Uncertainty drives total talent programs

Uncertainty has become the new normal. Talent acquisition leaders are facing challenges in this unpredictable environment with talent shortages, wage inflation, burnout and prior overhiring. Additionally, AI tools and language models like ChatGPT are contributing to uncertainty with their rapidly evolving capabilities.  

It’s difficult for any talent leader to navigate on their own.  

The complexity of finding the right talent is perpetuated by the fact that today’s job roles don’t match with the projects being performed in roles. In fact, 63% of business executives reported workers are focused on team and project work that fall outside their current job descriptions, according to a survey from Deloitte. Today’s agile workforce requires a skills-based approach, where employees can be assigned to work that best aligns with their skills, capabilities and interests in real time. 

Keeping up with this rapid change and boom in technology is necessary so projects run cohesively. This must be based on who’s fit for purpose for the tasks — regardless of whether they’re permanent or contingent positions. Ensuring success means transparency and visibility across the entire workforce and recruitment function is key to driving informed business decisions.  After all, talent is talent regardless of job titles or descriptions. The best outsourced talent programs now blend recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), managed service provider (MSP) capabilities and contingent talent acquisition solutions for a total talent approach.  

Next-generation total talent programs   

Blended talent solutions are continually growing in popularity with the widening talent demand-supply gap. As a result, almost a quarter (23%) of the 2022 global RPO market was derived from blended RPO, MSP and talent management contracts, with another 12% of the market offering a fully blended solution under a single contract, according to research from Staffing Industry Analysts. 

When it comes to approaching talent strategically, MSP alone is often too transactional to deal with market expectations. But, infusing employment branding, strategic workforce planning and technology consulting, for example, can solve issues associated with reliance on technology, outdated tech, data management limitations and fastest-to-fill hiring models.   

Next-generation total talent solutions deliver engaging, high-touch and personalized candidates and hiring manager experiences and are more productive in this talent landscape than the traditional models that fail to view talent together.   

Benefits of total talent solutions  

Integrated workforce management strategies streamline internal operations among procurement, talent acquisition and hiring managers. Cross-functional processes and policies, supported by unified data and business intelligence, provide multiple benefits, including:   

• Improved insights into the total cost of hiring all talent  
• Continuous engagement with talent communities  

• A better employee value proposition (EVP) 
• Improved compliance and reduced risk because of the reduction in the number of third-party suppliers being utilized 
• The ability to fill critical roles  
• Standardized analysis across all engagement platforms regardless of source  
• Greater talent acquisition agility and scalability  

• Improved candidate quality and hiring experience  
• Increase in hiring manager satisfaction  
• More access to talent through organization-owned talent communities   
  

A true demand management program 

By looking at talent holistically and accounting for each type of talent’s contribution to operations, talent acquisition teams can build a demand management program. This allows you to:   

• Hire the best type of worker for the project at hand as it gives talent teams the ability to source and procure contingent workforce talent that is high quality, aligned to specific business needs and available “on-demand” to meet immediate talent needs.   
• Support hiring manager needs while still maintaining headcount and budget control as talent teams can make improved talent decisions based on the projects at hand and associated deadlines. In addition, permanent employees will be able to move around to fill different needs within organizations without the expense or time required to hire or source new talent.   
• Protect organizational security and costs with better processes and systems to manage and mitigate the risk of contingent worker administration across the worker lifecycle.   

The ability to oversee and manage an entire workforce – both for day-to-day needs and when forecasting future adjustments – is a true demand management model. But it only functions efficiently if permanent and contingent workforces are managed as one cohesive group that can be deployed as required.