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Talent Acquisition

Getting Started With Skills-Based Hiring

EventsTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Future of Work Exchange has frequently discussed the advent of the skills-based organization, and rightfully so: Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that 73% of businesses currently face a critical challenge in the months ahead: a lack of candidates with the required skillsets for open positions. This is yet another representation of why the skills-based organization (SBO) is a true opportunity to, essentially, reimagine the ways they think about talent acquisition and the role of talent in getting work done.

The foundational elements of the skills-based organization revolve around the concepts of rethinking the parallels between talent and work; thus, the very future of the skills-based organization depends on forward-thinking strategies, ideas, and, of course, technology. And it all begins with skills-based hiring.

I’m excited to join my friend and fellow Future of Work expert Mark Brodsky on an exclusive Q&A panel discussion on Wednesday, March 15 at 11am ET. The staffing and recruitment expert panel, hosted by innovative skills intelligence platform Glider AI, will address:

  • Migrating from a job-based to a skills-based hiring strategy.
  • How to identify the required skills.
  • How to assess candidate skills.
  • Evaluating skills-based hiring tools and AI.
  • Uncovering hidden skills from current employees.
  • Securing executive and finance stakeholder alignment.

Next week’s event will also feature some brand new Future of Work Exchange research and statistics that will illuminate the criticality of the skills-based organization and its role in the evolving world of talent and work. Join us!

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The Continued Rise of the Extended Workforce

Contingent WorkforceTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

During The Great Recession of 2008-2009*, businesses faced a harsh reality: do more with less…or else face a reckoning. Tens of thousands of enterprises were forced to lay off swaths of their staff in the wake of rough financial times, with so many others undertaking additional cost-cutting measures beyond slashing their total headcount.

Many incredibly talented professionals found themselves out of a job, and many once-thriving organizations found themselves without the same level of expertise they once maintained. However, unlike recessions of past, an interesting event occurred: a bounce-happened quick enough that those very businesses required talent to meet a rising demand for their products and services. And, those professionals who were cut from their positions became open to flexible work and new working arrangements.

Enter the “perfect storm” that signaled a revolution.

In the months preceding The Great Recession, the average penetration rate of contingent labor hovered around 10%-to-12%. In the wake of those awful economic times, that penetration rate soared to nearly 17%. This meant that 17% of the average company’s total workforce was comprised of temporary workers, independent contractors, freelancers, and professional services-based labor.

In 2010, that number hit 20%. In 2011, it was nearly 23%. And so on, as demonstrated below:

The meteoric rise of the contingent workforce, what we now refer to as the “extended workforce” to encompass the agility, flexibility, and extended talent sources inherent in non-employee talent, has reached an apex of sorts. Today, in 2023, Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that 49% of the average company’s total workforce is comprised of external, extended talent.

Years ago, many of us (this author included) believed that there would be a day when half of the total workforce would be considered contingent or extended. And now, in February 2023, that day is here. The extended workforce has traversed beyond its origins as a mere augmentative staffing attribute and has become a powerful entity that has transformed the way businesses think about how they get work done. Back in 2008 and 2009, businesses flipped the notions of the contingent workforce on its head; what emerged from that period of time was the continued rise of this malleable workforce that has driven so much value to organizations across the world.

Today, the extended workforce is a foundational element of the business arena. And the reasons are plentiful, including:

  • The rules of hiring have changed. Years ago, staffing suppliers represented the vast bulk of contingent hiring. Today, that is no longer the case. In the age of omni-channel talent acquisition, enterprises are enabled with a variety of candidate sources that can be converged to drive real-time skills alignment, on-demand hiring, and enhanced visibility into deeper attributes of candidates. While traditional staffing suppliers are still a critical piece of the contingent workforce, the “omni-channel experience” represents a new era in which enterprises can expand their talent searches through the advent of innovation, direct sourcing automation, new candidate channels, and next-generation and AI-fueled technology.
  • “Optimization” translates into agile talent strategies. Business agility is not a new concept, and certainly wasn’t considered so when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted, well, pretty much everything. In the wake of “doing more with less” yet again, as well as the fallout from having to continually realign hiring strategies with the actual, real-time demands for products and services, businesses found that workforce optimization provided a linear and effective pathway towards true enterprise agility. This entailed optimizing the mix of internal and external talent in such a way that the greater organization benefits from the best-aligned skillsets and expertise being leveraged to get work done efficiently and productively by maximizing the total talent pool.
  • The skills-based organization requires a robust connection to the extended workforce. We’ve talked about the skills-based organization here at the Exchange for quite some time (even earlier this month). The foundational elements of the skills-based organization revolve around the concepts of rethinking the parallels between talent and work, which, essentially represents a skills-oriented focus in which expertise is the nexus of hiring rather than costs, budgets, etc. The extended workforce plays a vital role in SBO-driven concepts, particularly when thinking about the depth of skills, expertise, and relevant experience across all open channels of talent, be it talent marketplaces, talent pools, talent communities, freelancer networks, traditional employees, etc.
  • Hybrid workplaces have influenced hiring strategies. When the pandemic hit, businesses across the world were forced to shift into fully-remote or hybrid-led workplace models. Along with the natural acceleration of remote work as a pandemic by-product came a shift in how enterprises structured hiring strategies. Looking beyond the backyard allowed organizations to think more expansively, finding workers and candidates from across the world with the skillsets they desired. The extended workforce and remote work often go hand-in-hand, and this new thinking towards hiring is a major reason why it continues to grow and continues have such an incredible impact.

The ultimate growth and value of the extended workforce shows no signs of slowing as its nears a 15-year pace of increasing utilization. In today’s Future of Work-driven business climate, the extended workforce is a powerful mainstay that contributes to and facilitates real enterprise agility.

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The Recession-Ready Enterprise

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceDirect SourcingGeneral InsightsTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by John Yuva on

There has been great debate in recent months about a recession. Are we already in a recession? If a recession occurs, will it be light or something more impactful? Or will the economy be resilient and avoid a recession entirely? Enterprises in technology and media industries are already reacting to recession fears by laying off tens of thousands of workers. As we move through the first quarter of 2023, how could a recession impact the extended workforce?

Business As Usual

There’s no doubt we’re experiencing challenging economic times. However, businesses must continue with mission-critical projects and initiatives that often require specialized expertise. The skills gap remains inherent in many enterprises, leading to continued demand for contingent workers. And as the Future of Work Exchange research indicates, 47.5% of the enterprise workforce is comprised of extended workers. That figure cannot be ignored, especially during times of economic distress.

Digitization Evolution and Workforce Mercenaries

Despite the recessionary climate, there is an enterprise evolution occurring: digitization. Whether it’s talent acquisition platforms, accounts payable solutions, or larger enterprise resource planning systems, businesses are transforming from tactical (manual) to strategic (digital) strategies across the operational landscape. And with digitization comes the extended workforce.

As more enterprises pursue digitization, mission-critical hyper-specific skillsets and expertise are not only preferred but required. Transforming into the digital era means companies are implementing new technologies that leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and other Industry 4.0 automation. Enterprise integration of these technologies requires specific skill sets and competencies that are often outside the capabilities of existing permanent employees.

Hiring full-time employees for digitization projects and initiatives does not make fiscal sense (particularly during a recession) unless the role is a data analyst or scientist critical to interpreting daily analytical outputs. Otherwise, contingent workers specializing in digital transformation integration and implementation are the ideal choices — aligning contractual agreements with workforce budgets. Hyper-skilled talent is the future for enterprises expanding their product and service offerings through automation.

Supply chain and procurement are fields that employ hyper-skilled talent. Enterprises will hire a chief procurement officer to transform the procurement department through digitization and eliminate manual processes. A timeline may last two years, but once the project is complete, the individual seeks out other organizations with transformation as a critical initiative. These types of workforce mercenaries are much more abundant today than a decade ago. Their sole purpose is the execution of strategically detailed operational initiatives to elevate the enterprise competitively before taking on a new assignment elsewhere.

Sourcing such talent is already available to many organizations through workforce platforms and processes.

The Recession-Ready Enterprise

Direct sourcing and talent marketplaces are now table stakes for enterprise competitiveness. The use of these channels is necessary to source extended workers and hyper-skilled talent with current, specialized competencies. Recent Future of Work Exchange research found that 82% of businesses utilized more extended talent in 2022 than in 2021. During a recession, organizations can specify specific hours for extended workers who are already accustomed to flexible schedules or defined project timelines.

The workforce mercenary is likely to find an abundance of opportunities in a recession with 73% of businesses planning to divert external talent to mission-critical type initiatives and projects over the next six months. This is a clear sign that organizations are taking a more proactive stance against a possible recession than in the past. It appears quite possible that talent acquisition strategies will also shift during a recessionary period as the extended workforce closes critical skill gaps.

Enterprises with the ability to scale their extended workforce before, during, and after a recession are best positioned to weather an economic downturn. Seek workforce mercenaries for those transformational initiatives, while leveraging external talent for skills gap challenges. It’s a critical balance, but one that separates the modern enterprise from those still operating at a tactical level.

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The Skills-Based Organization and the Staffing Outlook for 2023

Contingent WorkforceDiversity and InclusionTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

There’s no question that the world of staffing has entered yet another period of uncertainty. Besieged by the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic and then, thankfully, amped by a greater need for workforce flexibility and an increased utilization of contingent workers, the staffing arena faces a watershed year ahead.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has discovered that 82% of businesses leveraged more extended talent in 2022 than 2021, proving that:

  • The extended workforce’s great bump in utilization wasn’t just an anomaly due to the pandemic’s impact on fluctuating talent needs.
  • Non-employee talent remains a viable and strategic way to not just augment staff, but truly drive mission-critical endeavors with high-quality, top-tier skillsets and expertise, and;
  • With direct sourcing, AI-enabled hiring, and digital recruitment paving the way for the Future of Work movement, the realm of extended talent translates into an opportunity for businesses to thrive during even the most challenging of times.

Glider.ai is a Best-in-Class, next-generation artificial intelligence platform that has disrupted the staffing and recruitment technology markets. Glider AI’s unique talent intelligence platform provides its users with fully-automated tools to boost candidate assessment and allow hiring managers (and other talent management executives) to remotely execute deep, skill-based recruitment strategies with a robust layer of strength and rigor.

The solution recently polled over 130 staffing, recruiting, HR, and contingent workforce leaders on their intentions, challenges, and general perspectives on the talent arena.

Takeaway #1: Diversity Is, As It Should Be, A Critical Priority

Nearly 90% of executives in Glider’s research study state that initiatives related diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are a “medium-to-high” priority entering the new year. Of that figure, over 50% deemed it a high priority, proving an old mantra of the Future of the Work Exchange: a diverse talent community is the deepest talent community, especially as it pertains to the extended workforce.

While established diversity programs previously existed in many enterprises, the events and civil unrest of the past three years have driven many businesses to develop and communicate more purpose-driven goals which are linked to societal, economic, technological, and sustainable shifts. To achieve these goals, a large number of businesses are trying to harness the power of a diverse workforce. Glider’s new research study is a pure reflection of the modern enterprise’s 2023 commitment to DE&I in its hiring efforts for both full-time and temporary staff.

Takeaway #2: High-Tech or Low-Tech, It Doesn’t Matter: The Skills-Based Organization is King

Nearly 70% of businesses in the Glider study stated that high-tech and technical skills are currently a high priority for hiring and recruitment. Even though some of the world’s most massive tech brands, such as Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Meta (Facebook), Amazon, and Salesforce have executed mass layoffs in recent months (and in the case of Alphabet and Microsoft, literally just over the past two weeks), there is still a incredible need for professionals with high-tech skills.

Why? The answer is simple: we are living in a globalized and digitized world of work, in which digital transformation is an ongoing endeavor in nearly every enterprise, not to mention the overarching digital requirements in operating in a networked economy. Some of the highest-level talent in digital fields can only be found in the ranks of the extended workforce, which translates into the need for the average organization to devote more resources to enhancing contingent workforce management.

Too, the flip side of this equation isn’t even a counterbalance, as nearly 80% of organizations state that non-technical roles are a “medium-to-high” priority for businesses. Combined with the aforementioned high-tech stat and we can come to a direct conclusion: the skills-based organization is king.

In 2023, there will be many discussions around the concept of the skills-based organization. And this doesn’t just mean that businesses prioritize the skillsets they have within their ranks or within their talent pools or talent communities, but rather center the way they work around enterprises skillsets, expertise, and experience. By fractionalizing jobs/projects and segmenting the work from the workers, enterprises can more effectively align what needs to be done with the know-how required to address it.

Takeaway #3: Upskilling Remains a Key Focus for Businesses

The new Glider study found that 83% of enterprises placed a “medium-to-high” priority on upskilling as a means to engage top-tier candidates and retain top talent. This just reinforces the idea of the skills-based organization, as expertise has become the de-facto weapon in a skills-driven, digitized business arena. As enterprises to balance an ongoing pandemic, a looming recession, and an increasingly-globalized (and, of course, more competitive) market, skills become ever-so-critical.

Upcoming Future of Work Exchange research finds that nearly 70% of businesses are actively focused on engaging new and advanced skillsets in anticipation of digital transformation, further reinforcing the need to 1) upskill current workers (both FTEs and contingent) and 2) engage talented professionals that can make an immediate impact. The greater focus on upskilling (which is an entirely different entity than reskilling) is crucial for a variety of reasons, including:

  • The digital enterprise now requires progressive skillsets that are needed to thrive in an evolving world of work.
  • Upskilling is a ideal way for business leaders to combat extreme talent shortages by developing highly-skilled workers from within the organization, and;
  • It prepares enterprises to weather workforce disruptions (due to challenging economic conditions or other market events) and can serve as beneficial attribute of the company brand when developing new talent acquisition strategies.

Download Glider’s new research study and learn more about skills-based organizations and the state of staffing in 2023.

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A Time for Workforce Management Innovation

Direct SourcingSolution ProvidersTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Humans are what drive the Future of Work today. What it all comes down to, in essence, is that a business relies on its people to get work done, to survive, and to thrive. The workforce has undergone some seismic shifts over the past several years, from the rise of the extended workforce to non-employee talent becoming a source of real enterprise agility.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has discovered that 82% of businesses leveraged more contingent workers and sources of external talent in 2022 than in 2021, a powerful statistic that represents the relative power of the extended workforce, its overall value, and its impact on enterprise operations.

Considering that the specter of an economic recession lingers, as well as Year Four of the Pandemic That Will Not End, this means that now, more than ever before, businesses will require Best-in-Class strategies and solutions for engaging the best-fit, best-aligned talent, and, of course, managing it in a frictionless way.

What this means, of course, is that the workforce solutions market is what will set the tone for enterprises as they reimagine their outlook for 2023 and ensure that talent-fueled agility is the foundation for success in the year ahead.

The great news, though, is that this technology industry is abound with innovation. Heavyweight platforms like Beeline bring cutting-edge workforce management functionality and a talent-centric focus that will assist enterprises in achieving true total workforce management, while solutions such as Magnit seamlessly connect top-tier direct sourcing, services procurement, DE&I, total talent intelligence, and VMS technology under a frictionless platform approach. SAP Fieldglass continues to innovate around its idyllic blend of VMS, services procurement, and candidate management functionality, all of which are built on a foundation of high-powered analytics and intelligence offerings. Prosperix brings a truly unique “VMS network” vision to life through its next-generation solution, and VNDLY (a Workday company) converges procurement-centric solutions with the HR bliss of the Workday suite of technology. Coupa Software’s contingent workforce tool is an exemplary confluence of VMS technology, business spend management automation, and real-time talent visibility.

Technologies like Opptly are redefining talent acquisition via artificial intelligence-fueled functionality and dynamic candidate matching tools. LiveHire represents the convergence of deep direct sourcing, ATS, and CRM technology and real total talent management solutions. WorkLLama is a strong reflection of “Direct Sourcing 2.0,” in which robust, end-to-end workforce management technology catalyzes progressive candidate-focused functionality. HireGenics brings the power of enterprise brand management, “MSP 4.0” innovation, and diversity-led solutions to the direct sourcing arena. Worksuite (formerly Shortlist) continues to provide enterprises with an all-in-one, flexible platform that combines the power of VMS, digital staffing, and services procurement. HireArt’s unique approach converges workforce management functionality with forward-thinking talent curation, direct sourcing, and compliance management tools.

The realm of digital staffing is also actively contributing to the workforce innovation arena. Upwork, a giant in the talent marketplace solutions landscape, offers wide-scoping workforce management technology that is built on perhaps the world’s largest talent community. Toptal continues to revolutionize what “workforce agility” means to the modern business by enabling development of fully-scalable teams of top-tier, remote talent. The Mom Project’s continued evolution reflects their commitment to diverse talent acquisition, streamlined talent engagement operations, and Best-in-Class enterprise technology. Talmix leverages global talent intelligence and next-level automation to revamp the talent acquisition process.

Catalant‘s Expert Marketplace is more than a digital staffing solution, offering 80,000+ experts and freelancers in an enterprise platform that facilitates project-scoping, team management, payments, and compliance and risk management. GR8 People‘s innovative “Everyone Platform” is a stout, end-to-end tool that encompasses the best of recruitment technology, direct sourcing, ATS, and CRM that enables total talent management and a revolutionary candidate experience.

Artificial intelligence and next-level analytics are now front-and-center in the world of workforce management technology. HiredScore is an AI-fueled platform with “talent orchestration” technology that is perfectly-aligned with the evolving world of work’s need for real-time talent intelligence. Glider.ai continues to revolutionize candidate intelligence through assessment, interviewing, and engagement innovation.

With talent as the very nexus of the contemporary enterprise in 2023 and a linchpin to true business and workforce agility, organizations have access to the dynamic solutions that can transform talent acquisition, reimagine talent engagement, and spark next-generation workforce management.

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BEST OF 2022: Candidate-Centricity Should Be the Nexus of 2023 Hiring

HRTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

[The Future of Work Exchange will be back next week with all-new content and insights to kick off the new year. Until then, enjoy our “Best Of” series that revisits some of our most-read articles from 2022.]

Sometimes it can be incredibly taxing on our minds to configure the many, many ways the Future of Work influences the way we live, the way we work, and the ways those two intersect. From new technology and innovative platforms to conscious leadership and overall business transformation, the very notion of the “future of how we work” involves so many intricacies that it can make our collective heads spin.

However, in a vacuum, we have to look at the future (and, in this case, the very near future) and configure specific aspects of corporate operations in such a way that they align with the external forces now driving success…or failure.

Talent has become the top competitive differentiator in a market that is increasingly globalized, unpredictable, and disruptive. Businesses that source the best talent, utilize that talent to get work done effectively, and retain that talent are always going to be the ones that thrive in a business arena that is evolving at a breakneck clip.

We’ve witnessed (and, more importantly, experienced) the highs and lows of talent engagement, hiring, and talent acquisition over the past two-plus years: pandemic-led layoffs, the rise of workforce agility, The Great Resignation, The Great Resettling, quiet quitting, quiet firing, and worker empowerment. It’s surely been a roller-coaster for talent acquisition execs, hiring managers, HR leaders, and other executives that hold some responsibility for workforce management within the typical organization.

At the end of the day, however, all of these talent-led transformations lead to one conclusion that should form the foundation of talent acquisition strategies in 2023: a candidate-centric model is the best path forward, considering the risks of an economic recession, continued global disruptions from war and supply chain issues, and, critically, the ramifications of the “talent revolution” that businesses have experienced since March 2020.

There are many reasons why running a candidate-centric hiring model makes sense in the year ahead:

  • Workers are done with being overpowered by their managers and employers when it comes to poor working conditions and a lack of appreciation.
  • Talented professionals have undergone a mental transformation during pandemic times that have forced them to reevaluate the impact of “work” and “career paths” on their personal lives as humans, leading to a desire for more purposeful work.
  • Workers desire true flexibility, not just a free weekly lunch or a ping-pong table in the break room. The flexibility for personal care, child care, elder care, etc. is all-important in today’s workforce; professionals crave the ability to attend their children’s’ events or harness the real power of remote and hybrid work to ensure that they have a proper work-life integration.
  • Candidates have more choices than ever before, regardless of the state of today’s economy. Businesses must stand out from the pack and offer a truly emotionally-engaging experience for their potential workers that leaves a real impression; will candidates gain a sense of trust, as well as an understanding of workplace and corporate culture?
  • Building on the above attribute, candidates desire a seamless and frictionless experience when applying for a job, negotiating terms, and following through the onboarding process. These may seem like more tactical aspects than strategic, but they go a long way towards developing a positive candidate experience for potential workers.
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) is one of the most crucial elements of workforce management today. As frequently stated on the Future of Work Exchange Podcast, “A diverse talent pool is the deepest talent pool.” Candidates want to know that they will be part of a diverse workforce that also includes a truly inclusive workplace culture.

There’s more to developing a talent-oriented hiring strategy than just being committed to the candidate; enterprises must look to the aspects above and understand that, in a volatile labor market, they need to do so much more than they have ever done before to attract the best-fit, top-tier talent, skillsets, and expertise. The candidate experience is paramount and candidate-centricity hiring models are essential to thriving in 2023.

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Candidate-Centricity Should Be the Nexus of 2023 Hiring

HRTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Sometimes it can be incredibly taxing on our minds to configure the many, many ways the Future of Work influences the way we live, the way we work, and the ways those two intersect. From new technology and innovative platforms to conscious leadership and overall business transformation, the very notion of the “future of how we work” involves so many intricacies that it can make our collective heads spin.

However, in a vacuum, we have to look at the future (and, in this case, the very near future) and configure specific aspects of corporate operations in such a way that they align with the external forces now driving success…or failure.

Talent has become the top competitive differentiator in a market that is increasingly globalized, unpredictable, and disruptive. Businesses that source the best talent, utilize that talent to get work done effectively, and retain that talent are always going to be the ones that thrive in a business arena that is evolving at a breakneck clip.

We’ve witnessed (and, more importantly, experienced) the highs and lows of talent engagement, hiring, and talent acquisition over the past two-plus years: pandemic-led layoffs, the rise of workforce agility, The Great Resignation, The Great Resettling, quiet quitting, quiet firing, and worker empowerment. It’s surely been a roller-coaster for talent acquisition execs, hiring managers, HR leaders, and other executives that hold some responsibility for workforce management within the typical organization.

At the end of the day, however, all of these talent-led transformations lead to one conclusion that should form the foundation of talent acquisition strategies in 2023: a candidate-centric model is the best path forward, considering the risks of an economic recession, continued global disruptions from war and supply chain issues, and, critically, the ramifications of the “talent revolution” that businesses have experienced since March 2020.

There are many reasons why running a candidate-centric hiring model makes sense in the year ahead:

  • Workers are done with being overpowered by their managers and employers when it comes to poor working conditions and a lack of appreciation.
  • Talented professionals have undergone a mental transformation during pandemic times that have forced them to reevaluate the impact of “work” and “career paths” on their personal lives as humans, leading to a desire for more purposeful work.
  • Workers desire true flexibility, not just a free weekly lunch or a ping-pong table in the break room. The flexibility for personal care, child care, elder care, etc. is all-important in today’s workforce; professionals crave the ability to attend their children’s’ events or harness the real power of remote and hybrid work to ensure that they have a proper work-life integration.
  • Candidates have more choices than ever before, regardless of the state of today’s economy. Businesses must stand out from the pack and offer a truly emotionally-engaging experience for their potential workers that leaves a real impression; will candidates gain a sense of trust, as well as an understanding of workplace and corporate culture?
  • Building on the above attribute, candidates desire a seamless and frictionless experience when applying for a job, negotiating terms, and following through the onboarding process. These may seem like more tactical aspects than strategic, but they go a long way towards developing a positive candidate experience for potential workers.
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) is one of the most crucial elements of workforce management today. As frequently stated on the Future of Work Exchange Podcast, “A diverse talent pool is the deepest talent pool.” Candidates want to know that they will be part of a diverse workforce that also includes a truly inclusive workplace culture.

There’s more to developing a talent-oriented hiring strategy than just being committed to the candidate; enterprises must look to the aspects above and understand that, in a volatile labor market, they need to do so much more than they have ever done before to attract the best-fit, top-tier talent, skillsets, and expertise. The candidate experience is paramount and candidate-centricity hiring models are essential to thriving in 2023.

read more

The Third Thing You Must Know About The Future of Work

Business LeadershipDirect SourcingGeneral InsightsTalentTalent Acquisition by John Yuva on

The Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) and Ardent Partners recently hosted their complimentary webinar, The Five Things You MUST KNOW About the Future of Work, which discussed the critical capabilities that enterprises can unlock to truly optimize the way they address talent acquisition, extended workforce management, and, most importantly, work optimization.

Over the next five weeks, we’ll be recapping each of the five things discussed during the event.

In our third installment this week, we’ll be exploring the evolution of talent as a Future of Work centerpiece.

Talent and Talent Acquisition Transformed

To begin, the number three must-know about the Future of Work is the evolution of talent as a Future of Work centerpiece. When talking about the evolution of talent as part of the greater definition of the Future of Work, it goes back to how talent and talent acquisition are changing for the better. Major transformations are occurring, but talent helps make the world go round and helps businesses run. It provides a competitive advantage. Talent is the number one competitive differentiator from one organization to another. With the right talent in place, enterprises can do remarkable things.

The fact that talent engagement and talent acquisition have been evolving for some time, speaks volumes for how it has become the centerpiece for the Future of Work. Let’s look at digital staffing, which enables accelerated hiring. Enterprises can find the workers they need very quickly without making a phone call or sending an email to a staffing supplier.

The other link to this evolution is direct sourcing, which has come a long way over the past few years. Direct sourcing is a talent acquisition revolution, but is not a brand-new strategy (the idea of becoming one’s own recruitment agency was spearheaded 10 or 15 years ago). It’s certainly not a new concept, but according to the Future of Work Exchange and Ardent Partners research, it has become one of the number one priorities for businesses today.

Businesses have woken up to the value of direct sourcing. Business leaders enabled with a direct sourcing program and associated technologies have the ability to curate talent into a talent pool or talent community and then segment those workers into tiers by geography, skillset, and compensation, and quickly tap into that community when needed, resulting in true workforce scalability.

Grow the Candidate Experience

Thus, talent communities need to be fostered and nurtured. Businesses need to keep their talent engaged. So much is about the candidate experience, and enterprises should never get away from that. Always touch candidates with value, whether through emails or text messages. Use talent intelligence to know when the best time is to reach out to those in the talent community. This type of end-to-end program helps boost the quality of talent, speeds up talent acquisition and hiring, and improves the way talent is brought into the organization and redeployed in the future.

Again, regardless of the business function, the candidate experience is paramount when sourcing and hiring talent. There needs to be a level of culture-building that extends to clients and candidates and how they perceive the business. Consider how the brand is perceived, down to the colors of the company logo. Are those colors present on the career page and job portal? Do candidates know who the company is and what it stands for? Recognizing and knowing those things goes a long way in building rapport with candidates.

In addition, what is the overall talent experience when applying for a job? Is it easy to apply for a job and is there an assessment? What type of assessment is it? Can it be completed via a mobile app or laptop? Is the assessment aligned with the candidate’s skillsets and the job itself? Does a candidate know if the organization aligns with them from an individual perspective? All those aspects help build up an amazing candidate experience.

Purposeful Work Is Fundamental to the FOW

The other aspect pertaining to the evolution of talent is purposeful work, which will shape the future of the workforce. It is a non-technological component of the Future of Work.

For many, work is a paycheck that puts food on the table for their family, helps pay for their children’s college, and funds vacations and other extra expenses. The concept of purposeful work fits into the idea of what we are doing with our lives. Is there a purpose behind the work that we’re doing? If we’re spending 10 to 12 hours (including commuting) at our places of employment, are we doing something that satisfies us as humans?

Purposeful work has become a crucial way to think about talent and the workforce. People want their work to be purposeful, which causes many to reevaluate where they are in life. They question what they’re doing with their lives. How are they working? Whom are they working for? How do they fit into the Great Resignation, or more appropriately, the Great Resettling? Many workers were either displaced or left voluntarily but will eventually resettle in some way. They may be doing more purposeful work by starting their own business or becoming an entrepreneur. Some become freelancers or contractors to suit a more flexible lifestyle.

Whatever the reason, purposeful work is going to shape the future of the workforce. This is an area that the Future of Work Exchange will always remain incredibly bullish on because it is a fundamental piece as humans to want to have a purpose in how we work.

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The First Thing You Must Know About the Future of Work

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceDirect SourcingEventsGeneral InsightsTalentTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by John Yuva on

The Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) and Ardent Partners recently hosted their complimentary webinar, The Five Things You MUST KNOW About the Future of Work, which discussed the critical capabilities that enterprises can unlock to truly optimize the way they address talent acquisition, extended workforce management, and, most importantly, work optimization. Over the next five weeks, we’ll be recapping each of the five things discussed during the event. In our first installment this week, we’ll be diving into the evolution of talent and the ever-present phrase, “The Future of Work.”

The Evolution of Talent and Talent Acquisition

When it comes to the Future of Work, one of the first things to know is the evolution of talent and talent acquisition. And this idea of the “evolution of talent” can be ambiguous. Talent is always evolving and has been for a long time. The way that businesses perceive their talent is also evolving. And, the way that those businesses get connected to talent, and vice versa, continues to evolve. It’s also being innovated through technology and new strategies and new programs.

The fact is nearly half of our workforce today is comprised of extended workers or contingent workers. We have aspects like direct sourcing and digital staffing that are making it much easier for businesses to find the talent they need to get work done to address those mission-critical projects and fill the appropriate roles. FOWX and Ardent research has been focused historically on the extended workforce and contingent workforce, but we’re talking about all types of talent.

Thus, talent acquisition as a function and as a series of processes has also progressed. We need to consider aspects like the candidate experience, and the way that our culture and our brand attract new talent into our organization. Many business leaders think of the Future of Work as being centered around technology, revolving around the idea that technology drives the Future of Work. And we  wouldn’t necessarily disagree with that; technology is a critical piece. And for some aspects and attributes of the Future of Work, technology and innovation are the nexus of those areas.

Technology is a Future of Work Centerpiece

Talent and the growth of the extended workforce represent the first leg of the stool with such things as diversity and candidate experience, but also digital staffing, direct sourcing, online talent marketplaces, and core workforce management solutions (such as MSPs and VMS platforms) These technologies are helping us to redefine the way we think about work. We’re living in a world where even though we don’t want to hear the word “pandemic” anymore, the pandemic really did shape what we think about the Future of Work.

It’s really critical to think about aspects like remote work and the technologies that support a hybrid workplace and how we leverage digital workspaces, digitization, and the idea of the digital enterprise, all rolling up into this notion of digital transformation. New technology and innovation are not the totality of the Future of Work, but certainly a centerpiece of it. And when we look at the transformation of business leadership, we often juxtapose this with business transformation or business leadership transformation, as well. It is leadership that dictates strategy, it dictates vision, and it dictates culture. And by proxy, we transform the way business leadership manages itself, manages its workforce, and how it expands its power and control over the organization.

Thus, the transparent transformation of business leadership is really critical, and honestly has nothing to do with technology. It all revolves around aspects like conscious leadership, empathetic leadership, empathy at work, and flexibility — thinking about how we lead in very new and different ways. It’s turning on its head the idea that “the boss” is always this very strict person who’s known for rigidity in how he or she perceives and manages the workforce. Business leaders are transitioning to be more flexible in their thinking. When you combine all these aspects together, that’s the future of work and the view of the Future of Work Exchange and Ardent Partners as well.

Ever-Present Future of Work

Thus, the “Future of Work” phrase is ever-present. It’s everywhere. Back when our FOWX architect, Christopher J. Dwyer, started using this phrase in 2013/2014, there weren’t many others using it. Today, we see so many conferences named “The Future of Work” as well as many websites and research studies. But unlike a lot of phrases that are hot today, it’s anything but hype. It really is this idea of permanence. Much of the change that we’ve gone through as people, as leaders, as workers, and as businesses, it’s not hype…nor is it a fad. The Future of Work is permanence. It’s not going to fade from view.

Future of Work “accelerants” that were once seedlings to the world of work and talent are now table stakes. Remote work, for example, is not new. Many of us have been working in a remote or hybrid workplace for most of our careers. And there are many others who have done so, as well. But for some business leaders and workers, it’s a very new aspect of their daily work lives.

The “Future of Work” phrase is ubiquitous. It’s an omnipresent way of looking at the current and future state of work. We are now focused on how we can improve the way we get work done, the way we manage talent, the way we engage talent, and the way that we treat our workforce. But we’re also thinking about tomorrow and the ways we’re going to get work done depending on several factors, including the economy, politics, global markets, and other aspects that could change the business arena.

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The Future of Flexibility

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

“Flexibility” has become the de-facto, hot-button phrase to describe how the Future of Work should operate. However, if we dig deeper, the very notion of flexibility transcends the confines of remote and hybrid work.

Take a deep breath for a moment. Think about your current role before the pandemic. Now think about it in the throes of 2020 and 2021. Now think about your role today and how you’re working. Chances are there are some very stark differences between these three moments in time.

For one, the very modes of work have shifted tremendously over the past two-plus years. Those that worked remotely found the transition was easy: just stay the course. Those that already had a hybrid schedule understood how to change their mindsets while also transforming their leadership and collaborative styles. And for those in which remote work was a new concept, there were some growing pains.

As we sit more than halfway through 2022, there are more questions than answers in regard to the concepts of flexibility in the workforce, the workplace, and the work itself. While flexibility has become a core piece of our pandemic-era business lexicon, the truth is that there is so much more to the idea of flexibility than what we’ve experienced thus far:

  • Flexibility also translates into agile thinking regarding the makeup of our workforce. This doesn’t just mean that businesses should increase their utilization of non-employee talent (which, of course, has become a value-driver during these uncertain times), but rather dig deep into all available talent sources and develop a truly agile workforce. Talent marketplaces, digital staffing outlets, and direct sourcing strategies can all enhance the depth of current talent communities and ensure that businesses can be flexible when needed (market conditions, business issues, etc.).
  • Flexibility should cascade down into attributes such as purpose, work-life integration, etc. For far too long, being a “dedicated worker” meant a gold watch at the end of a very, very long tunnel. Now, in the wake of the biggest health crisis of our lifetime, talented professionals seek more from their jobs; the realm of “purpose” and “work-life integration” both translate into workers craving meaningful work that enables them with flexible hours, flexible projects, and a flexible model that allows for unplugged time, more task-oriented collaboration (rather than open-ended coordination), and the ability to reevaluate career paths more frequently.
  • Flexibility means reviewing workplace structures to provide a malleable foundation rather than a rigid “return-to-office” setup. If there’s anything we learned about the coronavirus behind COVID-19, it’s that it’s become an unpredictable harbinger of disease and disruption. Fall and winter surges fill hospitals over capacity, shutter public attractions, and force governments to reevaluate social safety and public health regulations. This all means that hardline, return-to-office planning should not only be canceled, but outright replaced by a flexible foundation that is based on science, the overall productivity of the organization, and what works best for the workforce. Too many business leaders believed that this far into the pandemic was the ideal time to bring workers back to physical locations, when they should have been experimenting with new models and assessing what was best for the business and the mental wellness of its talent.
  • Flexibility should apply to workforce technology and process automation, as well as data science and artificial intelligence. AI and data don’t need to be at the center of every single facet of the contemporary business, but it needs to be at the forefront of how businesses shape talent acquisition and address how work is done. Enterprises must understand the flexibility inherent in today’s crucial workforce and talent tools, like VMS, MSP, direct sourcing, and digital staffing, and tap into the modules that they may have ignored in months and years past. Requisition management and financial/administrative tools are table stakes, however, leveraging “deeper” functionality such as AI-led analytics, expansive candidate matching, candidate experience tools, talent community development, total talent intelligence, and digital recruitment are all incredible doorways into making workforce technology more flexible for an evolving business.
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