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The Link Between Direct Sourcing and Talent Sustainability

Direct Sourcing Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 07/05/2022

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.

Digital and Human Convergence: The Art of Managed Direct Sourcing (MDS)

Direct Sourcing by Christopher J. Dwyer on 06/27/2022

Sixty percent (60%) of organizations actively blend digital and human recruitment processes, according to Future of Work Exchange research, reinforcing the notion that direct sourcing must unify traditional talent acquisition methods with innovative direct sourcing technology. This is exactly the foundation of “managed direct sourcing,” which entails a multi-phased series of strategies, underpinned with technology, that drives a continuous flow of candidates who can be engaged and hired in an on-demand fashion. MDS differs from traditional direct sourcing in the sense that it is more controlled, repeatable, and, most critically, highly-scalable.

MDS is typically offered as a services-based solution through a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and augmented with direct sourcing technology offered by an ecosystem of platform partners. An MDS offering will typically drive talent curation and other key program elements, while the direct sourcing platform partner will enable a series of repeatable processes including referral campaigns, nurture strategies, messaging and collaboration, and diversity engagement. What sets MDS apart from traditional direct sourcing is its symbiotic relationship between full-lifecycle, human-led services and agile digitization.

What enables MDS to stand out from traditional direct sourcing programs is its “beating heart,” comprised of a technology stack that can build on the human-led strategy and transform hiring processes to be repeatable and scalable, while establishing new prospect channels for hiring managers. As described earlier in this report, the major differences between MDS and traditional direct sourcing are the factors that frequently impact how the whole of the business finds, engages, and sources its top-tier talent. Businesses with direct sourcing automation are able to execute on “deeper” elements of this talent-led program. With less dependence on traditional, resource-heavy sourcing and recruiting approaches, a “digital-led” direct sourcing program that relies on deep CWM expertise can drive superior talent outcomes.Businesses that have tapped into direct sourcing automation are able to improve their programs with scalable processes that can drive superior talent engagement, help nurture top talent, and boost the overall candidate experience:

Direct sourcing automation is an ideal tool to improve candidate matching and talent engagement. A technology-led model requires less dependency on internal staff, drives greater “talent funnel” generation, while also improving the identification of and engagement with high-value candidates. For example, human curation is an excellent strategy for businesses that requires a high-touch approach towards talent pooling. However, the impact of direct sourcing automation adds additional value by improving the overall targeting of candidates by enhancing the alignment of enterprise requirements and available skillsets, and, most importantly, by enabling direct sourcing processes and strategies to be streamlined and standardized across the enterprise. Best-in-Class direct sourcing solutions also offer robust candidate referral functionality that can drive additional talent engagement without the organization spending significantly more time and resources. These capabilities are generally available and optimized within a solution’s mobile application
Direct sourcing platforms enable repeatable, collaborative processes with key candidates. The most overlooked aspects of direct sourcing are within its “secondary” phases, particularly talent nurture strategies and candidate communications. While MSP leaders in a managed direct sourcing program will guide businesses to craft/use the messaging they will need to engage candidates after they have been curated and locked into talent pools, the direct sourcing platform can transform these processes into repeatable campaigns that involve both email and SMS/text message communications, ensuring that all candidates feel valued and “in touch” with what is happening within the greater
organization. This is a key element in fostering an environment of connectivity, openness, and inclusivity. These attributes are becoming more critical for today’s evolving workforce and they allow independent workers to better align their skillsets with specific projects and pick-and-choose how they want to work.
Direct sourcing solutions enable users to tap into the power of their brand and culture to attract the best candidates. Compensation is not the only aspect that today’s workers (either traditional or contract) value in a potential employer. Aspects such as culture, diversity and inclusion, and the overall corporate social responsibility of a businesses are crucial factors that can determine whether a candidate wants to be engaged with a potential project or employer. Direct sourcing solutions offer functionality that can help users build “job portals” that leverage the enterprise’s brand, colors, and other unique, marketing-specific attributes. Candidates that align with a company’s brand are more likely to opt-in to receive news about job postings, new roles, upcoming projects, etc. This can be an incredibly powerful lever for managed direct sourcing because it taps into the power of an enterprise’s culture to attract star workers and candidates. This can also foster greater loyalty between contingent workers and their employers, something that is often missed by legacy talent acquisition models.
Direct sourcing automation enables holistic reporting that can cascade into other talent acquisition strategies. The intelligence gleaned from direct sourcing platforms and MSP-driven direct sourcing programs can be harnessed for greater workforce planning, particularly when forecasting future utilization of both contingent and full-time talent.

Procurement’s View of Direct Sourcing

Direct Sourcing by John Yuva on 06/13/2022

The role of procurement is ever-evolving. Chief Procurement Officers are executing strategies in a world wrought with immense volatility and unpredictability. While the scale of disruption is unlike anything witnessed in a century, procurement serves as the rudder for many enterprises, helping navigate this uncharted territory.

It is a position that CPOs are accustomed to — think back to The Great Recession from the not-too-distant past. Times of change and uncertainty are when procurement takes center stage. Amid current supply shortages and extended lead times, procurement’s sphere of influence has expanded to talent acquisition and the Future of Work.

What kind of scene did procurement walk into? It’s well-documented how the pandemic forever-altered workplace dynamics when tens of millions of workers shifted from on-premise to remote working. And as the pandemic abated, The Great Resignation took hold with millions leaving their jobs or the workforce entirely. It’s also important to mention that the workforce itself is transitioning from what was mostly full-time employees to nearly 50% contingent workers. The Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) cited in its recent article, Where Does the Extended Workforce Go From Here?, that “FOWX research pegs contingent labor at 47% of the average company’s total workforce, a statistic that is only expected to grow in the months and years ahead.”

Enterprises are now waging a war for talent amidst a highly competitive recruiting environment where traditional recruitment methods alone are no longer viable. It requires a several-pronged approach and internal ownership using direct sourcing to plan, execute, and manage a talent pipeline for the future success of the organization. It’s nearly table stakes to operate with agility and resiliency. The competitive differentiator is attracting talent that brings new outlooks and outcomes to your global market and envisions markets and lines of business yet to be explored. Procurement should be right at home in this environment, adjusting to the intricacies of talent acquisition and the concept of direct sourcing for recruitment.

According to Ardent Partners’ The Direct Sourcing Toolkit, “talent pool creation and development” was the leading priority for talent and workforce management in 2020. And, in 2021, Ardent and FOWX research pointed to talent and skills access as a core priority heading into 2022. The question remains, then: How can procurement approach talent acquisition and a direct sourcing strategy?

First and foremost, it requires collaboration with HR to understand the talent needs of the enterprise. Where are there gaps in specific departments? Are there major initiatives with vacancies in key roles? Does the organization need additional support for promotional or seasonal purposes?

Procurement complements HR in this effort because of its cross-functional relationships and deep understanding of operations and ongoing product development. Leverage those relationships to glean insight into talent issues and where the organization could use support. It may be necessary to form a talent committee with representation from various business units. Communicate the new direction for talent recruiting and the shift to direct sourcing. Since the enterprise is curating and managing its own talent pipeline, leaders should be encouraged to recommend prospective candidates — both passive and active — from their own networks.

As the talent pool(s) builds with new and on-demand candidates, such as alumni, silver medalists, and former freelancers and contractors, they can be segmented based on their skillsets and competencies for various types of roles. Procurement can collaborate with IT to ensure recruitment and talent management applications and platforms [e.g., applicant tracking systems (ATS) and vendor management systems (VMS)] integrate well with the larger enterprise network.

Many enterprises utilize external partners to meet their contingent workforce management objectives. Monitoring various talent channels is resource-intensive and requires a dedicated team. Procurement can lead the search and selection of a Managed Service Provider (MSP), for example, which has access to supplier networks for talent needs across the enterprise and supply chain. Expertise with supplier selection and relationship management pays dividends when procurement leads this effort — cost awareness, contract management, and relationship building with the MSP. It also ensures procurement’s continued involvement with the direct sourcing program and the opportunity to influence its future direction.

Technology is critical to a direct sourcing program. An ATS and VMS are core to attracting and managing a contingent workforce. However, Industry 4.0 solutions (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics) are now being utilized with direct sourcing initiatives to fine-tune potential candidate placement and predict talent needs. These technologies are integrated into many manufacturing operations, so it’s no surprise that talent management is now benefiting from a human perspective as well. Here again, procurement is well-versed in the use and potential of AI and predictive analytics. Where are there opportunities to further leverage AI to achieve talent management objectives? How far can predictive analytics provide mitigation against critical talent shortages or succession dilemmas? Imagine using a digital twin to simulate the workforce needs in the next decade?

Procurement has a vital role in today’s talent management initiatives. Leading direct sourcing programs alongside HR is not only good for business, but a necessity in today’s frenetic labor market.

The Link Between Diversity and Direct Sourcing

Direct Sourcing Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 06/01/2022

Today, diversity is no longer a “check-a-box” factor for many enterprises around the world; rather, it has become a cultural movement within business that emphasizes the depth of talent pools, talent communities, and talent networks without bias or barriers. The truth regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) is that direct sourcing programs (and extended workforce/contingent workforce programs) that are diverse tend to be more successful. If businesses can embed a spirit of inclusion within their direct sourcing processes and act in accordance with this mindset, they can broaden the existing talent landscape and improve upon it with new ideas and opportunity.

And, while established diversity programs previously existed in many enterprises, the events and civil unrest of the past two 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.

The Future of Work Exchange has long progressed the notion of “Direct Sourcing 2.0,” in which traditional direct sourcing phases and operations are “supercharged” to transform this strategy into a repeatable and scalable (not to mention more digitized) series of processes that can drive true talent sustainability:

As the overall labor market evolves in the wake of rising worker resignations, smart businesses will prioritize the need for deeper assessment and validation of skillsets and place a greater emphasis on the candidate and hiring manager experience. The starting point for most will be to build on their existing direct sourcing capabilities and work to develop Direct Sourcing 2.0 capabilities.

Simply put: much like the greater Future of Work movement, there is so much more to this than just automation and technology. Direct Sourcing 2.0 isn’t just a scalable strategy that is driven by next-generation software, but a program that relies on both technology and humanity to be successful in the face of an evolving labor market.

Layering DE&I into direct sourcing is about changing behaviors and removing hiring barriers and unconscious bias from talent engagement and talent acquisition. Utilizing technology to help guide and enforce a new mindset can be extremely valuable and create awareness that the deepest talent pools are diverse talent pools. Using direct sourcing to hire diverse talent gives HR teams a direct ability to link purpose with DE&I efforts. For example, businesses can opt to tap into professional networks that were already designed for diverse workers from various backgrounds, cultures, and genders and link these to talent curation efforts. Direct sourcing initiatives can also benefit from “diversity automation” that is enabled from direct sourcing platforms that have partnerships and integrations with diverse job boards and networks. They can also offer anonymizing functionality that can hide specific information about different candidates.

Diversity, as stated above, is more than just an objective; it is a facet of the new world of work that sparks new ideas, catalyzes innovation, and enables a business with the necessary skillsets and expertise to thrive in changing times. Direct sourcing, then, can be an effective gateway in developing a more diverse workforce.

Revisiting the Core Tenets of Direct Sourcing

Direct Sourcing by Christopher J. Dwyer on 05/26/2022

Direct sourcing has a permanent place here at the Future of Work Exchange. As businesses face the massive transformations of the world of work and talent, they will continue to require advanced strategies and solutions for finding and engaging top-tier skillsets and expertise. While we’ve spent a fair amount of time discussing the next phase of direct sourcing (“Direct Sourcing 2.0”), there are still many organizations that have yet to undertake the direct sourcing journey.

In the 2020 research study, The Direct Sourcing Toolkit, Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange unveiled a series of recommendations and guided strategies for successfully developing and implementing a direct sourcing program. With so many organizations yet to undertake this journey, it is imperative to revisit these guidelines for direct sourcing success:

A deep understanding of total enterprise skillsets is required. No matter the industry, each organization is comprised of a collection of skillsets that, in aggregate, contribute to how work is done. Direct sourcing programs thrive on “skillset intelligence;” without it, initiatives lose their flair. If hiring managers understand which skillsets are in abundance or in high demand and which will be needed in the near future, building initial talent attraction strategies will be much more effective.
Integrated procurement, HR, and talent acquisition competencies are necessary for early-stage direct sourcing. The capabilities of these three units are required for a direct sourcing program to succeed: 1) procurement’s influence will drive hard cost savings through talent channel optimization, 2) HR’s impact will guide hiring managers and stakeholders to engage the strongest candidates, and 3) talent acquisition will drive the strategic vision for how to source talent based upon current and expected needs.
Focus on both brand and experience. The employer brand can be powerful in today’s labor market; many candidates want to ensure that they work for organizations that share their cultural and societal values. Also, the omnipresent notion of the “candidate experience” should guide direct sourcing processes such that job recruits experience a positive journey no matter if they are merely sitting in a talent pool or actively engaged for an open position or project.
Segmentation is more valuable than it initially seems. Segmenting talent pools may seem like a basic strategy; however, it can pay incredible dividends. Talent pool segmentation, be it via geography, compensation, skill, remote or in-person, certification, etc., allows hiring managers to quickly focus in on the talent required for a highly-complex project or initiative. Taking the time during the front-end of the direct sourcing process to segment talent pools can be hugely impactful to the overall program.
In direct sourcing, selecting and utilizing the right solutions is job one. The inherent power of today’s contingent workforce, human capital, and digital staffing solutions provides enterprises with the ability to automate crucial aspects of talent pool development and integrate these sources into the business’ broader talent acquisition processes. MSP solutions, VMS technology, and direct sourcing platforms all contribute to create a human- and technology-led direct sourcing program, helping to launch the initiative and ensure that all hiring managers have the ability to quickly access available talent pools.

The Ultimate Value of Direct Sourcing

Direct Sourcing by Christopher J. Dwyer on 05/18/2022

Successful direct sourcing programs have made a large impact on the quality of the overall workforce by achieving better alignment between an organization’s needs and the best available talent than alternate recruiting methods. However, the competitive advantage in talent recruitment that the early adopters of direct sourcing have gained will begin to yield as more new programs are launched each year.

The 55% of businesses that are currently running some form of direct sourcing programs today are utilizing talent pools and talent communities as a viable means of building talent pipelines, reducing talent acquisition costs, ensuring strong skillsets and expertise, and structuring a truly dynamic workforce. Direct sourcing enables a business to act as its own recruitment firm and leverage the power of its brand to attract desired workers to its centralized talent pool. The process also helps enterprises engage candidates directly, increasing the chance of building stronger, longer-lasting relationships with top-tier talent.

While the pandemic has turned job interviews into a more and, sometimes fully-, virtual process, the human elements of conversation, bonding, and interpersonal connection are not completely lost. Direct sourcing bypasses intermediaries and allows the candidates to develop direct connections (hence, “direct” sourcing) with hiring decision-makers. Candidates that are not hired initially can, nonetheless, become candidates for other positions in the future. By eliminating the agency or middleman, enterprises are better able to tap into a developed bench of previously engaged talent and cut lengthy time-to-fill rates. The same holds true for other candidates that have been vetted in some form and are “known” by the hiring team (i.e., “silver medalists,” retirees, past contingent workers or freelancers, etc.), or were targeted for curation based on their current job experience.

Beyond the candidate relationships, direct sourcing allows a business to leverage (and manage) its culture and brand to attract recruits that are easily engaged for future projects and initiatives. Hearing long-employed (and loyal) HR and business professionals discuss the traits and culture of their organization is a more significant and credible way to learn about a potential employer than through the words of a recruiter with a commission on the line. The informal testimonials of the internal hiring teams can effectively build engagement and ultimately, worker loyalty.

While the talent curation part of direct sourcing typically takes time to develop, most organizations possess an innate ability to identify strong cultural fits and highly-desirable skillsets. Additionally, the ability of internal recruiters, HR, and hiring managers to collaborate and tailor job searches to a unique team, manager, project, or location is unmatched when dealing with outside recruiters. The level of nuance can be akin to the difference between a surgeon and a butcher. The ability to increase recruiting precision can be particularly valuable when businesses are managing specific diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

One other notable attribute of direct sourcing is that it avoids the heavy price of fully-loaded talent acquisition costs charged by outside firms. While successful direct sourcing programs reduce talent acquisition friction and costs in the short-term, as businesses continue to devote resources to it, they will find these programs can also transform how work is done. And, in a world that has become more digitized (especially in the HR and talent arenas), direct sourcing is fast becoming table stakes for businesses that are actively pursuing workforce agility.

Why Tech is the Crux of Direct Sourcing 2.0

Direct Sourcing by Christopher J. Dwyer on 05/11/2022

Direct sourcing has dominated discussions around talent, work, and staffing for the past few years because, when executed well, it can deliver incredible value to the greater organization through hard benefits (such as cost savings and a quicker average time-to-fill rate) and soft benefits (greater talent quality, better engagement with highly-skilled candidate, etc.). And, as the overall HR market evolves in the wake of rising worker resignations, smart businesses will prioritize the need for deeper assessment and validation of skillsets and place a greater emphasis on the candidate and hiring manager experience.

The starting point for most will be to build on their existing direct sourcing capabilities and work to develop a true Direct Sourcing 2.0 program…which, of course, is only achievable through the convergence of strategic and automated competencies.

The path to Direct Sourcing 2.0 is paved with technology. While elements such as talent curation, talent pool development, talent pool segmentation, and recruitment stream integration are core to any direct sourcing program, HR leaders and their teams must incorporate digitization and advanced direct sourcing competencies to get to the next level of performance. Achieving Direct Sourcing 2.0 requires advanced capabilities to be coupled with digital recruitment functionality in order to boost talent quality, enhance candidate intelligence, and develop repeatable and scalable methods for reengaging talent to build a truly agile workforce.

While predictive analytics are not commonplace today, soon, a majority of enterprises will look to scenario-building as a way to enhance overall talent intelligence. Predictive analytics, in this realm, will augment the organization’s overall knowledge of its in-house skills as well as the expertise available externally (across all talent communities, including talent pools).

This level of intelligence will spark new and targeted initiatives to find better-aligned candidates with stronger talent engagement efforts and push business leaders to better understand who the strongest candidates are for future roles, positions, and projects.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of businesses plan to link the candidate experience with hiring manager experience. As discussed in the Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange Direct Sourcing 2.0 research study, transforming talent acquisition into a consumer-like journey is just one side of the Direct Sourcing 2.0 coin. The other side focuses on the hiring manager experience, which should be seamless in order to streamline the means of finding, engaging, and sourcing talent for a full spectrum of open roles and positions.

While only a third (33%) of businesses have automated candidate experience capabilities in their direct sourcing programs today, 50% more plan to do so within two years. Personalization and sharing more specific details regarding a project/role match, when automated, are repeatable and scalable to ensure that all candidates have a more positive and compelling experience when recruited.

Direct Sourcing 2.0 and the Hiring Manager Experience

Direct Sourcing Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/20/2022

Beyond deeper and more meaningful candidate relationships, direct sourcing allows a business to leverage (and manage) its culture and brand to attract recruits that are easily engaged for future projects and initiatives. Hearing long-employed (and loyal) HR and business professionals discuss the traits and culture of their organization is a more significant and credible way to learn about a potential employer than through the words of a recruiter with a commission on the line. The informal testimonials of the internal hiring teams can effectively build engagement and ultimately, worker loyalty.

The level of nuance can be akin to the difference between a surgeon and a butcher. The ability to increase recruiting precision can be particularly valuable when businesses are managing specific diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Given the current challenges to find and retain top talent, leading HR organizations are investing in ways to improve the “candidate experience” (similar to the “customer experience”), where every aspect is designed to be positive, engaging, and beneficial to the recruit.

In a market where the candidate holds more power than ever before, compensation and benefits, employment perks, AND the employer’s credentials (i.e., brand, culture, vision, values, etc.) can play a major role in attracting a qualified candidates. This will continue to be true as an increasing number of candidates are incorporating their personal views on an organization’s culture and brand into their decision-making.

While the candidate experience is critical, the hiring manager experience should also be considered. Hiring managers are often on the front lines of the war for talent and must account for:

The specific needs of each role, position, and project.
The intricate requirements of a multifaceted talent acquisition strategy that balances direct hire, job boards, talent marketplaces, staffing suppliers, etc.
The necessary data and intelligence to make faster, more educated talent and hiring decisions.
The proper balance between the human touch, automation, and third-party services, etc. that can be used to find, engage, and source high-quality talent.

Traditional recruitment is not typically seen as scalable due to the manual work often associated with it, while direct sourcing relies heavily on hiring teams to drive activity, scalability, and value. Just as HR leaders are realizing that candidates should be treated like customers, hiring managers also need an experience that is seamless and boundaryless.

Business and HR leaders must also arm their hiring managers with the necessary resources, technologies, and capabilities to effectively tap into different talent pools without the worry of internal barriers or archaic inertia. To achieve this, digitization of key direct sourcing processes is vital.

AI, Direct Sourcing, and the Future of Talent

Direct Sourcing by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/06/2022

The path to Direct Sourcing 2.0 is rooted in the idea that data should drive talent-led decision-making. Most next-generation direct sourcing programs leverage AI-driven functionality to enable a more robust picture of available skillsets, improve the matching of available skills with open positions and project requirements, streamline the assessment of candidate skills and expertise, and enhance worker intelligence. The majority of businesses see AI and advanced analytics as a catalyst for Direct Sourcing 2.0 over the next two years, as discovered by Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange.

An employer’s brand can be a catalyst for talent transformation because it can be used to attract talent and maintain an allure as non-FTE workers shift in and out of enterprise projects. Direct Sourcing 2.0 builds on brand concepts and pushes them to a higher level by using AI and analytics on candidate data to improve messaging, increase support for diversity initiatives, and gain a clearer picture of the worker expertise available in the market. Our research shows that:

Nearly 70% of businesses plan to leverage AI-based tools for candidate assessment within two years. Candidate fraud has not grabbed headlines yet, but it is a risk for businesses, particularly those that require specific skills and certifications. With more candidates operating in a remote environment, businesses require better means to ensure that their potential hires actually possess what is represented in their resumes and history. AI-fueled candidate assessment tools support the validation of competencies and skills, helping to ensure that the talent pipeline is filled with candidates who can succeed in their placements.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of enterprises plan to use AI to solve talent retention issues. The labor market over the past two years has been anything but stable and certain: within the span of 12 months, the market has experienced a dramatic increase in, and, the largest tallies ever in history, of worker resignations. There are more open positions in the United States than at any other time this century. HR, talent acquisition, and procurement leaders and their teams need the insights required to more accurately forecast what their workforce will look like in the future, given economic and organizational changes. Predictive retention data, modeled within direct sourcing programs, can augment how and when businesses engage talent pool candidates and what skillsets should be targeted in upcoming recruiting marketing campaigns.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives will be boosted with next-level intelligence over the next two years. DE&I remains a critical piece of direct sourcing and talent acquisition overall. In 2022, roughly a quarter of all businesses utilize AI within direct sourcing for DE&I purposes (27% for worker diversity data and 24% for general diversity and inclusion insights). More than half of all enterprises plan to use AI to drive these initiatives over the next 24 months. Businesses that invest in developing AI-led data collection will be able to cast a wider net within the realm of diversity, capturing gender, culture, background, neurodiversity, etc. These insights can provide hiring managers and executives with the intelligence needed to monitor and improve DE&I initiatives.

Moving from Direct Sourcing 1.0 to Direct Sourcing 2.0

Direct Sourcing by Christopher J. Dwyer on 03/09/2022

Leverage digital recruiting processes to engage and communicate with candidates. Recruitment marketing has been a key tool for talent acquisition teams that target both active and passive candidates with specific messaging regarding open positions. Digital recruitment marketing leverages this same thinking but also invites active and passive candidates to join branded portals (and talent pools) by crafting distinctive communications that speak to career paths, worker values, desired cultures, etc.
Harness the power of AI to more effectively validate candidates’ skill, expertise, fit, and overall alignment. Candidate assessment can be enhanced and improved by adding AI capabilities into the mix. Managers simply do not have the time, resources, or energy (especially in today’s frenetic market) to deal with a “bad hire.” Virtual recruiting has made skills validation more difficult and candidate fraud more commonplace. AI-led direct sourcing tools can augment the way that enterprises gain peace of mind over who and how they engage candidates before hiring.
Nurture talent pool candidates with next-generation strategies that take into account timing, trust, and mobile-enabled messaging. Sometimes it is not just how frequently hiring managers communicate with their talent pool candidates, but when they do so that can make a world of difference in the ability to “close” a candidate. Talent nurturing within Direct Sourcing 2.0 programs entails more advanced approaches including text-first messaging, better and deeper communication with candidates, and outreach that can build trust between employer and worker.
Scale direct sourcing to become a repeatable set of processes that can drive value across the full enterprise. Direct sourcing programs typically start small, with a specific segment of worker categories before expanding into other critical areas of the enterprise. Direct Sourcing 2.0 is the culmination of expansive, innovative strategies and solutions that can take direct sourcing to the next level by increasing the number of high-impact, talent-based positions that fall under the scope of the program.

The path to Direct Sourcing 2.0 is also rooted in the idea that data should drive talent-led decision-making. Most next-generation direct sourcing programs leverage AI-driven functionality to enable a more robust picture of available skillsets, improve the matching of available skills with open positions and project requirements, streamline the assessment of candidate skills and expertise, and enhance worker intelligence. The majority of businesses see AI and advanced analytics as a catalyst for Direct Sourcing 2.0 over the next two years.

Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange make the case that an employer’s brand can be a catalyst for talent transformation because it can be used to attract talent and maintain an allure as non-FTE workers shift in and out of enterprise projects. Direct Sourcing 2.0 builds on brand concepts and pushes them to a higher level by using AI and analytics on candidate data to improve messaging, increase support for diversity initiatives, and gain a clearer picture of the worker expertise available in today’s transformative labor market.

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