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Christopher J. Dwyer

Omicron Will Dictate the Future of Vaccine Mandates

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on

An excellent article by Katherine Wu yesterday at The Atlantic was a bit of hopeful news regarding the latest coronavirus variant of concern, Omicron. Wu highlighted some recent research studies regarding the role of T cells in countering the variant’s seeming ability to somewhat escape derived immunity:

“All of this coalesces into a not-totally-catastrophic forecast as to where the immunized could be headed with Omicron. Some T cells might waver—but a hefty contingent should still rush in to fight when the variant invades, as long as a vaccine or prior infection has already wised them up. We don’t, to be fair, have the full picture on Omicron yet; more data are still on their way. What’s known so far, though, looks promising. New data gathered by teams led by Sette and Redd show that most of the viral bits that trained T cells tend to recognize, including those within the spike protein, are still pristinely preserved on Omicron, with only a few exceptions. In previously infected people, for instance, Sette’s team predicted that some 95 percent of spike-specific killer Ts should still hit their mark; in the vaccinated, it was 86 percent. Similar data from Pfizer, as well as the biotech company Adaptive, clock in closer to 80 percent for the inoculated.”

The TLDR version: the Omicron variant is the most confounding of the new variants thus far, however, immunity via vaccination or prior infection (or both) will still elicit T cells in providing a substantial measure of protection. That’s a modicum of optimism amidst the nearly three weeks’ worth of fear and anxiety since scientists in South Africa discovered the new variant, with some speculation that any acquired immunity would not prohibit Omicron from infecting vaccinated (or previously infected) individuals.

While studies have not conclusively determined whether or not the new variant is “milder” than the wild type edition, the fact remains that any increase in transmissibility means that there will be an associated increase in severe disease and hospitalizations due to the sheer volume of new cases across the globe. Omicron is expected to become the dominant variant this month in regions like Europe and the UK, with the United States not that far behind.

So, what does this have to do with the business arena and vaccine mandates? Some thoughts:

  • Ongoing studies prove that vaccine booster shots amplify protection against Omicron, meaning that there should be some flexibility in mandates to include a third vaccine jab. Vaccine-induced immunity is somewhat protective, however, booster shots significantly enhance the overall efficacy and effectiveness of the Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J vaccines. As Dr. Anthony Fauci recently stated on numerous media outlets: the definition of “fully vaccinated” will need to be changed to include the aforementioned third/additional vaccine jab. This will need to be reflected in the Biden administration’s vaccine regulations, expected to go into effect in less than a month.
  • There shouldn’t be a rush to push everyone back to the office just because it’s a new year. Winter is an awful time for respiratory viruses, including the common cold and the flu. Even if there wasn’t a new variant of concern about to spark a new wave of infections, there would be so much confusion regarding whether or not people should head into work; a stuffy nose or sniffles would make anyone think twice about beginning their morning commute. The Omicron variant is expected to create a surge of cases during the winter (if indicators from the UK and across the world forebode what is about to happen in America), thus the continued viability of the hybrid and remote work models. Although some may argue that mandates are merely unwanted oversight by the government, the truth is that mandates are designed for public safety, not control. (And, if we’re going to talk about remote work, too, then why not say this: it should have a permanent place in how businesses structure their workforce in 2022.)
  • Businesses are going to have to work harder to ensure their staff that workplaces are safe. It shouldn’t take state-mandated mask measures for businesses to understand what’s at stake here: workers are already burnt out, tired, and have had enough of the inequitable treatment and lack of flexibility. Remote options should be readily available for those workers that can effectively perform tasks from home, while those industries that cannot support remote or hybrid work must structure the workplace environment to be safe for all in-person workers, making vaccine mandates all the more critical (while also mandating facial coverings).
  • If Omicron causes another winter surge, vaccine mandates will significantly boost the overall immunity of the country. As stated above, the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate plan isn’t a way for the government to execute control over the business arena, but to truly make the country a safer place to live and work. Those individuals that were vaccine hesitant before the mandate kicks in (and there are most likely millions that fall into this group) will now be inoculated in a time when a new, shifty variant is causing a sharp uptick in infections.
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Here’s Why Direct Sourcing Should Be The Top Priority for 2022 Workforce Planning

Direct SourcingTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

A few years ago, I began noticing a trend in the greater workforce industry: more and more businesses were eager to integrate “alternative” talent channels into their recruitment mix. By “alternative,” By this, I don’t mean adding new staffing suppliers or a “touch” of talent marketplaces here-and-there…this was the beginning of a full-on progression of talent engagement that is actively culminating in a reimagining of talent acquisition and workforce management approaches.

As said many times here on the Future of Work Exchange, the top two priorities for businesses entering 2020 were, respectively, direct sourcing and talent pools. These two inherently-linked attributes, at that time, represented a way for businesses to blend new channels of talent into their existing expertise network by developing “BYOT” (Bring Your Own Talent) pools, freelancer benches, and more formally integrating talent marketplaces into recruitment stream (i.e., new requisitions having the ability to pull talent from marketplaces and direct sourcing channels connected to the VMS or HRIS platform).

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a two-fold opportunity for businesses in regards to this “reimagining” of talent management: curate top-shelf talent and expertise for when the need arose to utilize these highly-qualified skillsets, and, nurture and foster curated candidates in such a way that they felt connected and engaged to the employer culture and brand, so that when they were required for a critical project or initiative, they would be more likely to accept an assignment. The main business workforce strategy was direct and simply, yet incredibly difficult to execute: create true workforce scalability.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has found, over the past two years, that the top benefit of leveraging contingent or extended talent is the ability to be scalable and flexible in how the typical enterprise structures its workforce architecture. This level of workforce scalability (and flexibility) allowed businesses to navigate uncertain times, especially when the rollercoaster early months of the pandemic created boom-or-bust demand for specific industries and sectors.

Direct sourcing no longer represents one of many alternative channels of talent, but rather a repeatable, scalable, and digitized way of developing a deeper pipeline of top-tier skillsets and expertise. Here’s why it should lead workforce planning for 2022:

  • Direct sourcing is a set of processes and solutions that actively drive workforce agility and flexibility. Today’s professionals are more focused on work-life balance, while also desiring greater independence. Among many things, the “Great Resignation” of 2021 indicates a seismic shift in power towards the worker and away from the employer. This may or may not be permanent (the “power shift” to the worker seems likely to be a critical aspect moving forward), but businesses, nonetheless, face constant pressure to deepen human capital and future-proof skillsets within their total workforce. Now, more than ever, enterprises require a steady flow of new workers to keep pace with their competitors. Now, more than ever, enterprises need superior engagement capabilities. Now, more than ever, enterprises need a new approach…all factors that tie back to direct sourcing.
  • DE&I and direct sourcing are now inherently linked. Layering DE&I into direct sourcing is about changing behaviors and removing hiring barriers and unconscious bias from talent engagement and talent acquisition. Utilizing technology to help guide and enforce a new mindset can be extremely valuable and create awareness that the deepest talent pools are diverse talent pools.
  • The concepts behind “Direct Sourcing 2.0” are what will take direct sourcing programs to the next level. The new Ardent Partners/Future of Work Exchange research study, Direct Sourcing 2.0, unveils the nuances of DS 2.0 and what they mean, including: supercharging talent pipelines, leveraging AI and machine learning to enhance candidate assessments and screening, identifying the best modes (time, style, etc.) of candidate outreach, digital recruitment marketing, automated referral management, enhancing the hiring manager experience, etc. The very ideas behind Direct Sourcing 2.0 are transformational approaches (both strategic and technology-led) that push direct sourcing programs into a new Future of Work stratosphere by enabling enterprises with more powerful and agile tools for new candidate engagement, collaboration, nurture, and hiring.
  • Direct sourcing is the gateway to thriving in 2022 via a powerful, self-sustaining agile workforce. Direct sourcing is very effective in its current state, but the stakes keep rising. The increasing need for talent and the ongoing challenges competing for it mean that enterprises must continue to challenge the status quo and operate on the bleeding edge in order to stay on top. By blending traditional direct sourcing approaches (curation, segmentation, etc.) with “2.0” attributes (digital recruitment marketing, AI-led assessments, more focus on the candidate experience, etc.), businesses will ensure that, in yet another year of uncertainty, they will be positioned to optimize how work is done.
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The Key Differentiators of Best-in-Class Extended Workforce Management

Contingent WorkforceDirect SourcingTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Technology utilization and core competencies are the backbone of the Best-in-Class contingent and extended workforce program. However, there are other next-level differentiators that are driving innovation within these organizations and positioning them to become more agile and dynamic as the world of talent and work around them continues to shift and change:

  • Eighty-two percent (82%) of Best-in-Class enterprises have integrated SOW management and services procurement into their core CWM programs, a fact that reinforces the need for businesses to effectively track, monitor, and manage all elements of their extended workforce (not just staff aug). Often enabled by VMS or extended workforce solutions (and outsourced to MSP offerings), Best-in-Class businesses have integrated capabilities into their programs that include resource-tracking, milestone and delivery date visibility, full sourcing and bidding processes, and other processes required to manage what is often considered the largest chunk of non-employee workforce spend.
  • Nearly 75% of Best-in-Class businesses have a direct sourcing program in place today. Direct sourcing has become synonymous with the continued evolution of talent; businesses that desire true organizational and workforce agility are actively harnessing the power of talent pools (and injecting those candidates into enterprise recruitment streams) as a viable means of reducing talent acquisition costs, ensuring top-tier skillsets and expertise, and structuring a truly dynamic workforce. Direct sourcing allows a business to leverage its culture and brand to attract top-tier candidates that are easily engaged for future projects and initiatives. In a world that has become more digitized (especially in the HR and talent arenas), direct sourcing is becoming a differentiator for the Best-in-Class businesses that actively pursue workforce agility.
  • Seventy percent (70%) of Best-in-Class organizations are currently leveraging a “hybrid” talent acquisition model that utilizes equal parts digital and RPA-led processes (such as artificial intelligence and bots) and traditional human-led strategies and support. This hybrid approach ensures that aspects like repeatability, speed, and efficiency are top-of-mind in talent engagement efforts, while the human elements can deter unconscious bias in any digital talent acquisition initiatives. This differentiator is also a major reason why Best-in-Class businesses have thrived in challenging times; next-level digitization on the front end enables agility, while the human touch on the back end ensures that core cultural objectives are met.
  • Nearly 60% of Best-in-Class businesses currently have the ability to drive total talent intelligence within their programs. As explained earlier in this chapter, total talent intelligence is an incredible differentiator, as it helps businesses determine which candidates and which types of talent are the best fit for a new role, position, or project based on deep total talent data. More Best-in-Class programs are enabled with the required capabilities to execute informed and intelligence-led talent decisions in a real-time and dynamic manner…which, in essence, is the core of true business agility.

In looking at Best-in-Class organizations, the key to success is multifaceted and wide-spanning: embrace the evolution of talent, tap into both traditional and progressive platforms, and leverage next-generation strategies to best align the workplace environment with the best-fit talent and skillsets. Top-performing organizations are leading the next era of work optimization because they are actively adapting to the major shifts in the talent and work arena while also cultivating a culture of agility and flexibility.

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FOWX Notes: December 10 Edition

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsHR by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Some picked-up pieces, news, and insights from across the evolving world of talent and work:

  • I’ve often written about the “human” side of the business arena, with aspects like empathy-led leadership taking center stage as an indicator that the balance between “people” and “technology” is what the Future of Work movement is founded upon. This week’s news that Better.com’s CEO fired 900 employees via a single Zoom call last week is the complete opposite of the progress leaders have made over the past two years. It’s not surprising to see several of the company’s high-profile execs leave the firm in the wake of the Vishal Garg’s blunder, and his apology for the way the terminations unfolded are actually undone by the fact that he accused hundreds of the terminated employees of “stealing” from the company by “working two hours per day.” Even though Garg and his team utilized productivity data to formulate their decisions (for roughly 250 of those 900 employees), the behavior here is exactly why more and more workers are growing disillusioned with archaic leadership traits.
  • The U.S. Senate, unsurprisingly, voted to repeal the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate that would take effect on January 18, 2022. As reported by NPR: “Getting vaccinated should be a decision between an individual and his or her doctor. It shouldn’t be up to any politician, especially in a mandate coming down from that highest authority, the president,” Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who led the effort to overturn the requirement, said during the Senate debate.” The thing about vaccination mandates is this: it’s not about control or authority, it’s about workplace safety. No matter if the Omicron variant is less severe or not (it already appears to be much more transmissible than the Delta variant), the last thing employers want to deal with is another winter surge that will tax the health care system. Vaccine mandates serve two purposes: increase the overall rate of vaccination across the country, and, ensure that workers operating within in-person locations are safe from infection. It’s not an overreach, nor is it an authoritarian play by the government.
  • Longtime Freelancer Management System (FMS) and workforce management platform Shortlist recently rebranded to Worksuite. The solution’s new name reflects the platform’s volume of functionality, including direct sourcing and talent pool technology, global freelancer payment management, as well as all of the hallmarks of the Shortlist offering (such as SOW management, services procurement, deep workforce analytics, compliance and risk mitigation tools, etc.).
  • The first company-owned Starbucks store voted yesterday to unionize. While the size of the store and its workforce are small, this is a major sign that more and more workers, no matter the industry, will see 2022 as a turning point for the transformation of the traditional employer-employee relationship. “Every social justice movement has started from the ground up, from a handful of people who stepped forward to demand change,” U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, said in a statement” (and reported by The Buffalo News). The two key words there? Demand and change. The talent revolution is happening; expect similar instances as we head into 2022.
  • Something that’s not on the business radar for 2022 but should be: employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPS). While eNPS has been around for several years, not enough businesses are leveraging this quantitative means of capturing the qualitative aspects of the employee experience (and employee experience). The Future of Work Exchange estimates that less than 10% of businesses are actively leveraging employee Net Promoter Scores in their greater workforce planning; by understanding the perspectives and feelings of staff, business leaders can formulate the best approaches to talent retention and talent-to-project-alignment.
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Workforce Management Recommendations for 2022

Contingent WorkforceDirect SourcingHR by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The extended workforce has, for several years, represented the natural advancement of contingent labor and its greater impact on critical enterprise objectives. Coupled with a sharply shifting business landscape, changing market dynamics, and the reimagining of how work gets done, today’s organizations must harness the influence of the symbiotic relationship between talent, technology, and business leadership to usher in a new era of work.

Heading into 2022, businesses in the throes of workforce planning are facing pressure-filled quandaries: how will the pandemic affect their operations in the new year? Will scalability be as critical as it has been over the past two years? How does technology and innovation influence talent acquisition and talent management? The below recommendations will assist enterprises as they continue to plan around the inherent agility of their extended workforce and its impact on the greater business:

  • Embrace the extended workforce as a means of tapping into top-tier talent and fostering enterprise flexibility. The past 20+ months have shown adaptability is key weapon in changing times. There is a major reason why 82% of businesses expect an increase in the utilization of non-employee labor in 2022. The extended and agile workforce enables organizations to better access top-shelf skillsets, deep expertise, and a dynamic relationship that is founded on flexibility. Short-term engagements and mission critical projects supported by agile talent is specifically what empowered business during the pandemic…and that will not change in the months and years ahead.
  • Prioritize dynamic channels of talent, such as talent communities, to fuel critical business endeavors. Real workforce agility is developed through dynamic outlets of talent that can be engaged in a real-time and on-demand way. Talent marketplaces and other digital staffing channels offer simple “search and select” functionality within their deep networks of expertise that allow organizations to build remote teams of appropriate and well-aligned skillsets for crucial corporate initiatives.
  • Develop a strategy to boost the impact of direct sourcing and talent pools. Direct sourcing emerged as a viable talent acquisition strategy within the United States several years ago (after more than a decade of massive adoption in Europe) allowing businesses to act as their own recruitment firms, saving dollars and time on talent engagement. In a post-pandemic world, direct sourcing can help businesses bypass traditional talent acquisition processes (which are often slower and more manual in nature than direct sourcing initiatives), nurture candidates in a meaningful way, and tap into top-tier skillsets as specific needs arise. Direct sourcing can also empower the enterprise brand and culture to attract candidates, a differentiating factor that can be incredibly effective way to attract top talent in competitive markets.
  • Continue to lean on the extended workforce to support business continuity and market competition. The year ahead brings a wealth of optimism to the world of work even though fears of a new coronavirus variant are sparking surges across the world. As such, the global market continues to face considerable risk as these emerging coronavirus variants, particularly Delta and Omicron, continue to raise concern. If the winter brings new surges, businesses will be able to replay the strategies of 2020 and adopt a flexible mindset towards its workforce; the agility inherent in the extended workforce will support (once again) business continuity and allow enterprises to remain competitive.
  • Rethink the application of core skillsets and expertise towards enterprise roles and projects. When markets shift, businesses must frequently pivot to new work models to get work done, survive challenging scenarios, and/or keep up with the demand for products and services. “Work models,” in this instance, are not limited to where work is performed (i.e., remote work or distributed teams), but also include the strategies that apply core employee and non-employee skillsets in a way that promotes flexible alignment between open roles/projects and available talent. In addition, the executive team should invest in upskilling and reskilling opportunities for its workforce to keep up in an age when digitization is a crux to relevancy.
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Key Providers for 2021: Toptal

Solution Providers by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Background:

Well before the pandemic, the agile workforce was a transformational way of getting work done. Businesses were afforded with on-demand means of engaging and sourcing top-tier expertise and skillsets without the laborious processes of old standing in the way. While talent marketplaces and digital staffing outlets aren’t necessarily new to the Future of Work scene, their value has never been more apparent in a business world that craves the dynamic value that the extended workforce brings to the contemporary organization.

Today, businesses require digital staffing channels that can connect businesses with highly-skilled talent in near-real-time, helping to build truly agile workforces that can support and augment the critical ways work is done. Talent marketplaces have experienced incredible (over 700%) growth over the past five years, due to their ability to plug-and-play extended talent directly into the enterprise whilst fully-aligning with the core elements of projects and positions.

Enter Toptal.

Why They Were Selected:

Future of Work Exchange research finds that the pandemic forced 75% of businesses to reimagine how they applied skillsets and expertise to core projects and initiatives given the many shifts happening within the greater world of work. Without access to traditional in-person hiring and requiring solutions that would augment workforce scalability, businesses turned to digital and on-demand staffing platforms to quickly channel top-tier talent into their organizations’ mission-critical endeavors.

The Toptal Enterprise solution is a multi-faceted, services-oriented offering that allows users a range of nimble talent engagement models; by building on its deep talent marketplace and talent community, Toptal has the ability to helps its clients in a variety of ways, leveraging the power of the solution’s network to fill short-term, single-use talent needs or build a fully-scalable team of distributed talent.

In Their Own Words:

Toptal LLC operates a curated network of highly skilled freelance talent with business, design, and technology expertise that allows companies to scale their teams on-demand. Founded in 2010, the company now has the world’s largest fully remote workforce. Toptal has served more than 10,000 clients with a global network of talent exceeding 6,000 people in 100+ countries. For more information, please visit Toptal.com.

The Outlook:

By offering one of the market’s deepest and strongest talent networks through a mix of concierge-like, high-touch services and a client model that drives workforce agility, Toptal is well-positioned to thrive in today’s evolving labor market. Businesses actively crave extended talent that can serve as dynamic responses to continued market challenges; Toptal’s long track record of success in delivering on-demand, top-shelf talent and expertise achieves that goal.

Toptal was an early pioneer in the remote work movement; the company itself operates within a remote infrastructure and has become the world’s largest fully-remote organization. This first-hand experience has allowed the solution to help clients achieve their talent-based goals in the ever-evolving remote and hybrid work workplace. The company even offers deep guidance and consulting to assist customers in building and developing truly agile and successful remote work environments.

Based on these unique advantages and offerings, Toptal is a talent marketplace solution that is tailored for the Future of Work movement.

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Here’s How Hybrid Work Can Be Successful in 2022

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsHR by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Last week, my father-in-law drove into downtown Boston for a doctor’s appointment. When I spoke to him later that evening, he said, “Chris, thank goodness you don’t have to drive into the city everyday. Took me almost 90 minutes each way.” (We live in the southern suburbs that are ordinarily only 45 minutes away from the city without traffic.) I joked about not missing any of the multi-highway commutes into Boston, and said, “I’m definitely grateful,” understanding that I’ve been working in some type of remote or hybrid setup for the vast majority of my career.

For many others, though, the idea of remote or hybrid work has only been a reality for less than two years. And for their leaders, well, that’s a much different story.

There has been no bigger business-oriented discussion over the past 20+ months than remote and hybrid work. When the pandemic was in its infancy, many businesses were abruptly forced to close down physical locations and institute near-overnight contingency plans to support their workforce operating under remote conditions. For some, these plans went off without a hitch. For many others, however, the adaptation was bumpy.

While many of us had hoped COVID-19 would be in its eventual endemic form by now, new variants (hello, Omicron) are already portraying 2022 as yet another year that some semblance of uncertainty will remain within the business arena under pandemic conditions. If 2020 was a “shock to the system” and 2021 was a year of adapting to new ways of working, then 2022 must be the year that businesses truly develop Best-in-Class hybrid workplaces.

The biggest trick to hybrid work success in 2022 is, first and foremost, realizing that the past 20+ months were filled with ramifications due to the pandemic, but many of these transformational shifts were, in fact, Future of Work accelerants that forever shaped the ways work is done. And, there also needs to be a real understanding of the fundamental differences of remote work (full-time digital infrastructure) and hybrid work (remote work interspersed with in-office days). Going into 2022, businesses that anticipated a full return-to-office plan are quickly figuring out that hybrid workplaces make the most sense. Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that 72% of businesses are actively planning for the best fit between traditional, in-person structures and remote work, proving that the majority of enterprises understand that hybrid work will become the norm (if it already hasn’t) in 2022 and beyond.

We’re entering year three of a global pandemic and hybrid work is a reality. How businesses tackle this arena in the coming months will ultimately depend on the strategy’s ultimate success:

  • There’s no “return to normal,” so let’s just accept it. Seriously, just accept it! That’s the recommendation. Hybrid and remote work are both here to stay.
  • Rethink how core teams operate and allow them to develop their own best ways of getting work done. Blanket recommendations aren’t going to work for those teams that know their functions better than their executive leaders do. We’re already in the midst of 2022 planning, so each team should be taking this time before the holidays to develop a plan for the year ahead that takes into account the access they need to systems, technology, and, most importantly, each other. Cross-enterprise mandates may work for businesses in which the vast, vast majority of workers are operating in a similar field, however, many businesses leverage dynamic teams that can and will benefit from a workplace structure that aligns well with the work they need to do.
  • Work-life integration can, should, and will be the norm. A play on work-life “balance,” work-life integration is a much better concept for today’s workers that actively experience the unpleasant mixing of work and home life constantly throughout the day (and night). Hybrid work is only successful if leaders cultivate a (digital) workplace environment that encourages workers to take time for themselves and focus on mental wellbeing. How many of us are routinely answering emails after midnight? And, how many of us find ourselves glancing at our laptop screens at the same time we’re cooking dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets for the kids? When there are no physical boundaries, workers sometimes feel as if they should work more hours because of the easy access to their devices. However, burnout is still very much a reality for too many professionals; business leaders have to ensure that their remote staff can regulate work-life integration in such a way that they are happy, productive, and well-rested.
  • Set workers up for success by giving them the tools, software, hardware, and emotional support they need to thrive. I can remember, during my early industry analyst years, running into a problem with my laptop. A quick walk over to the IT lead’s desk combined with a short wait, and, boom, problem solved. Many workers rely on this speed of service and support when our technology or hardware isn’t working properly (after all, IT is always there to help). At home, though? Software issues take considerably longer, while hardware issues can be catastrophic. Business leaders must ensure that their remote workforce has the necessary, up-to-date equipment to work productively at home. Also of note: the empathy factor. Working from home is not as glamorous as it seems if there are young children around or if workers are dealing with personal or health issues. Empathy-led leadership is just as critical in a virtual environment as it is in an in-person one.
  • Less time in the office does not mean more video calls and meetings. Check-ins are critical, so are one-on-one video calls between leaders and their staff. A constant stream of meetings and conferences, however, can drain productivity. Many businesses attempt to overcompensate for the lack of physical proximity by plugging more virtual conferences on the calendars, often unaware that a worker spending half (or more) of their day on camera or on conference calls. Leaders must whittle down the gatherings and get to the core of collaboration for the sake of productivity and time.
  • Hybrid work strategies should place flexibility at the core. As we wrote last week: expect the unexpected. There are both encouraging and ominous signs developing around the Omicron variant; whichever way this shakes out, though, business leaders must engage agility and push forward in a dynamic manner. A winter surge of cases could be around the corner, or, (hopefully) not. Planning for either scenario is what will drive success around any hybrid work strategy. After all, health and safety are more important than a simple edict to bring workers back to the office.
  • Position hybrid work as more than just a workplace strategy. Some talking-head executives have publicly proclaimed that their businesses are “office culture, first and foremost” and that remote or hybrid work doesn’t make sense. There’s no stopping that type of thinking, however, tell the talented individuals out there that would work for your organization if you had flexible workplace options. The Great Resignation is happening for many reasons, and one crucial attribute of this “Big Quit” is that businesses are not offering flexible conditions after 20 months of experiencing (first-hand, mind you) that they are attractive to top-tier talent. The hybrid workplace (and remote work, for that matter) opens up new channels of talent and expertise…a factor which shouldn’t go unnoticed in a continued war for skillsets.

There’s much more to the hybrid work story in 2022 than just the above thoughts. Business leaders must be aware of the benefits of remote and hybrid work beyond the obvious necessities regarding the pandemic’s ramifications. There are data security and intellectual property concerns, as well, which must be accounted for. Questions remain regarding insurance concerning the workforce. However, at the core, the hybrid work model is what will allow businesses to continue thriving and being agile in the face of an evolving arena.

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“Talent Sustainability” Is the Next Great Workforce Strategy

Business LeadershipDirect SourcingHRTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

It’s not easy out there for hiring managers, HR executives, and talent acquisition leaders. Besides both the personal and professional panic over the Omicron variant (even though we’re still in the throes of Delta’s continued rampage), these roles must consistently battle the ramifications of the so-called “Big Quit,” aka “The Great Resignation,” and otherwise known as “The Great Reassessment,” etc. Around these parts, we understand it’s instead a “talent revolution.”

There have been many theories, approaches, and strategies proposed that could curb some of the effects of The Great Resignation, but even now, there is no cure-all series of processes that can outright solve all of the current talent issues that are plaguing organizations across the world. And, to be honest, having more and more attributes of the traditional employer-employee relationship shifting towards the worker in regards to “power” is something that has been a long time coming. Aspects such as flexibility, empathy, better working conditions, and more inclusive workplace environments are all now table stakes for the modern-day workforce.

One of the key facets of the Future of Work movement in 2021 (and even more so in 2022) is the enterprise’s renewed focus on its human capital and overall depth of skillsets across the greater organization (as 62% of organizations are prioritizing right now, according to Future of Work Exchange research). So many major workforce shifts over the past two years, including the overall desire for real business and workforce agility, mean that enterprises must reimagine how roles, jobs, and projects are executed over the short- and long-term, given the natural progression of market, economic, and corporate factors (not to mention the ongoing uncertainty regarding a true end of the pandemic in the United States and across the world).

In 2022, enterprises must build towards “talent sustainability.” The concept of talent sustainability revolves around the idea that businesses can, through their workforce solutions (such as extended workforce technology, VMS, etc.), direct sourcing channels, and both private and public talent communities, build self-sustaining outlets of talent that 1) map to evolving skills requirements across the enterprise given product development and the progression of the greater organization, 2) reflect existing expertise and skillsets across the enterprise that can be leveraged for real-time utilization, and, 3) allow hiring managers and other talent-led executives to leverage nurture and candidate experience strategies to ensure that all networked workers are amiable and open to reengagement for new and/or continued projects and initiatives.

There are, of course, several caveats to a true talent sustainability strategy that represent several key innovations and forward-thinking ideas. These items, listed below, all meaningfully contribute to this progressive approach:

  • A workforce management “system of record” (i.e., VMS, extended workforce platform, etc.) that can blend both non-employee and FTE data to generate true “total talent intelligence.”
  • Access to on-demand talent communities and talent pools via both direct sourcing platforms and talent marketplace solutions.
  • An artificial intelligence-led architecture that augments and transfers the mobility of talent to where it is needed most.
  • Machine learning- and AI-led candidate assessment, skills validation, and talent fraud prevention.
  • A robust DE&I initiative that prioritizes both diverse hiring and inclusive workplace culture.
  • A major emphasis on the depth of skillsets, expertise, and human capital available across the greater organization.
  • Creating a “culture of learning and development” (via upskilling and reskilling opportunities) help the organization hedge against future skill gaps.
  • Joint collaboration between HR and procurement to facilitate total talent management-like capabilities, and;
  • Deeper automation of recruitment marketing, referral management, and other facets of direct sourcing to expand talent pools.

Businesses do not want to be caught off-guard when they have a critical need for specific skills, especially in an era when the vaunted “war for talent” rages on at a level never seen before in workforce management history. The Future of Work is many things, and, talent sustainability is becoming one of its most crucial elements.

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Let’s Not Forget About Contingent Workforce Management (CWM)

Contingent WorkforceTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The extended workforce has revolutionized the ways work gets done, giving businesses an opportunity to react dynamically to real-world problems and challenges while leaning on an agile network of top-tier skillsets and expertise. Future of Work Exchange research has consistently found that enterprises drive incredible value from the utilization of the extended workforce, especially in the face of a continued global pandemic that has reinforced the need for flexible talent, the ability to scale staff, and align mission-critical projects with all-world expertise.

Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange define the extended workforce as “the evolution of contingent labor and accounts for major transformations and talent shifts happening in today’s world of work and talent. The extended workforce’s strategic value and impact are driven by the utilization of contractors, freelancers, gig workers, talent pool candidates, professional services, and other forms of non-employee talent, and is enabled by innovation within talent acquisition (such as digital staffing, direct sourcing, and talent marketplaces).”

There’s a big piece of the extended workforce value proposition that cannot be ignored: contingent workforce management (CWM). The extended workforce represents evolution and progression, and CWM reinforces the need to apply both tactical and strategic capabilities, as well as the right technology, to drive many layers of value from this growing bucket of talent (which now represents nearly 47% of the average company’s total talent).

The non-employee workforce represents something entirely different than it did years ago. Today’s non-employee talent is a core element to organizational success, enabling businesses with the level of workforce agility required to become more dynamic in response customer, competitor, and market actions. With nearly half of the total workforce considered contingent in some sense, it is incumbent upon businesses to drive maximum value from their extended workforce. Ignoring this area of talent is essentially ignoring almost half of the people running the enterprise – executives that ignore the extended workforce in 2021 are guilty of human capital management malpractice.

There are several nuances to contingent workforce management in 2021, some of which are progressive concepts that reinforce the shifting links between talent and the way work is addressed and done. Other distinctions inherent in today’s extended workforce are direct ramifications of a challenging 2020 and reflect the major shifts in 1) how enterprises now perceive their skillsets and expertise, 2) how these workers support mission-critical projects and initiatives, and 3) how the impact of crucial changes (societal changes, progression of technology, etc.) in the talent acquisition arena will continue to transform how work is done.

In 2021, the average business is actively addressing critical organizational endeavors with a variety of non-employee skillsets and talent, choosing to converge their traditional full-time workers with the unique expertise inherent in the extended talent pool. Future of Work Exchange research finds that the typical business, however, must leverage a series of tool, solutions, and strategies to derive the true value of this workforce:

  • Contingent workforce management practices have long followed a robust blend of technology, process, and strategy orientation that is marked by efficiencies across the end-to-end spectrum of talent and work. Best-in-Class programs are built on core capabilities that drive consistent talent acquisition approaches, proper optimization of talent channels and sources, and cross-functional coordination between key internal stakeholders.
  • Technology and innovation are central to the Future of Work movement. As businesses transform the way they engage and leverage talent, and as they undergo major shifts in work optimization, automation will be the ultimate linchpin for these strategies. Best-in-Class organizations are actively relying on several key technology platforms to better engage talent, enhance workforce management, and drive flexibility and agility, such as VMS platforms, extended workforce solutions, digital and on-demand staffing, MSPs, and direct sourcing technology.
  • Eighty-two percent (82%) of Best-in-Class enterprises have integrated SOW management and services procurement into their core CWM programs, a fact that reinforces the need for businesses to effectively track, monitor, and manage all elements of their extended workforce (not just the contingent laborers). Often augmented by VMS or extended workforce solutions, Best-in-Class businesses have integrated capabilities into their programs that include resource-tracking, milestone and delivery date visibility, full sourcing and bidding processes, and other processes required to manage what is often considered the largest chunk of non-employee workforce spend.

In looking at the role of the extended workforce, the key to success is multifaceted and wide-spanning: embrace the evolution of talent, tap into both traditional and progressive platforms, and leverage next-generation strategies to best align the workplace environment with the ideal-fit talent and skillsets. Top-performing organizations are leading the next era of work optimization because they are actively adapting to the major shifts in the talent and work arena while also cultivating a culture of agility and flexibility.

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How Will Omicron Impact the World of Business?

Business LeadershipGeneral Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Stop me if you’ve heard the story before: the world is seemingly out of the clutches of an easily-transmissible variant of the novel coronavirus, there is talk from epidemiologists regarding the continued efficacy of vaccines against severe disease, and we begin to think the pandemic is beginning its endgame…but then, a new variant of concern pops up, disrupts both real-world plans and our overall hopes, and we’re left wondering if we’re on the verge of yet another wave of COVID that will upend any plans for a return to normalcy.

Over the past several days, a new variant of the novel coronavirus came to light. The Omicron variant reflects two- or three-times the spike protein mutations that its now-infamous cousin, Delta, brought to the world over the past five or six months, and many questions remain regarding the possibility of the variant’s ability to escape vaccine- or infection-led immunity, as well as its transmissibility factor (in what seems like forever ago, the once-dominant Alpha variant was more transmissible than the original lineage of the virus, while Delta’s rampage was largely a result of its increase transmissibility combined with waning vaccine immunity).

For those of you that are interested in learning more about the ongoing pandemic from a virologist’s perspective (truthfully, it’s quite refreshing to read the analysis of a scientific professional when making business predictions), I suggest you check out Dr. Jon Skylar’s “COVID Transmissions,” which are released several times a week. Yesterday’s edition featured these thoughts regarding Omicron:

For right now, I think it is likely that vaccinated people are still well-protected. People who have received an additional booster dose are probably even better protected. If you have not gone out and gotten a booster, I would say that now is the time—provided your healthcare professional of choice agrees.

If you live in the US or Europe, Omicron is not currently the biggest COVID-19 threat you should worry about. People in the US should be concerned about Thanksgiving, upcoming holidays, and travel, which can spread the virus around the country. People in Europe should consider that there is already a lot of Delta variant SARS-CoV-2 causing a surge in cases in your continent, and that raging fire is a much more clear and present danger to you at this time. Other regions have their own unique problems, but I do not think there is currently any place where Omicron variant infections are the biggest pandemic-related worry. Most of these problems, however, can be addressed with ready availability and uptake of vaccines and boosters, and that’s what the world should continue to focus on.

So, what does it mean for the business arena? Well, the first thing to think of is that this tangle with a new variant isn’t the first rodeo for enterprises; we battled through Alpha and are currently contending with Delta, the latter of which will most likely contribute to higher case numbers due to last week’s Thanksgiving holiday. There are expectations that, if transmissibility of Omicron is even two- or three-times that of Delta, that it will become the predominant strain throughout the next several months. Does this portend a winter surge like 2020-2021? Most likely, and hopefully, not; an uptick of vaccinations and boosters will blunt a winter wave the size of what we collectively experienced last year.

However, we are seeing swift action from governmental agencies and a level of heightened concern from news sources. After the Delta variant ripped through the world in a short period of time, there is an expectation that more rigid measures will be taken to avoid an Omicron surge. International flights are banned to and from several countries, some states (like New York) are doubling-down on mask-wearing no matter vaccination status, and, the WHO (yesterday) stated that the global risk from the new variant was “very high.” Here’s how it could affect the business world in the weeks ahead:

  • Initial confusion over specific details (transmissibility, immunity response, etc.) will result in reinstatement of safety guidelines. Travel bans are the first step, and we’ve seen that in spades over the past several days. Epidemiologists have warned that such bans are not always foolproof, as a stealthy virus like this one is almost certainly already circulating in countries that have not yer publicly sequenced cases within their borders. Until there’s more information regarding its supposed increased transmissibility and the effect of vaccines on the variant, businesses will be awash in confusion and be forced to reinstate mask-wearing for all workers (even vaccinated ones) and other NPIs.
  • The consistent focus on “scalability” will be exacerbated. While it’ll take at least another week or two before there is more clarity on the variant’s health impact, business leaders must be prepared to scale their staffing up or down based on the colder months ahead. Many, many organizations battled with a winter last year that saw billions of dollars of lost productivity due to the first full cold-weather season in the pandemic. Hiring managers, talent acquisition leads, and HR execs should not necessarily be panicking, but at the very least ensure that talent communities and talent pools are primed for engagement until the uncertainty settles.
  • There are many, many unanswered questions regarding the impact of Omicron on the economy. The S&P experienced its worst day in nearly 10 months this past Friday, but was up 1.3% yesterday, mainly due to some reports that the Omicron causes mild symptoms in vaccinated and/or previously-infected persons. While this is a combination of anecdotal evidence and very small datasets, it is nonetheless an encouraging sign for the financial market. However, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies this afternoon regarding the impact of Omicron on the American economy, the very opposite could be true. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel stating that current vaccines could potentially “struggle” with the variant wasn’t helpful to Tuesday’s markets, either.
  • The criticality of “balance” should be at the forefront of every executive’s 2022 planning. Agility has been a way for businesses to both survive and thrive, while consistent and cautious planning is what businesses have long leveraged for the sake of preparedness. The two must converge together in order for the enterprise to weather a possible variant wave; business leaders should institute robust planning for 2022 as continued (i.e., continue planning as if we didn’t face a new variant) but have not just a “Plan B” in place, but rather a series of strategies that could be leveraged if we experience a repeat of last winter. Can return-to-office plans be altered quickly and without disruption? Does the IT infrastructure support a fast move to remote work? If sales execs and other internal stakeholders have resumed traveling, is there an alternative that could work in the name of safety? Business agility promotes real-time responses, while solid planning involves data, information, and intuition. The convergence of the two is the ideal way to meet whatever additional challenges the coronavirus throws our way.

This excellent article at Medscape takes a data-driven approach and reconfirms some elements of the concern while also offering some reassuring evidence. But, the bottom line is this: there’s a couple of more weeks of panic, pondering, concern, and anxiety until the CDC and other agencies better understand the transmissibility and immunity-effect factors. A waiting game, yes, but a critical one.

Regarding the business arena, there’s a generic response, here, as well, that’s worth mentioning: expect the unexpected. Just six months ago, life seemed the most optimistic it had been since January 2020. The Delta variant upended most of those positive emotions and there’s always the possibility that Omicron can, as well. However, if there’s one lesson that we’ve learned since March 2020, it’s this: it’s not necessarily the unexpected scenarios we should be worrying about, but instead just how agile and nimble we can be to react dynamically in the face of whatever occurs over the next several months.

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