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Talent Acquisition

What is the Future of Direct Sourcing?

Direct SourcingTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Businesses learned a harsh lesson in 2020: those that could not adapt to the major shifts in work optimization were the ones that could not survive months of extreme disruption. As 2021 careens towards its end, another new year is on the horizon, and businesses must prepare for perhaps the most critical period of their history given the direction of the economy and the labor market.

The shift towards “flexibility as the Future of Work” means that enterprises must execute in a more dynamic manner. The companies that thrived and continue to thrive are the organizations that understand and embrace 1) how they want to get work done, 2) the talent and technology needed to get that work done across both the short- and long-term, and 3) the proper balance between human and automation.

In looking at various perspectives in how work was transformed over the past 18 months, there is one strategic program that businesses seem to gravitate towards in convergence with the talent-led world in which we now live: direct sourcing.

Going into 2020, direct sourcing and talent pools were the #1 and #2 (respectively) priorities for businesses; even the most forward-looking organization could not imagine at that time just how critical a program it would be in the face of unprecedented change. Even the most basic direct sourcing programs drive table-stakes value to their owners through a combination of on-demand, plug-and-play talent and a level of hard cost savings. However, many attributes of the world of work and talent were fast-tracked over the past 18 months due to the most serious public health crisis of our lifetimes and its long-ranging ramifications across the scope of business, worker, and personal perspectives.

Direct sourcing went from being an additional way to find talent to a revolutionary means of tapping into the extended workforce to drive better business outcomes. As the business world continues to evolve, even in the throes of a “Great Resignation,” the lowest unemployment since the pandemic began, and “power” shifting to the worker, the continued transformation of talent engagement is now a standard. The question then becomes: How do businesses continue to respond in the wake of being forced to reimagine talent acquisition, human capital, and the agile workforce?

Direct Sourcing 2.0.

“Direct Sourcing 2.0” follows the next generation of direct sourcing strategies and is fundamentally rooted in the linkage between key technological arenas, a renewed focus on the candidate experience, a seamless connection between talent pools and the projects and roles that require specific expertise, and a retooled “hiring manager experience” that takes into account Future of Work-era innovation.

Why the shift to Direct Sourcing 2.0? Isn’t direct sourcing effective in its “1.0” version? Of course. Direct sourcing and its traditional phases (including talent curation, talent pool segmentation, integration into core recruitment streams, talent nurture, etc.) are driving increased value within those organizations that are currently leveraging standard programs. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t evolve. Take into account the major shifts in both business and candidate behavior over the 18 months, and, especially, over the past several months:

  • The “candidate experience” is far deeper than we ever imagined. It’s not just about ensuring that candidates have a positive experience when engaged, but rather extending that experience into areas such as when they are engaged, how they are engaged, the communication methods used for reach out, methods of onboarding and offboarding (seamless, digital, and virtual!), etc. Recruitment marketing automation, digitized referral campaigns, and a mobile-optimized means of communicating with hiring managers all contribute to the next great era of the candidate experience.
  • Hiring managers should be engaging and sourcing talent in a consumerized and enhanced manner for the sake of efficiency and quality. This doesn’t mean that we have to completely meld e-commerce technology with direct sourcing platforms, however, it does translate into taking into account just how effective existing processes are within the hiring managers’ total workload. The greater business must provide hiring managers with the necessary trust and education to ensure that these leaders are converging the company’s main goals and objectives with how they find, engage, and source talent (which will result in superior role-to-candidate matches). In addition, harnessing the power of next-gen direct sourcing automation, recruitment marketing technology, and similar solutions will boost the hiring manager experience.
  • Businesses must go “beyond the brand” and prove that they are fostering truly inclusive workplace cultures that resonate with candidates. An organization’s “brand” can be a powerful tool for direct sourcing; candidates tend to flock to those companies that align with their own beliefs and values. However, businesses must move beyond the brand and incorporate deeper elements of the organization in how it applies Direct Sourcing 2.0 strategies, including communicating its purpose and vision (and ensuring that it resonates with candidates) and how well its preferences in how work is done are broadcast to workers (fully-remote, hybrid, on-site, etc.). A purpose-driven organization wants to establish a more trustful relationship with its candidates, share its core cultural values with them (particularly on the DE&I front), and communicate how open it is to the attributes desired in today’s “Age of the Worker,” such as flexibility, career development opportunities, and the enablement of core skills growth.

Look for the Future of Work Exchange‘s upcoming Direct Sourcing 2.0 research study later this month.

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The Agile Workforce Runs on Talent Marketplaces and Talent Communities

Direct SourcingTalentTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Last year, Ardent Partners predicted that the global business landscape would experience a sharp uptick in the utilization of non-employee labor as a direct result of the pandemic’s sweeping impact on business and human interaction. Going into 2020, 43.5% of the average organization’s total workforce was considered “contingent.” In 2021, that number sits at nearly 47% and there are strong indications that this percentage will grow as the transformation of talent and work continues forward.

Additionally, 82% of all businesses state that the challenging times of 2020 created a bigger need for extended and non-employee talent. The past 12 months have clearly revealed that workforce scalability is an essential link to economic survival in the now-chaotic, hyper-competitive world of global business. Operationalizing that scalability is the very root of workforce agility, from which businesses can tap into talent pools, marketplaces, clouds, and communities to enhance the work done by the trusted FTE workers, and a range of services and other recruitment streams to build, in real time, a dynamic response to a crucial enterprise initiative. The contingent workforce has become the foundation of workforce scalability, and rightfully so: businesses that survived 2020 and look forward to thriving in the second half of 2021 are actively harnessing the dynamic power of the agile workforce to get work done.

In its upcoming Future of Work Exchange Report for 2021 research study, we discovered that Best-in-Class organizations (top-performing enterprises based on a series of key workforce, quality, visibility, etc. metrics) are 32% more likely to tap into digital staffing outlets for talent acquisition needs. These solutions, which typically include talent marketplaces and talent communities/clouds, offer vetted and high-quality talent for either general positions or specific verticals (such as light industrial, engineering, graphic design, coding, etc.). These offerings are often considered enterprise-grade solutions that facilitate real-time and on-demand talent engagement with independent, freelance, or contract workers via a web-based network or portal.

Talent marketplaces typically offer “white-glove” or high-touch talent management services (akin to Managed Service Providers) to help their clients source the best-fit talent for their project requirements as well as the automation of core workforce management processes (such as requisition management, talent pool development, and back-end financial operations). The utilization of talent marketplaces and digital staffing outlets has increased by over 700% over the past six years, according to our research.

Ardent Partners recently published a definitive guide to the digital staffing and talent marketplace solutions arena, the 2021 Digital Staffing Marketplaces Technology Advisor. Click here to register and download your copy today. This new report will assist executives and professionals understand this evolving solutions landscape and help them find, engage, and source top-tier talent and skillsets.

Download your copy of this critical new research study, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions regarding the new report, the digital staffing technology landscape, how to find the best-fit talent marketplace for your organization, etc.

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The Permanence of Workplace and Workforce Transformation

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsHRTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Around this time last year, there was a spirit of optimism that had been missing for over six months. The waning weeks of 2020’s winter brought disruption like never before, with the spring months forever etched into our minds as a period of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. The summer of 2020 brought a sliver of hope that coronavirus cases would recede in anticipation of a better fall. We unfortunately know how the story goes from there: inching cases from September through the end of November brought one of the globe biggest’s winter surge before millions of COVID vaccines were administered through the late weeks of winter 2021 and through the spring. And yes, now we’re living a Delta variant world, but there’s at least some science-led expectancy that its enhanced transmissibility will result in a shorter surge than the ones earlier in the year.

If we look back to last summer, though, for just a moment, there was an aura of variability that sparked a temporary wave of thinking in how businesses managed their workforce and structured their workplace environments. “At some point, hopefully soon, we’ll get back to normal.” We’ve been saying it for months since then, hoping that there will be some sort of signal that it’s okay to get back to full office, cluttered highways, and crowded meeting rooms. Maybe there’ll be a point in time when those carefree, pre-pandemic days will once again be a steadfast reality, right?

Wrong.

If there’s anything that we should be discussing now, it’s the permanence of transformation. The pandemic left an indelible mark on how we get work done, from the way we engage talent to the means of aligning skillsets with specific roles and projects. In our personal worlds, we think, act, and move differently. Even those of us who are vaccinated routinely wear masks in grocery stores and other crowded areas. While there will absolutely be a day that we can battle COVID as an endemic piece of our seasonal virus gauntlet (much like the flu or the common cold), the truth is that we are all different from the collective experience of the past 18 months, which will soon be “the past two years” and then the “past 36 months.” We’re looking at a future of on-and-off mask mandates, vaccine boosters, and “embers” of hotspots where inoculation is low. We’re standing up against a continued fight against a “goldilocks” of a virus that will be with us forever.

That modicum of permanence, that we’ve been fundamentally changed…why can’t we accept that in how we conduct business? Do we really think that there will be a day sometime soon when we throw out all of the productivity gains we’ve seen from a shift to remote work? What about the realization that businesses can effectively engage top-tier talent no matter the location? And is there a point in time when enterprises suddenly stop relying on the extended workforce?

Well, no, of course not. Which means that the evolution we’ve collectively experienced as business professionals over the past 18 months is permanent, a series of uniform changes to how we think about talent and how we think about how work gets done. Consider that:

  • Nearly half (47%) of the total workforce is considered “non-employee,” another sharp increase from the year before and likely a result of the workforce agility gained from tapping into this on-demand, top-tier talent.
  • 75% of businesses state that the pandemic forced them to reimagine how they apply skillsets to projects and how they structure their workforce.
  • 70% of enterprises believe that the extended workforce effectively allowed them to be more adaptive during the challenging times of 2020.
  • 82% of businesses expect worker flexibility and related issues (such as empathy) to permanently transform how work is done.

Look at how fast the past year-and-a-half went by and the major talent/work shifts during that time period: remote and hybrid work as fundamental layers of survival, executive leaders managing with empathy and flexibility, the agile workforce becoming even more of a tool for thriving in changing times, etc. Change can be relative in most cases, but today, it is certainly not. We’ve all collectively experienced change in our personal and professional lives, and now the permanence of workforce and workplace transformation needs to be embraced as the current and future state of work. Businesses that don’t adapt and don’t buy into the foundational revolution of change will not only be left behind, but may find themselves never being able to catch up. Everything that’s happened in the greater world of work and talent, be it the viability of hybrid work or the massive shift to worker flexibility, is part of a permanent fixture of change and progression.

Workers understand what’s at stake and it’s the main reason why resignations are at an all-time high in the scope of business history. Worker experience (what we call the “talent experience” here at FOWX) is paramount for career development and work/life balance. Flexibility has cascaded down into the very fabric of the workforce and will forever become a crucial piece of the overall talent experience.

Given the uptick in extended talent utilization, the workforce has changed. Given the uptick in remote and hybrid work, the workplace has changed. Given the requirements and criticality of flexibility and the employee experience, the worker has changed. Permanently.

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Talent Intelligence and the Future of Work: A Conversation With Joe Hanna, Chief Strategy Officer at Workforce Logiq

Contingent WorkforceHRSolution ProvidersTalentTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

In the world of talent and work, intelligence must be on every executive’s agenda. “Business intelligence” as a pure strategic asset has, for years, been a core objective for many an enterprise leader. In the workforce management arena, however, the realm of business intelligence traverses far beyond simple data and information regarding the organization’s current utilization of talent. The power of artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics, and other progress forms of business intelligence tools can support enterprises in their ultimate quest for true workforce agility.

Veteran Managed Service Provider (MSP) and Vendor Management System (VMS) provider Workforce Logiq has been one of the industry’s forerunners in regards to talent intelligence through its unique suite of offerings that power deeper workforce visibility. I had the opportunity to chat with the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, Joe Hanna, about the criticality of AI in the Future of Work, the strength of total talent intelligence, and the future of the agile workforce.

Christopher J. Dwyer: Joe, thanks for taking the time to speak with me. The last time you and I were in a public forum together, we were fresh off the heels of Workforce Logiq acquiring ENGAGE Talent. Safe to say that a lot has happened since then!

Joe Hanna: Thank you for having me, Chris. Workforce Logiq has certainly been busy since we last spoke, and we wouldn’t have it any other way! For starters, we’ve rolled out our proprietary Total Talent Intelligence platform® globally to the US, UK, Sweden, India, Germany, and France and have more geographic expansions planned throughout 2021.  And, you should know our platform is powered by the analytics, benchmarks, and insights delivered by what the ENGAGE team developed prior to – and after the acquisition by Workforce Logiq.

We’ve also innovated and developed several new offerings to help employers attract and retain talent during this transformative time for the industry. We launched IQ Talent DiversitySM, an AI-powered tool that enables organizations to build bigger pipelines of diverse talent faster by predicting candidates most likely to have diverse backgrounds. Employers can use the intelligence to drive progress toward their diversity and inclusion (D&I) goals and compare their company’s diversity hiring performance against industry, competitor, and national benchmarks.

To support companies through the shift to remote work and in making return to office decisions, we released our IQ Location Optimizer SM last summer. The solution enables data-driven decisions on the best markets from which to source talent and whether remote arrangements make sense for a given role.

We also recently teamed up with LinkUp to offer the market’s first 360-degree predictive view of both talent supply and demand. We’re very excited about this partnership because the unique picture gives employers deep, strategic insight into the competitiveness of specific markets that they can use to gain a tangible edge, especially as we continue to navigate through this period of ‘Great Resignation.’

Other updates include the release of our IQ Supplier Optimizer SM which marked our sixteenth patent filing, and IQ Rate Optimizer SM which benchmarks how much an organization needs to pay to attract and win contingent and full-time talent based on unique, company-specific factors.

CJD: Workforce Logiq is known for their innovation within the talent intelligence arena, something that is critical in today’s evolving world of work. Why is this such a differentiator?

JH: Today’s labor market is incredibly dynamic – and hyper-uncertain. One day can look drastically different from the next, especially during global shocks like COVID. Proactivity and the ability to make confident, fast, data-based decisions about talent are what sets companies apart and helps them build an optimal workforce to navigate the uncertainty. Leveraging predictive intelligence is what creates that differentiator for organizations so that they stay one – or multiple steps ahead of their competitors.

At Workforce Logiq we’re committed to delivering those advanced and predictive capabilities and continuously innovating to help our clients solve both today and tomorrow’s workforce management challenges. We’re able to do this because of our talented and dedicated data science and talent economist team. This team designed our existing sixteen patented and patent-pending innovations and built our Total Talent Intelligence platform®, which is the most complete, modular, and integrated workforce management technology solution on the market.

CJD: Exciting news about the exclusive data partnership with LinkUp! Tell us a little more about it.

JH: Absolutely! LinkUp’s proprietary demand data and analytics, which are a perfect complement to Workforce Logiq’s patented supply intelligence, now integrate directly into our Total Talent Intelligence® platform. This means that clients get the first 360-degree predictive view of both talent supply and demand within the labor market.

The alliance gives clients deep insight into the competitiveness of specific markets, the full-time and contingent roles competitors are actively looking for, the skills most in-demand, and more. It’s a major development that enables employers to uncover their biggest talent-related risks and opportunities, and equips them with even more data-driven insight to win the talent they need for an optimal workforce.

The partnership is mutually beneficial. LinkUp’s insights enhance our algorithms and enable our clients to make impactful and cost-effective talent decisions. LinkUp’s financial and capital market customers get special access to our anonymized volatility, job, skills, and company-level data which are based on one billion data points, 40,000 sources, and analytics on over 19 million global companies. This puts them in an even better position to drive forward their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies.

We chose to partner with LinkUp because their mission around predictive intelligence aligns very well with our own, and unlike other job search engines, LinkUp is the only to index jobs solely posted by companies on their own websites. This makes LinkUp the highest quality index of global job postings on the market.

CJD: “Workforce agility” has become paramount, especially in a business world that relies on on-demand data to make more educated, real-time talent decisions. How can Workforce Logiq clients tap into your multiple intelligence-led offerings to become more agile?

JH: All our offerings are built to give employers the real-time and forward-looking insight they need to be agile. Having predictive data and insights at your fingertips is key for making smart decisions quickly and acting confidently under pressure.

Consider the current ‘Great Resignation’ trend that is impacting all sectors. Navigating this dramatic increase in resignations means quickly winning over external candidates who are eager to make a move, while simultaneously identifying and getting out in front of internal retention issues.

From a talent acquisition perspective, our predictive tools identify the best markets to look for new talent and competitors’ employees open to jumping jobs so that employers can sustain a strong talent pipeline and fill future skills gaps. On the retention side, our algorithms surface insight on employees most at risk of quitting and why they might be inclined to resign by identifying the workplace attributes most important to these workers. This enables employers to proactively address attrition before it impacts the business.

This is just one powerful example of how technology can help organizations be agile, resilient, and equipped with an optimal workforce.

CJD: Do you feel that the LinkUp partnership is a seismic event for our industry? The Managed Service Provider (MSP) model has evolved so much over the past few years.

JH: Yes, we consider this partnership a significant industry development. The truly unique combination of predictive talent supply and demand intelligence gives Workforce Logiq expert advisors even better and more strategic insights to help clients with their recruitment and retention strategies.

The MSP-client relationship is significantly evolving. Providers are increasingly stepping up to help clients through the fundamentally changing talent landscape. Workforce Logiq is committed to developing our technology and service offerings in the ways that best support our global clients and help them meet their goals, whether that’s navigating the hybrid work transition, building rich and diverse talent pipelines, optimizing candidate searches, or another strategic imperative.

CJD: What does the Future of Work look like over the second half of 2021? What’s in store for the greater world of talent and work?

JH: We expect more workers to be receptive to changing jobs and unsolicited recruiting calls well into the Fall. Data from our recent benchmark flash report shows a nearly 70% quarterly increase in volatility (i.e., workers interested in exploring other job opportunities or unsolicited recruiting messages in the next 60-to-90 days) across the top 35 job categories that we track.

This high number isn’t surprising. Employees are actively looking for more flexibility, work/life balance, money, and career advancement opportunities. As talent continues to rethink job and career choices, employers also need to adapt and hone their workforce strategies, processes, and technology infrastructure to effectively attract and retain talent and foster appealing work environments.

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The Transformation of the Agile Workforce

Contingent WorkforceDirect SourcingHRSolution ProvidersTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Last year, Ardent Partners predicted that the global business landscape would experience a sharp uptick in the utilization of non-employee labor as a direct result of the pandemic’s sweeping impact on business and human interaction. Going into 2020, 43.5% of the average organization’s total workforce was considered “contingent.” In 2021, that number sits at nearly 47%, and there are strong indications that this percentage will grow as the transformation of talent and work continues forward.

Additionally, upcoming Future of Work Exchange research finds that 82% of all businesses state that the challenging times of 2020 created a bigger need for extended and non-employee talent. The past 12 months have clearly revealed that workforce scalability is an essential link to economic survival in the now-chaotic, hyper-competitive world of global business. Operationalizing that scalability is the very root of workforce agility, from which businesses can tap into talent pools, marketplaces, clouds, and communities to enhance the work done by the trusted FTE workers, and a range of services and other recruitment streams to build, in real time, a dynamic response to a crucial enterprise initiative. The contingent workforce has become the foundation of workforce scalability, and rightfully so: businesses that survived 2020 and look forward to thriving in the second half of 2021 are actively harnessing the dynamic power of the agile workforce to get work done.

I recently had the pleasure of joining LiveHire and their Executive Vice President, Karen Gonzalez, for a webinar focused on the transformation of the agile workforce and why direct sourcing and talent pools represent a revolutionary means for businesses to transform the way they engage with and leverage top-tier, unique, and in-demand talent and skillsets. Check out an on-demand replay of the event below.

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Guiding Principles for The Future of Work

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceHRSolution ProvidersTalentTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by Featured Contributor on

[Editor’s Note: Today’s article is a guest contribution from Sunil Bagai, CEO of Prosperix.]

When describing the Future of Work, it’s worth keeping in mind a quote from the sci-fi author William Gibson: “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.”  Over the past two decades, we’ve all seen industries transformed by technology – travel agencies barely exist anymore, taxis are in a battle with Uber and Lyft for their very existence, and we can purchase virtually anything from groceries to cars online. Travel, transportation, commerce, and entertainment, have all become infinitely more frictionless (and often more affordable) experiences.

All of these examples occurred in established industries that had seen sustained success – and stagnation of technology and business innovation. Many players in those industries were utterly caught by surprise and got left behind. Their customers abandoned them, and why wouldn’t they? It’s not just the application of data and technology to solve problems that’s changed – our perceptions of what’s possible need to change as well.

For businesses to evolve from where they are today to where they aspire to be in the future, they must think and act differently. To help businesses realize their highest potential and deliver meaningful impact, they need new ways of building and managing a thriving workforce.

The world of hiring, and contingent hiring in particular, has been a world of silos and limited data for a long time. That’s led to a particular view of contingent hiring, one that’s full of inefficiencies and process issues. Ferrying data between an ATS, VMS, Talent CRM, and other solutions leads to leakage and an inability to treat hiring as a holistic process. As technology solutions continue to merge traditionally siloed functionality, a world of possibility is opened up for the future of work. Below are some of the principles that guide us at Prosperix, that we believe will create a future that leads to prosperity for all of the stakeholders in the hiring ecosystem.

  • Empowerment – This principle has two components. One is that a seamless candidate experience needs to be an integral part of the hiring process. We’re moving from a model where candidates are out of the loop to one where candidates feel like they are a part of the process, leading to better outcomes. Additionally, a commitment to foster equal and democratized access to opportunities and growth, while uplifting those in need of greater assistance, is the path to a future where everyone prospers.
  • Alignment – Alignment between hiring managers, talent acquisition teams, talent suppliers and candidates is enabled by technology solutions that unite formerly disparate systems. When stakeholders are not focused on solving process issues, they are able to think strategically about their hiring program.
  • Ecosystem – A culture and environment that fosters balance, sustainability and harmony amongst all stakeholders, with keen understanding that prosperity for each member benefits the whole and there is a necessary inter-dependency that requires a high level of compassion, cooperation and collaboration to thrive individually and collectively.
  • Diversity – Valuing diversity recognizes differences between people and acknowledges that these differences are not only a valued asset, but a necessity to achieving great results and outcomes. Diversity occurs when systems are designed thoughtfully to be inclusive and access is democratized, allowing anyone of any background and status to succeed and attain prosperity. Diversity can also provide greater choice and variety in options and opportunities.
  • Transparency – Transparency enables greater visibility, accountability and allows for fixing of inequities by sharing information openly amongst stakeholders. Fostering a transparent environment, as opposed to a siloed process structure, increases trust and partnership over time.
  • Flexibility – In a fast-changing world, there is greater need for solutions that are dynamic, agile, adaptive and can meet the needs of the moment by being responsive and nimble. Flexibility ensures that organizations can thrive in the most challenging of times because resilience and elasticity are designed-in as foundational elements.
  • Innovation – The world is changing exponentially. To stay relevant and thrive in this fast-changing dynamic, it is essential to embrace innovation. The right innovation is a tremendous catalyst for growth and prosperity as well as facilitates resilience from the ongoing turbulence of a constantly changing environment.

The future is already here, it’s just not everywhere yet. To learn more about our vision for the Future of Work, reach out to us at solutions@prosperix.com.

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The World is Nearing Normalcy, But Will the Workforce Ever Be the Same?

Business LeadershipTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

In mid-June, CNN’s collaboration with Moody Analytics (the “Back-to-Normal Index”) indicated that the United States economy is “90% of the way back to where it was before the pandemic began over a year ago,” a stark contrast to the heartbreaking days of last spring and summer. Air travel and transportation are actively reaching pre-pandemic levels, while some markets indicate that the global economy could mirror February 2020 by the very end of the year.

Consumers are certainly taking advantage of the COVID-19 vaccine boom, spending more and more of their funds on the goods and services that were mainly out of the question less than a year ago. This activity, perhaps, is the strongest indicator that we are, albeit slowly, getting things back to some level of what we could call “normalcy.”

However, the pandemic and its ramifications left an indelible mark on the workforce; the below shifts represent the fact that even though some elements of the world and businesses may return to normal, the workforce will never be the same:

  • The next mass exodus of women from the workforce is happening right now. Back in March on the Contingent Workforce Weekly podcast, The Mom Project’s co-founder and COO, Greg Robinson, predicted that we may see another mass exodus of caretakers from the workforce, especially moms. And a Washington Post article found that after the early COVID shutdowns, nearly 11.3 million jobs held by women “vanished almost immediately, as women are over-represented in the retail, restaurant, travel and hospitality sectors.” Add in the need to be home without proper, in-person schooling, and this is a recipe for disaster for women in the workforce…something that could take upwards of two-to-three years to return to pre-pandemic levels. Companies like The Mom Project are certainly helping to alleviate this issue (check out our conversation this past week with the solution’s Donna Yelmokas), and the advent of digital staffing solutions and talent marketplaces are enabling moms and other caretakers access to roles that fit within their schedules. However, it is also incumbent on today’s business leaders to cultivate a culture that is founded on flexibility and empathy to get back to those pre-pandemic points even faster and allow women, moms, and caretakers to bring their incredibly valuable skills back to the workplace.
  • And, speaking of flexibility and empathy, business leadership will never be the same. As the world evolves into a “new normal” (or whatever you want to call it), both longtime FTEs and extended/contingent workers are going to place evermore emphasis on the overall “talent experience,” a concept borne from an application of employee engagement and employee experience attributes applied to both employee and non-employee workers. Aspects like remote work, flexible hours, and an inclusive culture are all critical concepts for talented individuals seeking their next role (be it a full-time or contingent project). Business leaders must look to a “culture of flexibility” as the foundation to how they lead. Ardent’s upcoming State of Contingent Workforce Management 2021 research study also finds that 82% of businesses will provide more flexibility regarding worker lifestyle issues, including childcare/daycare, schooling, etc., in the year ahead.
  • “Alternative” channels of talent become primary means of talent engagement. Even though direct sourcing and talent pools were high-priority strategies going into 2020 (and before a worldwide pandemic), they became even more crucial when traditional means of talent acquisition (such as proper interviewing) weren’t possible. Today, direct sourcing represents an ideal means of converging top-tier skillsets and expertise and on-demand talent engagement in the same package, allowing businesses to funnel the best-of-the-best into segmented talent pools and talent communities. Too, the talent nurture aspects of direct sourcing enable businesses to foster strong communication with their candidates, ensuring a positive candidate experience even before these workers are engaged for a particular role or project. The “next normal” will see an exponential rise in the utilization of direct sourcing, for sure.
  • New and evolved work models form the foundation of the Future of Work movement. This all-encapsulating concept brings together the brightest of innovation from learnings over the past year, and the approach is multi-pronged: 1) understand which modes of talent engagement are best for the business based on the levels of skillsets required, 2) apply an analysis that can determine whether positions, roles, and entire divisions should be distributed/remote, 3) innovate around how productivity will be measured (with an edge towards outcomes rather than hours worked), 4) implement whichever new safety and health precautions that are required (which, yes, includes whether or not COVID-19 vaccinations are mandatory), 5) foster and cultivate a workplace environment of flexibility and empathy, and, finally, 6) determine the best possible alignment between digitization and human-led processes.
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