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Direct Sourcing

Best Practices for Direct Sourcing: Insights from Industry Leaders

When it comes to implementing and optimizing a direct sourcing program, the collective insights from industry veterans offer a roadmap rooted in experience, strategic foresight, and operational nuance. Across the board, one message rings clear: Success is not about checking a box, it’s about building a robust, thoughtful, and collaborative framework that aligns with broader organizational goals.

The following is based on a FOWX podcast (listen here) and sponsored by Worksuite, featuring host Christopher J. Dwyer, senior vice president of research at Ardent Partners and the managing director of the Future of Work Exchange, as well as a panel of industry experts from Opptly, Beeline, Raise, and Talent Solutions.

Start with Collaboration and Clarity

There must be emphasis on the importance of collaboration. With multiple stakeholders involved in most direct sourcing ecosystems — MSPs, curation providers, VMS platforms, tech partners, payroll providers, and clients themselves — navigating this complexity requires more than good intentions.

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Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

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Direct Sourcing: Moving Beyond the Buzzword into Strategic Workforce Value

Direct sourcing has only grown as a hot topic in the workforce management space. What began as a promising trend has now evolved into a proven practice — no longer just a buzzword but an integral part of modern talent strategies. The question facing organizations today is not whether direct sourcing has value, but how it can be effectively implemented and scaled for sustained impact. Leaders across the industry are aligning on the fact that, with the right approach, direct sourcing offers tangible, long-term benefits, particularly in building resilient, agile, and skills-focused talent ecosystems.

The following is based on a FOWX podcast (listen here) and sponsored by Worksuite, featuring host Christopher J. Dwyer, senior vice president of research at Ardent Partners and the managing director of the Future of Work Exchange, as well as a panel of industry experts from Opptly, Beeline, Raise, and Talent Solutions.

At its foundation, successful direct sourcing requires a comprehensive vision that captures all elements of the contingent workforce. This includes ensuring full visibility into contingent labor through vendor management systems (VMS) and managed service providers (MSP). Without this holistic view, companies risk making tactical decisions in a vacuum, limiting their ability to evolve workforce strategy. When organizations manage only a subset of their non-employee labor, they lose critical insight into how work is being done, and more importantly, how it should be sourced.

The rest of this article is available by subscription only.

Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

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Opptly’s Great Leap Into Skills Intelligence: The Foundation of Modern Talent Acquisition

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations are increasingly recognizing that traditional hiring approaches are insufficient. Forward-thinking enterprises are pivoting to skills-based hiring—a strategy that focuses on candidates’ actual capabilities and expertise rather than their credentials or work history (or, from a recruitment perspective, the mere superficial “match” between their history/portfolio and job prerequisites).

Skills-based hiring represents a fundamental shift in how companies identify, attract, and retain talent. By prioritizing demonstrable abilities over traditional proxies like education or previous job titles and roles, organizations can access wider talent pools, improve diversity efforts, and build more adaptable and agile workforces. This approach is particularly valuable in technology/IT, healthcare, manufacturing, marketing, and other fast-changing sectors where formal qualifications quickly become outdated, but practical skills remain essential.

At the heart of effective skills-based hiring lies skills intelligence—the comprehensive understanding of the specific capabilities required for success, both now and in the future. Skills intelligence essentially entails the mapping of the current skills landscape within an organization, identifying critical gaps, and developing strategies to address those gaps through targeted recruitment and development initiatives, including (but not limited to) direct sourcing, talent communities, and deeper extended workforce engagement.

Contemporary skills intelligence platforms leverage AI and machine learning to create detailed taxonomies that identify relationships between different skills, predict emerging skill requirements, and match candidates to positions based on capabilities rather than just work history. These platforms can analyze job descriptions, resumes, and performance data to create a dynamic, evolving picture of an organization’s skill needs and assets.

For enterprises implementing direct sourcing strategies—a strategic talent acquisition approach where organizations proactively identify, engage, and hire contingent workers through internal channels and talent pools and an in-house recruitment initiative—skills intelligence provides the critical foundation. It enables talent acquisition teams to clearly articulate requirements, efficiently screen candidates, and make deeper, data-driven hiring decisions. Without comprehensive visibility into workforce capabilities, direct sourcing programs may devolve into simple expense reduction initiatives rather than serving as powerful competitive differentiators that transform talent acquisition and deployment strategies.

Skills intelligence also supports other progressive talent strategies, such as internal mobility programs, reskilling initiatives, and the creation of talent marketplaces. By understanding the skills present in their current workforce, organizations can more effectively deploy their human capital, identify development opportunities, and build succession plans.

As automation and AI continue to transform work, skills intelligence becomes even more crucial. It helps organizations anticipate which roles might be automated, which new skills will become necessary, and how to prepare their workforce for coming changes. In this way, skills intelligence serves not just as a recruitment tool but as a cornerstone of organizational strategy and resilience.

The enterprises that thrive in the coming decade will be those that master skills intelligence and skills-based hiring—building workforces defined not by static qualifications but by adaptable, future-ready capabilities.

Artificial intelligence platform Opptly, which has transcended the arena of direct sourcing and talent acquisition technology to become a true “people intelligence” solution, recently launched its Skills Intelligence tool.

“Skills Intelligence represents a pivotal advancement in talent acquisition technology,” said Lori Hock, CEO of Opptly. “Organizations have long struggled with the complexity of matching talent to roles effectively. By harnessing the power of AI to analyze skills in real-time, we’re not just streamlining the hiring process – we’re fundamentally transforming how companies build and evolve their workforce. This platform empowers organizations to make data-driven decisions that ensure they’re not just filling positions, but building future-ready talent communities.”

A standout feature of the platform is its Job Taxonomy Analyzer, which addresses the complexities of skills data management in talent acquisition. This innovative tool can process multiple job descriptions simultaneously, analyze over 2,000 skills within a comprehensive taxonomy, and achieve up to 99% skills similarity scoring. Its unparalleled precision empowers hiring managers to make data-driven decisions, ensuring the right candidates are matched with the right opportunities.

Skills Intelligence also offers an array of functionalities designed to reshape hiring strategies. From lightning-fast skills analysis and bulk processing capabilities to advanced job family mapping and a robust skills database, the platform is tailored to meet the needs of talent acquisition leaders, contingent workforce program managers, and hiring teams. Its flexible input options allow users to process job descriptions and resumes seamlessly, while detailed reporting provides valuable insights across organizational groups.

Today’s hiring managers don’t have the time to sort through hundreds of resumes, hoping the right skills stand out,” said Craig Coe, SVP of Global Customer Success, Beeline. “With AI, it’s now possible to quickly surface candidates whose skills—both listed and inferred—match the requirements of the role. The result? Significant time savings and stronger engagement outcomes, as managers can focus on a smaller, more curated pool of qualified talent. Hiring managers need both speed and accuracy. AI delivers by quickly identifying candidates with the right skills—both stated and inferred—enabling faster, more precise hiring decisions.”

By incorporating generative AI, Skills Intelligence equips organizations with the tools to evaluate candidates effectively and ensure job descriptions align with current market demands. With features like automated job matching, skill gap identification, and updated job description generation, this platform redefines how companies approach recruitment, delivering a smarter and more strategic way to build their workforce.

Skills Intelligence bridges a crucial gap in talent acquisition, delivering actionable insights and enabling seamless collaboration between HR teams and hiring managers. Its ability to analyze resumes and job descriptions with precision ensures that hiring decisions are based on comprehensive, up-to-date information. By aligning job requirements with market demands and highlighting skills gaps, the platform supports organizations in building stronger, more agile workforces that are equipped to thrive in competitive industries.

Furthermore, Skills Intelligence empowers organizations to streamline hiring initiatives through automation and advanced analytics. Its integration capabilities allow for effortless synchronization with HR systems, reducing redundancies and ensuring consistency across all processes. With tools like the Job Taxonomy Analyzer and customizable job description library, the platform fosters greater efficiency and accuracy, positioning itself as a transformative force in modern recruitment strategies.

Since we started using Opptly Skills Intelligence, our conversations with clients about the value of skills-based hiring have taken on a life of their own,” said Raleen Gagnon, CEO of TalentEdgeAI. “Seeing where roles overlap and diverge based on the skills required creates a new level of understanding that can drive job descriptions, interview questions, and compensation strategy.  Having the ability to quickly compare roles and develop new job profiles makes every conversation as valuable as a white-boarding session!”

As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of a fast-evolving workforce landscape, Opptly’s Skills Intelligence tool emerges as a transformative solution that bridges gaps between talent acquisition, workforce planning, artificial intelligence, and organizational strategy. By leveraging advanced AI capabilities, companies can redefine their hiring processes, align workforce capabilities with future demands, and create agile, resilient teams that drive sustainable growth. Opptly’s great leap into the future represents a strategy that empowers organizations to build competitive, future-ready workforces in an increasingly skills-driven world.

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DEX and the Harnessing of Digital Tools

One of the defining characteristics of the Future of Work is digitization. With the growth of automation, generative AI, and large language models, it’s even clearer how technology is imperative to a cohesive and efficient workforce. What this means for the individual employee is more daily immersion in various technological platforms and solutions. For that to occur, upskilling will be a critical aspect for workers as they harness more advanced technologies to communicate, collaborate, and execute their roles. A term that continues to grow in importance is digital employee experience (DEX).

DEX is a term that describes worker effectiveness in using digital tools. DEX is a growing area as companies adopt more digital tools to augment their dispersed workforces. Companies want to ensure the tools they have integrated into the workplace are intuitive and enhance worker productivity.

The rest of this article is available by subscription only.

Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

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Part Two: Procurement 2025: BIG Trends and Predictions — A Future of Work Perspective

Did you miss Ardent Partners’ recent webinar, Procurement 2025: BIG Trends and Predictions, that delivered a series of insightful predictions designed to help procurement teams in all industries and regions focus on and prepare for what is important while remaining proactive and agile?

The session featured Ardent Partners’ Founder and Chief Research Officer, Andrew Bartolini, and Senior Vice President of Research, Christopher Dwyer, as well as experts from Ivalua and Beeline, as they explored trends and predictions that procurement teams in all sectors and regions can leverage to better prepare and strategize for what lies ahead in 2025.

As part of the webcast, Christopher Dwyer spoke about the trends and predictions within the Future of Work space.

In this two-part series, we provide some webcast highlights of that discussion and a link to the full event.

The Role of Data in Supplier Management and AI Transformation

With the increased focus on supplier management, the role of data has become more crucial than ever. Organizations are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to improve risk management, supplier performance, and overall procurement efficiency. However, AI is only as effective as the data it processes. A fundamental challenge that persists in supplier data management is the inconsistency and fragmentation of data across multiple systems. Organizations must prioritize creating a consolidated and accurate data foundation to maximize AI’s potential in supplier management.

The rest of this article is available by subscription only.

Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

read more

Part One: Procurement 2025: BIG Trends and Predictions — A Future of Work Perspective

Did you miss Ardent Partners’ recent webinar, Procurement 2025: BIG Trends and Predictions, that delivered a series of insightful predictions designed to help procurement teams in all industries and regions focus on and prepare for what is important while remaining proactive and agile?

The session featured Ardent Partners’ Founder and Chief Research Officer, Andrew Bartolini, and Senior Vice President of Research, Christopher Dwyer, as well as experts from Ivalua and Beeline, as they explored trends and predictions that procurement teams in all sectors and regions can leverage to better prepare and strategize for what lies ahead in 2025.

As part of the webcast, Christopher Dwyer spoke about the trends and predictions within the Future of Work space.

In this two-part series, we provide some webcast highlights of that discussion and a link to the full event.

Driving Forces in the Future of Work

The Future of Work is undergoing a transformative shift, driven by three major forces: the evolution of talent engagement, the advent of new technology, and a shift in business thinking. As organizations navigate this rapidly changing landscape, several key trends and predictions are emerging that will define workforce strategies in the years ahead.

The rest of this article is available by subscription only.

Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

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2025 Future of Work Trends and the Role of the MSP

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining Atrium and their Chief Revenue Officer, Brad Martin, for an exclusive webcast that not only focused on the trends that will shape the Future of Work and extended workforce in 2025, but also unveiled an “MSP playbook” for those enterprises currently leveraging Managed Service Provider offerings or those businesses seeking their next workforce solution. Check out an on-demand recording of the webinar below.

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Optimize Your CWM Strategy with AI

Artificial intelligence is becoming a permanent fixture as part of today’s enterprise operations and talent management approaches, serving as an essential technology for contingent workforce management (CWM) strategies that streamline candidate pairings with operational needs while increasing transparency of available skillsets and workforce contributions. Whether shoring up talent gaps or scaling needs, AI provides external workforce insights invaluable to HR and recruitment professionals and business leaders. The evolution of artificial intelligence will mean the emergence of more CWM opportunities.

Enterprises and HR executives who are not at least exploring the possibilities of AI’s impact on CWM will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage when sourcing talent and executing extended workforce strategies. Beeline stated that the “effects of AI in extended workforce management are just beginning and can be seen shaping how jobs are described, how candidates are evaluated, and how contracts are written. AI will soon be employed for more strategic outcomes like workforce planning, workforce optimization, and total workforce management.”

AI Paves Several Paths for CWM 

The rest of this article is available by subscription only.

Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

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Reimagining Contingent Workforce Management: A Strategic Imperative for 2025

If I ever want to show my age, all I need to say is this:

I’ve been in the contingent workforce and HR tech space for nearly 20 years.

Now, like most of the folks in our amazing industry, I got here by accident. While I love the CWM space and the many, many friends I’ve made along the way, I didn’t set out to be an in analyst in this arena when I was college. (No, I aspired to be a journalist, a conversation for another day…)

So, I say this seeing so many market-shifting events, including the “perfect storm” of the contingent workforce’s growth spike in 2008-2009, a “reawakening” during the pandemic, and today’s AI-driven, skills-based hiring arena:

The CW programs of today aren’t built for tomorrow….

The rest of this article is available by subscription only.

Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

thods within extended workforce management.

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The New Reality of Total Talent Management

Before you begin to scream, give me a few minutes here. I promise it’s worth it.

There are several phrases that send our industry into huffy-puffy overdrive and cause undue stress. However, no concept, idea, phrase, or whatever draws more scrutiny and frustration than “total talent management.”

Way back in 2012 (which seems like forever ago), I co-authored the industry’s very first paper on total talent management. Back then, with wide eyes and a dreamy attitude, I concluded that “total talent management should not just be a pipe dream for enterprises, but rather an accepted future state that will eventually become the foundation of all recruitment and talent acquisition strategies.”

Yeah, that “eventually” in there…let’s ignore it for a second.

Back then, the extended workforce comprised, on average, 25% of the average company’s total talent pool. Back then, solutions like RPO, MSP, VMS, etc. weren’t evolving or innovating as quickly as they are today. And, back then, we weren’t awash in new and exciting talent acquisition strategies (like skills-based hiring) that are representative of the changing times of a post-pandemic labor market.

So, flash-forward to 2025.

The rest of this article is available by subscription only.

Introducing a New Subscription Model

To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.

Click here to learn more.

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