In 2023, direct sourcing is more than the sum of its parts; rather, it represents near alignment with the direction of business now and in the relative future. The labor market is still unsettled, while economic uncertainty (unfortunately) still rules the day. Businesses are in a continued war for talent, as unemployment sinks to historic lows and millions of job openings remain.
In addition, the Future of Work movement and resulting transformations actively dictate that businesses shift their hiring strategies. All of these facets together represent both a new challenge and a new opportunity for direct sourcing: helping enterprises cultivate a flexible and scalable workforce that drives true talent sustainability.
Direct Sourcing Evolves
Enterprises need sustainable talent most to remain competitive and enable future agility. Direct sourcing can help enterprises achieve talent sustainability through several means.
Tapping the Pipeline
First and foremost, it’s about building a talent pipeline of potential candidates, which can be tapped into immediately. By cultivating a talent pipeline, enterprises can proactively source and develop talent, avoiding circumstances where critical roles are vacant for long periods. Often, organizations struggle to implement adequate succession plans. Direct sourcing can help make succession planning a reality — a critical component of a sustainable talent strategy.
Linking Diversity to Innovation
A flexible workforce is not just associated with work models but culture as well. Fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce through direct sourcing opens the door to varying perspectives on enterprise challenges. Contingent and permanent job candidates view flexibility as a means to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion — a driver for talent retention and enterprise innovation. Diversity-focused organizations, networks, and forums are channels for direct sourcing engagement. And by sourcing talent from diverse channels, enterprises can build a more inclusive and diverse workforce that better reflects the communities in which they operate.
Building a Talent Community
One of the biggest challenges with direct sourcing is building a pipeline of quality candidates. What is the solution? Organizations must transform their engagement efforts by leveraging the very strength of direct sourcing itself — building relationships through intentional and strategic talent outreach. Engaging with talent directly helps to build relationships with candidates and to foster a sense of connection with the organization. This can lead to higher retention rates and a more immersed and committed workforce.
In some cases, HR and business leaders must cultivate relationships over a longer period. This is where talent communities can benefit. A talent community is a group of individuals who have expressed interest in working for a particular company or in a particular industry. Talent communities can take many forms, from LinkedIn groups to online forums. At their core, talent communities provide a platform for organizations to connect with candidates and nurture relationships over time. They are also ideal for expanding the employer brand to a wider audience and communicating the organizational culture — both leading to attracting top talent and creating a competitive differentiator for the enterprise.
Direct sourcing is not simply a portal for attracting potential job candidates. Instead, it’s a strategic imperative that is paramount to enterprise talent sustainability. And with sustainability comes organizational agility, flexibility, and resiliency — all of which enable an enterprise to thrive in a volatile marketplace.
