagements end.
Total talent management has long been a concept that bordered on the theoretical. In years past, there was an industry-wide acceptance that the many intricacies of the program could not effectively work together; however, in the past two years, the world of work and talent has been transformed. Total talent management should be considered a viable and powerful way to merge the contingent workforce, HR, and talent acquisition competencies, capabilities, and technologies required to attract and retain talent, as well as manage that talent effectively on a global and remote scale.
