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The Link Between Direct Sourcing and Talent Sustainability

Direct SourcingTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

In just a few weeks, Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange will publish their Direct Sourcing 2023: Scalable Processes, Sustainable Talent research report. “Talent sustainability” is a key focal area not only for direct sourcing strategies, but greater talent acquisition initiatives, as well. Let’s revisit a critical piece from 2022 on the link between these talent-driven programs.

Many HR, talent acquisition, and contingent workforce program leaders overlook particular phases of direct sourcing, especially talent curation and segmentation, since they have been conditioned to manage their processes within the confines of a traditional contingent workforce management (CWM) initiative that follows more procurement-oriented procedures (i.e., supply management, heavy cost focus, etc.). Even under a centralized CWM program, the most critical direct sourcing strategies and capabilities require more time, focus, and resources than what is typically available with non-employee workforce management.

For example, talent curation is a critical piece to the direct sourcing puzzle and is considered crucial to the entire hierarchy of the process. In a direct sourcing program, recruiting expertise (via an MSP, talent curation partner, etc.) curates talent for the business, ultimately helping its client build a deep talent cloud or community using a series of augmented approaches, including branded job portals, targeted ads and recruitment marketing campaigns, and artificial intelligence-led candidate matching. The solution that is leading the direct sourcing program can also leverage the organization’s brand power to attract potential candidates, as well.

While some enterprises maintain deep pools of talent that are more “general” in scope, these may not be effective from an agile workforce perspective. Organizations typically overlook talent pool segmentation and maintain a single repository of talent pool candidates; this failure to segment is a missed opportunity to build a nimbler approach to finding candidates based on geography, skillset, role, etc. Talent pool segmentation enables enterprises to better “organize” their candidates for easier, faster, and better alignment with future requirements, as well.

A typical first step in talent community segmentation is to conduct due diligence around candidate skillsets, past work history, compensation, proficiency, and overall enterprise hiring alignment. Segmentation is what allows a business to be more dynamic in how it addresses its talent needs. It also answers many current sourcing challenges while fostering relationships with candidates with emerging and new skillsets or expertise.

By spending more time in the initial phases of direct sourcing (and, subsequently, executing consistent maintenance of internal talent communities/pools), businesses are able to build a more seamless bridge to “talent sustainability,” which the Future of Work Exchange defines as a by-product of leveraging workforce solutions (such as extended workforce technology, VMS, etc.), direct sourcing channels, and both private and public talent communities, etc. to build self-sustaining outlets of talent that 1) map to evolving skills requirements across the enterprise given product development and the progression of the greater organization, 2) reflect existing expertise and skillsets across the enterprise that can be leveraged for real-time utilization, and, 3) allow hiring managers and other talent-led executives to leverage nurture and candidate experience strategies to ensure that all networked workers are amiable and open to reengagement for new and/or continued projects and initiatives.

The Great Resignation has become more volatile, and with its wide-sweeping ramifications playing critical roles in how enterprises structure their workforce in the second half of the year, it is crucial that strategies such as direct sourcing contribute to overall talent scalability. Leveraging the power of direct sourcing’s key elements (and associated technology) can assist businesses in maximizing the positive elements of the “Talent Revolution” and parlay them into means of attracting the best-fit, highest-quality talent. Talent sustainability will be the way businesses thrive in the near future…and direct sourcing is a direct link to get them there.

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How Does Direct Sourcing Fit Into Today’s Talent-Driven Environment?

Direct SourcingTalentTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Over the past three years, the talent acquisition landscape has undergone a significant transformation, largely driven by the global pandemic. In the face of economic uncertainty and unprecedented challenges, organizations have realized that attracting and deploying top talent is no longer just an advantage but a critical necessity. As we navigate this new era, the ability to foster innovation, creativity, and drive has become essential to survival and success. It is abundantly clear that the post-pandemic world will reward those who can attract and retain the best talent.

To thrive in the competitive and uncertain labor market, businesses must do whatever it takes to stay ahead of the game. This means expanding their talent pipelines, improving hiring strategies, and scaling talent acquisition in ways that benefit the organization in the long term. While direct sourcing is not a new strategy, it has gained popularity due to its alignment with the direction of the world of work and talent.

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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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Talent Sustainability Through Direct Sourcing

Business LeadershipDirect SourcingDiversity and InclusionGeneral InsightsTalent by John Yuva on

In 2023, direct sourcing is more than the sum of its parts; rather, it represents near alignment with the direction of business now and in the relative future. The labor market is still unsettled, while economic uncertainty (unfortunately) still rules the day. Businesses are in a continued war for talent, as unemployment sinks to historic lows and millions of job openings remain.

In addition, the Future of Work movement and resulting transformations actively dictate that businesses shift their hiring strategies. All of these facets together represent both a new challenge and a new opportunity for direct sourcing: helping enterprises cultivate a flexible and scalable workforce that drives true talent sustainability.

Direct Sourcing Evolves

Enterprises need sustainable talent most to remain competitive and enable future agility. Direct sourcing can help enterprises achieve talent sustainability through several means.

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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FOWX Quotable: Leveraging the Non-Employee Workforce

Contingent WorkforceTalentTalent AcquisitionUncategorized by Andrew Bartolini on

The Future of Work is rapidly changing, and organizations that want to thrive must adapt to this new landscape. As companies look to compete in an increasingly complex and unpredictable business environment, the non-employee workforce is emerging as a key source of competitive advantage. The rise of the gig economy, coupled with technological advancements that enable remote work and collaboration, has made it easier than ever before to tap into a vast pool of highly skilled and flexible workers.

By effectively leveraging the non-employee workforce, organizations can gain access to specialized talent and capabilities that may not be available in-house. This can help them stay ahead of the curve in terms of innovation, as well as improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. In today’s fast-paced business environment, where speed and agility are critical, the non-employee workforce can provide the flexibility and adaptability that companies need to stay competitive.

However, in order to effectively harness the power of the non-employee workforce, organizations must have the right tools and strategies in place. This includes everything from robust talent management systems to streamlined procurement processes that enable seamless engagement with external talent. It also requires a shift in mindset, as companies must move away from traditional notions of employment and embrace new models of work that are more flexible, dynamic, and inclusive. Ultimately, those organizations that are able to successfully navigate this new landscape will be the ones that emerge as winners in the future of work.

In sum:

“Tomorrow’s business landscape will be shaped by those organizations that understand the power of leveraging the non-employee workforce as a competitive advantage. The ability to effectively tap into this vast and agile pool of talent will be the key to unlocking innovation, driving growth, and staying ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving Future of Work.”

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The Impact of Contingent Workforce Management Analytics

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceGeneral InsightsTalent by John Yuva on

Today’s total talent management strategies rely on analytics to execute workforce objectives. For extended workers who comprise nearly half of enterprises’ entire labor force (49%, according to our research), analytics are even more crucial to developing metrics and optimizing performance. Recent Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research indicates that 81% of organizations cite the improvement of contingent workforce management (CWM) analytics as a priority, highlighting the importance of deeper, more insightful data and analysis.

CWM Analytics for Insights

According to Beeline, a leading contingent workforce solution provider, “For many organizations lacking formal analytics and reporting on their contingent workforce, identifying key metrics can even be challenging.” The focus on analytics goes well beyond hiring, scheduling, and payment data, to include deeper areas of concentration. The following are several analytic subsets imperative to contingent workforce management and performance.

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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What’s Ahead for Extended Workforce Management?

Contingent WorkforceTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has recently discovered that the extended workforce (also known as the contingent workforce) now comprises 49% of all enterprise talent. This astounding figure represents nearly 15 straight years of growth and represents the agility, flexibility, and value of non-employee talent. Today, we present an exclusive infographic that not only highlights the future of extended workforce management, but also includes new Ardent and FOWX research, as well.

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Remote Work and Employee Engagement Are Inherently Linked

Business LeadershipTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

It seems that everywhere we turn, there are new return-to-office (RTO) mandates making headlines. Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, recently mandated employees return to the office three days a week beginning in the spring. The same day of the mandate, over 14,000 employees joined a newly-created Slack channel to voice their displeasure with the ruling.

Disney’s executives followed a similar path, only much earlier in January, and, with four mandated days-in-office rather than the three dictated by Amazon. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff mandated three days in office in the midst of the company sunsetting its Future Forum consortium, which, SOMETHING enough, found that flexible working environment were incredibly conducive to productivity and employee engagement.

And, yeah, we all know Elon Musk’s feelings on remote work during his tumultuous time thus far at Twitter. There’s also this nugget from a recent Fortune article:

“But the latest data suggests that partially empty office towers — a feature of city-centers with the rise of remote work — may remain that way. Data from security firm Kastle Systems show that office occupancy in major US cities is only about half of the pre-Covid level.”

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has discovered that 82% of businesses relied more on remote and hybrid workplace models in 2022 than they did in 2021, a statistic that proves flexibility is a continued pandemic-era accelerant that has become a permanent fixture of the world of work.

So, in the face of more intrusive RTO mandates, where does this leave the most critical component of the modern enterprise, it workforce?

Well, it’s a complicated quandary, for sure. As the tail end of 2022 swayed more and more towards a likely economic downturn, workers became more focused on keeping their jobs in lieu of the continual quest for flexibility and other benefits. However, that specific focus has seemed to settled a bit; while layoffs are regular news across most industries, the backlash to household CEOs’ RTO mandates proves one major thing: remote work and employee engagement are inherently linked, and more importantly, shouldn’t be separated.

The modicum of control here, the very level of pervasive oversight…it’s all archaic. While it is easily understood that every executive leader desires some semblance of authority over their workforce (which leader wouldn’t?), there is a major difference between control-for-the-sake-of-control and a balance between control and trust. If anything at all, the past three years have proved that remote and hybrid work models are effective in maintaining (and boosting!) productivity,

There is an ongoing war for talent and there will always be a war for talent, no matter the economic, social, or political background of any business era. Simply put: a company’s talent is what propels it into innovation and success. So, then, doesn’t it make sense that every business leader do all that they can to actively engage their workers and ensure a positive, consistent workforce experience?

“When it comes to our talent acquisition strategy, we’re not completely opening the doors for every request from every candidate,” one SVP of Talent Acquisition told me last week. She added, “However, our executive team realizes that we’re not going to compete without the right talent across our many global locations, so, we do what we can to prioritize the candidate experience and ensure that flexibility is embedded into as many roles as possible. We value interoffice collaboration and understand that it’s vital to who we are as an organization…it’s just that we know how much the world has changed and how critical attributes like remote work are for the engagement of our workforce.”

Many leaders and professionals alike typically equate “employee engagement” with growth opportunities and enhanced communication; while these are indeed cornerstones of the overall worker experience, in a talent-driven world as such we live in today, businesses have traverse beyond these aspects to attract and maintain high-quality talent. Workers crave autonomy and flexibility, two pillars of the remote or hybrid workplace model. Professionals want to be trusted in their environments to be productive and to have the flexibility required for better work-life integration. These two attributes together? They are, in essence, the foundation of worker happiness.

And, as we know, happy workers are the ones that are satisfied with their roles and careers and feel much more engaged with their leaders, peers, colleagues, and organization. The link between remote/hybrid work and employee engagement is one that cannot, and will not, be broken.

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An Ode to the Future of Work

Business LeadershipHRTalentTechnology and Innovation by Andrew Bartolini on

The Future of Work is a topic that has been discussed for by Ardent Partners for many years, particularly with technology rapidly evolving and transforming industries. Today, we offer a poem that takes a creative and fun approach to imagining what the future of how we work might look like.

With rhyming couplets and vivid imagery, we’ve tried to paint a picture of a world where AI machines take on mundane tasks, leaving more time for worker creativity and exploration. The idea of virtual offices and collaboration without borders adds a sense of excitement and wonder to the future of work as we envision a world where the limitations of physical space and language barriers no longer exist. Ultimately, the poem encourages us to embrace the future with open arms, as it holds endless possibilities for growth and innovation.

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Diversity’s Measurable Impacts on the Contingent Workforce

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceDirect SourcingDiversity and InclusionGeneral InsightsTalent by John Yuva on

Diversity programs continue to evolve, and enterprises must ensure their efforts span the total talent spectrum. Often, diversity initiatives are primarily focused on full-time, permanent employees. However, with contingent talent now comprising more than half of organizations’ entire workforce, diversity should permeate contingent workforce management (CWM) strategies.

In fact, recent Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research indicates 62% of enterprises plan to infuse diversity initiatives into their CWM efforts as part of their workplace goals.

Diversity Is Critical to CWM Results

CWM and the Future of Work movement are aligned in their workforce direction. Extended workers represent a global talent pool where flexibility and a skills-based portfolio are at their core. Equally important, however, are the unique perspectives and outside viewpoints of contingent workers that cater to diverse thinking and enterprise representation.

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

Is It Time to Reintroduce Ourselves to Total Talent Management?

Contingent WorkforceHRTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

For the past decade, the very concept of total talent management has been akin to the Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster of the business arena: a mythical idea that has only seen slivers of reality across global organizations. Sure, we’ve seen dribbles of total talent programs in some enterprises, as well as specific elements of these initiatives (i.e., total talent acquisition, total talent intelligence, etc.) offered by some of the industry’s more progressive workforce management solutions.

However, on the whole, total talent management itself has still not yet experienced its true arrival as we all would have anticipated. Back in 2011, I wrote perhaps the industry’s first full research study on total talent management, which found that there was extreme desire for such a program; the caveat, however, was that the tools weren’t quite there yet…and neither were the foundational elements required to make such a program successful.

So, here were are in 2023, with a toxic workplace environment (due to many, many workplace culture issues), a volatile labor market, and a Great Resettling that represents a continued revolution of talent. There may or may not be a recession swirling around us like a dooming specter. And, above all else, enterprises realize that they require the right talent at the right time at the right cost to get work done in an efficient and optimal way.

Dare I say that we should reintroduce ourselves to the idea of total talent management? Should we truly flip this concept from theory into reality? Here a few reasons why:

  • The technology is finally there to support TTM. A decade ago, the phrase “extended workforce” didn’t exist…nor did the proper technology to make total talent management a reality. Contingent workforce management (CWM) was just beginning its ascent to true strategic imperative, while less than a quarter of the total workforce was considered “non-employee.” Today, the story has evolved: extended workforce systems are innovative offshoots of Vendor Management System (VMS) platforms that can easily integrate with the core human capital systems (ATS, HRIS, etc.) for true visibility, management, and oversight of both contingent and FTE labor. Point-of-entry automation for new requisitions and talent requests can access various forms of talent, including the ever-important talent communities developed by direct sourcing solutions. And, most importantly, today’s workforce management technology can easily help businesses understand their total workforce, an attribute which allows them to pinpoint the best-aligned talent (be it contingent or an FTE already on staff) for a given project or role.
  • Functional collaboration today is a must-have capability. Unlike in years past, it is much more common for businesses to experience core cross-functional coordination; procurement and finance tackle their problems together, for instance, for the sake of the bottom-line. HR, talent acquisition, and procurement have all experienced challenges and pressures over the past two-and-a-half years, each unit emerging from the acute pandemic phase stronger than ever before. As such, the idea of collaborative strategies is much easier to maintain in today’s business environment: in the quest for survival during those scary days of 2020, enterprise functions learned that they needed each other to thrive. And, today, these three distinct groups now understand that, in a world where talent is an incredible competitive differentiator, they must work together to bridge the gaps between extended workforce management and traditional hiring. By combining efficiencies and blending strengths, the triumvirate of HR, procurement, and talent acquisition can form a formidable backbone of total talent management.
  • Aspects such as purpose, flexibility, and empathy boost the importance of the candidate experience, with the notion of “engagement” playing a critical role in total talent acquisition. No longer does a great hourly rate set the tone for freelancers, contractors, and other types of non-employee talent when choosing their next destination. Workplace culture (and leadership style) are more crucial now than ever for hiring managers to hook new talent; as such, the idea behind total talent acquisition (a key phase within TTM that involves a centralized, standardized set of guidelines and processes for engaging and sourcing all types of talent) becomes one of engagement, as well. True total talent management programs harness the power of employee engagement and candidate experience tools and tactics to ensure a steady approach towards talent acquisition for both contingent and FTE talent populations.
  • The need for business agility, combined with the volatility of the labor market, translates into the perfect gateway for total talent management. Simply put: total talent management is needed today, now more than ever. Businesses must execute lightning-fast talent decisions to thrive in an uncertain economy; the “total talent intelligence” enabled by total talent management programs and associated platforms allow hiring managers and other leaders to understand 1) the current makeup of talent across the organization, 2) the best-fit resources (whether it’s someone in house, a current contractor, etc.) for a new project or role, and 3) provide a dynamic entryway into a truly agile workforce.

Total talent management has been an oft-maligned strategy that has bordered on the hypothetical for over a decade. However, the platforms available today and the transformation of work and talent, combined with the need for such a program, positions total talent management as an innovative strategy for the months and years ahead.

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