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Webinar Recap

Five Things You Must Know About the Future of Work (Revisited)

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsTalentTalent AcquisitionUncategorized by John Yuva on

As we reach the end of 2024, now is a good time to look back at the Five Things You Must Know About the Future of Work.  The Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) and Ardent Partners hosted this complimentary webinar, The Five Things You MUST KNOW About the Future of Work, discussing the critical capabilities that enterprises can unlock to truly optimize the way they address talent acquisition, extended workforce management, and, most importantly, work optimization. What follows revisits the five critical FOW areas.

#1 The Evolution of Talent and the Future of Work

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

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

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

Technology is a Future of Work Centerpiece

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

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The Rising Tide of AI in Talent Acquisition (On-Demand Webinar)

EventsTalent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on

It’s no secret that artificial intelligence is the veritable “rising tide” that shapes both businesses and personal arenas unlike any other technology before it. In the world of work, AI has become a formidable gamechanger in how enterprises find, engage, source, and manage talent…meaning that those businesses that have not yet embraced artificial intelligence will soon find that their tech-enabled brethren will maintain a critical advantage.

AI shapes industries, decisions, interactions, and opportunities, essentially impact everyone’s work and daily life.

If you missed last week’s exclusive webcast that featured Opptly and the Future of Work Exchange, don’t worry…we’ve got you covered. Check out an on-demand replay below and learn why Opptly’s Lori Hock and Rebecca Valladares (and, of course, the Future of Work Exchange) believe that AI will forever transform talent acquisition.

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The Age of Omni-Channel Talent Acquisition Is Here

Uncategorized by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange have written extensively about the shifts happening in the greater world of work and talent. One such transformation, omni-channel talent acquisition, revolves around the concept of enterprises are enabled with a variety of candidate sources that can be converged to drive real-time skills alignment, on-demand hiring, and enhanced visibility into deeper attributes of candidates. While traditional staffing suppliers are still a critical piece of the contingent workforce, the “omni-channel experience” represents a new era in which enterprises can expand their talent searches through the advent of innovation, direct sourcing automation, new candidate channels, and next-generation and AI-fueled technology.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Exchange hosted an exclusive webcast focused on the evolution of the omni-channel talent acquisition experience and its expected impact in 2023 and beyond. If you happened to miss the live event, check out an on-demand edition of the webinar below.

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Managing the Extended Workforce Requires Agile Automation

Solution ProvidersTalentTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of joining VMS and extended workforce platform Beeline for an exclusive webcast focused on transformative technology’s role in the Future of Work movement. Alongside Lesley Walsh, the solution provider’s VP of Client Relationship Management, the event discussed how the new world of work and talent requires agile automation to navigate an uncertain 2023, as well as the role of extended workforce technology in supercharging contingent workforce management (CWM) programs and initiatives.

Lesley and I not only chatted all things Future of Work (including the state of work today, the volatile labor market, etc.) and “human”-led concepts (such as empathy-driven leadership and more flexible, human-focused enterprise thinking), but also revealed some brand-new research findings from the Ardent Partners/Future of Work Exchange research study, Why the Extended Workforce (and Future of Work) Requires Agile Automation…which can be accessed here. And, enjoy an excerpt below:

The Future of Work Exchange frequently states: “Flexibility is the Future of Work.” The ultimate state of “work optimization” is more than reimagining specific facets of enterprise operations. In essence, there are three main tenets of the Future of Work movement: 1) the evolution of talent engagement and talent acquisition, 2) the impact of new technology and innovation, and 3) the transformation of business leadership.

The extended workforce of 2023 comprises nearly half of the average company’s total talent (47.5%); the growing size and strategic impact of this workforce requires that businesses leverage tactical and strategic efficiencies to get work done effectively and adeptly. Extended workforce management, much like typical CWM, requires end-to-end efficiencies and high flexibility. These operational elements allow executive leaders to shift, scale, and re-form their workforce initiatives as shifts in economic and global markets arise.

In 2023, the fluid and evolving nature of the extended workforce means that businesses must navigate uncertainty while ensuring that top-tier talent is engaged and sourced effectively. While more mature CWM programs can withstand these new, converged pressures, all businesses must move from tactical to strategic when engaging and managing their extended workforce to drive the most value from these unique skillsets and expertise.

“Traditional” elements such as cost savings and time-to-fill rates are obviously crucial attributes to any extended workforce management program. However, it is the way enterprises blend contemporary nuances of today’s evolving talent architecture that determines how they will thrive in 2023.

Download the new research study here, and, if you missed last month’s webcast with Beeline, check out an on-demand replay here.

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The Impact of Direct Sourcing on 2023 Hiring Strategies

Uncategorized by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Last week, Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange hosted an exclusive webcast, Scale Your 2023 Hiring Initiatives With Direct Sourcing, that highlighted the impact of direct sourcing on talent acquisition in 2023 and beyond.

Over the past three years, there may be no hotter topic in the world of talent and work than direct sourcing, and rightfully so: it was a top overall priority for enterprises heading into the pandemic, and, during it, these businesses realized the workforce scalability and candidate experience enhancement inherent in direct sourcing programs. Last week’s event discussed:

  • Why the volatility of 2023 will be an ideal setting for direct sourcing strategies and programs to shine.
  • The functionality required to digitize recruitment and catalyze direct sourcing success.
  • How “Direct Sourcing 2.0” represents the next generation of direct sourcing via mobility, AI, and an enhanced hiring manager experience, and;
  • The specific ways direct sourcing can impact hiring strategies, talent acquisition initiatives, and extended workforce programs in 2023.

If you happened to miss the live event, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Check out the on-demand edition of Scale Your 2023 Hiring Initiatives With Direct Sourcing below, and stay tuned to the Future of Work Exchange for our next exclusive live event.

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Demystifying Artificial Intelligence for the Extended Workforce

Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Today, AI is prevalent in both full-time/traditional talent acquisition and within the extended workforce arena. Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that nearly 60% of organizations are effectively “blending” AI and human-led processes into the current hiring initiatives, with another 34% expected to do the same over the next 12-to-24 months.

Back in February, I joined Beeline and HiredScore for an exclusive webcast on demystifying the role of artificial intelligence in hiring and extended workforce management. Beeline’s Colleen Tiner (SVP Strategy), HiredScore’s Athena Karp (CEO & Founder), and I discussed how AI could be leveraged to enhance hiring, drive total talent intelligence, and combat the ramifications of The Great Resignation. If you missed the webcast, we’ve got you covered:

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Navigating Services Procurement in a Future of Work-First World

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on

I recently had the pleasure of moderating an edition of Randstad Sourceright’s Talent Navigator series to discuss the reimagining of services procurement. RSR’s Global Head of Services Procurement, Paul Vincent, Deployed’s co-founder and COO, Kayleigh Kuptz, and Senior Director at Visa, Sarah-Jayne (SJ) Aldridge, joined me to discuss how a business-first and Future of Work-focused services procurement and SOW management program is required to drive true ROI, not just cost savings, from these initiatives.

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For HR, The Path Forward is Clear: Optimize How Work Gets Done

Business LeadershipHRTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Future of Work has many extensions, all of which touch various enterprise functions in some profound manner. As this movement became more associated with the evolving world of talent, enterprise functions such as HR and talent acquisition found that much of the focus on the workforce-related elements of the Future of Work fell to them to enhance.

HR sits in a unique position within today’s transformative business arena: they have the ability to influence how works gets done through a mixture of extended workforce management, its expertise regarding human capital, and, most importantly, total talent intelligence. For the past decade, the very realm of “total talent management” has been mired in conversations around “myth vs. theory vs. reality,” with many organizations believing that there is no true secret formula to managing all workers through a single, centralized umbrella of strategies, solutions, and systems. However, the concept of total talent intelligence, in which businesses have broad-range, on-demand visibility into its total talent network, allows them to effectively understand which resources or skillsets are required for a new project, role, or initiatives.

In essence, total talent intelligence is the “gateway drug” to total talent management. Just a couple of weeks ago, I joined extended workforce management system provider Utmost for a webinar that also featured VP of Marketing (and longtime friend), Neha Goel, who succinctly stated that total talent intelligence served as an ideal gateway for businesses seeking to develop total talent management programs.

The webinar also highlighted the five strategies every HR executive needed to include in their 2022 planning, such as the recalibration of the Future of Work, building towards “talent sustainability,” and reimagining “HR psychology.” Another nugget from the webcast: the fact that 61% of HR executives are actively building towards “talent sustainability” translates into a greater desire to have the appropriate skills for when unknown future needs arise (and, of course, developing a self-sustaining flow of expertise when combined with direct hire and other recruitment strategies).

The event also highlighted the “talent revolution” muddying today’s evolving staffing landscape and how it translates into an escalated war for talent. A multifaceted talent engagement approach for HR moving forward, as Neha and I discussed, must include brand, culture, purpose, and flexibility. HR and hiring managers must blend human and digital elements in navigating this evolving talent landscape to truly encapsulate the notion of work optimization.

For the HR function, this is the true Future of Work. The revolution of talent occurring in the labor market today necessitates that HR leaders inject innovation, transformative thinking, and next-generation technology to spark a renewed emphasis on how work is addressed and done. [Click here to check out a recording of the Future of Work Exchange webinar with Utmost.]

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