The Future of Work Exchange Podcast welcomes Christy Forest, CEO and Executive Director at LiveHire, to discuss the current state of direct sourcing, the future of this high-impact strategy, the reality of total talent management, and much more.
This week’s podcast, sponsored by Worksuite, also highlights the importance of “balance” between human-centricity and digital evolution.
Our “Talent Expert Series” on FOWX features podcast excerpts of today’s Future of Work thought leaders who appear on The Future of Work Exchange Podcast. The series kicks off with an excerpt from Season 7, Episode 12 featuring Kara Kaplan, CEO of High5, as she discusses a range of topics from the evolution of staffing to the growth in the extended enterprise to the next stage of direct sourcing.
Click to listen to the full interview. Note that this excerpt has been edited for readability.
Christopher Dwyer: Let’s begin with your general insights into the staffing industry, especially given your unique vantage point with High5. When you think of the evolution of staffing and the rise and continued growth of the extended workforce, where are we today?
Kara Kaplan: For starters, the evolution of staffing and the emergence of the extended workforce has ushered in this profound transformation that we’re seeing. It’s a fundamental shift in how companies view and engage with talent. The traditional employment model has been supplemented and, in some cases, supplanted by an extended workforce. Thus, you see many organizations today, if not most, embracing the extended workforce as an integral component of their talent strategy.
And when we look at the term “employee” in general, it’s really evolving with these new models. You have everything from full-time, part-time, contract, gig, remote, hybrid, shared and other terms emerging. Those organizations that rigidly stick to the traditional relationship are going to find themselves fighting an uphill battle. Conversely, enterprises that appreciate and use a mix of workforce models will ultimately be the ones that succeed and have access to more talent and better talent.
It’s more of an adaptation to the new global economy that we now live in and all the complexities and opportunities that are part and parcel of that global shift. At the end of the day, organizations need to embrace this evolution not as an option but more as a strategic imperative. The exciting thing is that organizations are starting to do that.
CD: There is definitely a talent revolution occurring and obviously companies like High 5 fit into that. However, how do you see companies like High5 and other digital staffing platforms fitting into this change in talent acquisition?
KK: Today’s talent revolution signifies a profound shift in how organizations acquire and engage talent. We’re seeing it become much more commoditized. Talent is more dynamic and diverse, as well as more digitally connected than ever before. With the rise of talent marketplaces and digital staffing solutions, they’ve been instrumental in reshaping talent acquisition strategies and truly enabling organizations to adapt and thrive in this global landscape.
At their core, talent marketplaces democratized new access to a global pool of talent. These platforms are empowering organizations to source talent with levels of speed and accuracy that were not possible just a short time ago. For example, in the recent past, when working with many staffing agencies, there was a significant amount of manual effort required in matching a worker with a shift — even if they had a robust ATS, it would only benefit them to a degree. However, today’s digital staffing solutions driven by artificial intelligence and automation have redefined the recruitment process and streamlined nearly everything from candidate sourcing to screening to onboarding and payrolling. It saves a vast amount of time and resources.
CD: In our industry when you think about digital staffing, what comes to mind is BMS, MSP, direct sourcing, total talent, workforce management technology, and artificial intelligence. AI has moved beyond hype and is generally accepted as table stakes in our industry. What are your views on AI and its impact?
KK: To your point, we can’t have this conversation without talking about generative AI and what it means. However, the idea that AI is table stakes for competitive differentiation may be overly simplistic. While AI can undoubtedly provide a significant edge, it’s not a cure-all as companies are seeing. Enterprises still have to remain focused on their core offerings and the human aspect of talent as well as customer relationships to build a sustainable competitive advantage. It’s certainly an exciting time for AI but also a scary one as well. AI is not going away and we’ll continue to hear frequently about the technology, but going forward we need to think about AI in the right way and in the smart way.
CD: Let’s pivot to direct sourcing which was gaining momentum even before the pandemic and is now another table-stakes strategy for businesses if they want to deepen their talent pool and scale their workforce. There’s so much more to direct sourcing than simply contingent recruitment process outsourcing (RPO). With that in mind, where do you see direct sourcing heading?
KK: So much has changed in just the year since I started High5. There’s no doubt that direct sourcing has emerged as a pivotal force in recruiting and is definitely here to stay. There are sessions at major conferences dedicated to direct sourcing with brands like Northern Trust, Toyota, and Meta espousing its benefits. When that starts to happen, the more prominence direct sourcing will have. Clearly, in terms of the future of direct sourcing, the benefits are there. However, its adoption will require an education process. Anytime an education process is involved, it’s going to slow things down, particularly from a sales cycle perspective, but that process plays a vital role in ensuring that organizations realize the efficacy of direct sourcing. To be successful means ensuring that best practices are being followed. When direct sourcing initiatives fail, it’s because they didn’t follow best practices. Again, I’m extremely bullish on the future of direct sourcing, but I do think it will take some time for that education to catch up.
CD: Before we wrap up, 2023 is quickly coming to an end. What do you see on the horizon in the year ahead?
KK: I wish I had a crystal ball. For us, 2024 is about strengthening our position in the market. Being known as the “tech first” company, we’re making heavy investments in our tech enablement, our marketplace, and our other platforms. We have a great deal of excitement around some of our recent tech acquisitions and the compelling value proposition that creates for us going forward.
The Future of Work Exchange ends 2023 with a fun conversation featuring Talent Solution TAPFIN‘s Global Vice President of Client Experience and Partnerships, Jen Torney, and Beeline‘s SVP of Market Strategies, Brian Hoffmeyer. We chat about the major trends that shaped 2023 and look ahead to which strategies, concepts, ideas, and technology will impact the year ahead.
The Future of Work Exchange welcomes Matt Ryan, VP of Enterprise Solutions at Upwork, to discuss the company’s new partnerships, the future of digital staffing, the state of workforce solutions, and much more. We also chat about the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on talent engagement and talent acquisition, how the workforce continues to evolve, and the growth of the extended workforce.
Another all-new edition of the Future of Work Exchange Podcast features an in-depth discussion with Kara Kaplan, CEO of High5. Kara and I chat about the evolution of staffing, the growth of the extended workforce, the power of direct sourcing, and the future of omni-channel talent acquisition.
The Future of Work movement would not be what it is without Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) playing a significant part in the paradigm. A decade ago, diversity was associated more with supplier initiatives focused on Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses. The term has evolved and expanded into DE&I where the human element is now the priority.
A recent Future of Work Exchange Podcast hosted by Christopher Dwyer, managing director for FOWX, featured Rocki Howard, chief equity and impact officer for The Mom Project, who discussed the role and impact of DE&I on the Future of Work movement.
The Mom Project is a digital talent and community platform serving 1.2 million users (the majority being moms as well as over 3,000 companies from small- to medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500).
This article recaps some of that discussion. Note that this excerpt has been edited for readability.
Christopher Dwyer: While the Future of Work relies on technology and innovation, it also brings focus to the humanity of the worker. Workers crave flexibility — not just work-life balance — but also work-life integration. Describe what the renewed interest in workers being people not just commodities means to you.
Rocki Howard: Often when I’m speaking and coaching about diversity initiatives and what makes them sustainable, there are two core components to consider. You have to consider diversity as a business imperative and as a human imperative. When I made the purposeful pivot in my career to focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), one of the things I found was that many companies were focused on the systemic issues that take place or that need to be fixed and then take place. And that is critical and important, and we have to do it.
But one of the things that I was extremely disappointed by was the lack of conversations that were happening around people. Not talking about what is the experience for Rocki Howard as she works for company XYZ and how that should impact how we are recalibrating our systems at work and how we treat people. Because there has been a power shift in terms of the world of work. Employers used to hold all the power. That’s no longer the case. There needs to be a partnership.
Quite frankly, that’s one of the reasons I came to work for The Mom Project. Our mission is always about people. We’re always talking about mom and how we can support mom. Even when we think internally at The Mom Project, we listen to the voices of the people who work for us. We’re not trying to create systems or programs in a checkbox or in a performative way.
Even as we partner with organizations, we are looking for those who have respectful workplaces and respect the voices of moms and their dual working status. It can’t just be the business imperative. The human imperative has to be there as well. For companies that are going to get this right, it can’t be just about the human imperative either. There has to be a balance between the business imperative and the human imperative.
CD: There are many organizations that have their hearts in the right place, but they don’t know where to start with a DE&I initiative. They want to be more diverse in the way they think as well as have more diverse voices in their organization, while also being more inclusive. Based on your vast experience, knowledge, and expertise, how should businesses recalibrate the way they think about DE&I?
RH: I could talk for hours on this topic. First, you need to start with an honest assessment of what diversity means within your particular culture. Begin with the end in mind. When you define success in your organization, what does that look like? What pillars of diversity do you want to focus on? Have you talked with your employees? When I started at The Mom Project, I spent significant time doing focus groups with various employees asking questions about how authentic they thought our initiatives were. What did they want to see? What was important to them? What would make them proud as we move forward? I don’t think we spend enough time doing this. Often, we fall into comparison syndrome where if X company is approaching diversity a certain way, then we should be doing that. But that may not be what works for your specific environment.
Second, I think we need to start moving towards integrated DEIB solutioning. There’s been a tremendous amount of focus on DEIB during the recruiting cycle, but we haven’t moved beyond that through the talent management lifecycle. That’s important for us to do. One of my clients once said they couldn’t recruit their way out of the problem. However, if they’re not thinking about the experience throughout the lifecycle, then they’re not going to reach equity, inclusion, and belonging. They won’t see successful sustainable initiatives as a result.
Lastly, DEIB is not a singular “problem to solve.” We need to be more collaborative. It is not something that can be solved by one person or one company as a competitive advantage. Coming together as a global community as we work together to solve this is going to be important as will leaning on partnerships with organizations like The Mom Project. Everyone has a role to play. And no one can be removed from the conversation. When I think of companies that are at the starting line, those are the conversations to get started. And then you drive everything else from there.
CD: When we look at the landscape (i.e., workforce solutions and the talent acquisition industry) a year from now, where do you feel DE&I and diversity as a whole will be?
RH: That question is one that keeps me up at night. We’re starting to see an erosion of diversity resources, whether it’s people, money, or time resources. But what I’m really hopeful of is that we’re not going to take steps back. Collectively, I think society and our communities are going to hold us accountable for the promises that we’ve made to continue to move forward. If there’s one hope I have for DEIB initiatives moving forward, is that we crack the frozen middle. Many times where diversity initiatives go to die within our organizations is at middle management. What I’d like to see is for us to crack that frozen middle and get our middle managers involved and integrated into being inclusive leaders. I think the leadership framework must change. And we must crack that frozen middle in order to have real impact. That’s what I’m hoping we will see moving forward.
The Future of Work Exchange Podcast welcomes Dave McGonegal, VP of Strategic Client Solutions at ManpowerGroup Solutions, to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence in talent acquisition and workforce management, the evolution of the extended workforce, what’s ahead for the Future of Work movement, and much more.
This week’s all-new episode also highlights why a cooling labor market is beneficial for the overall sustainability of the workforce.
The Future of Work Exchange Podcast welcomes Rocki Howard, Chief Equity and Impact Officer at The Mom Project, to discuss the evolution of diversity and the role (and impact) of DE&I on the Future of Work movement.
In addition, this week’s podcast looks back on last month’s Future of Work Exchange LIVE event in Boston and chats about recent inflation news and its link to the volatile labor market.
An all-new episode of the Future of Work Exchange Podcast, sponsored by Beeline, features a discussion with Athena Karp, CEO and Founder of HiredScore. Athena and I discuss the power of artificial intelligence in talent technology, its impact on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), and what lies ahead for the Future of Work movement in 2023.
Tune into Episode 705 of The Future of Work Exchange Podcast below, or subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.
An all-new episode of the Future of Work Exchange Podcast, sponsored by Beeline, features a discussion with Sean Ring, VP of On-Demand Talent Solutions at People 2.0. Sean and I chat about omni-channel talent acquisition, the future of direct sourcing, the talent-led revolution, and what the Future of Work has in store for 2023.
Tune into Episode 704 of The Future of Work Exchange Podcast below, or subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.