Looking for ways to access top talents with in-demand skills? Check out this staffing strategy!

Friday: Mindfulness by Miles FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Welcome to “Mindfulness by Miles!” Today, I’ll be sharing some of the key points I discussed in a webinar MBO Partners conducted in April 2021. The main topic of this event was direct sourcing, and how to use this strategy to access top talents in the future of work. It was such an honor to speak with 3 other industry leaders in the webinar and learn from their insights. You may listen to the recording and view the transcript of our discussion here. I also encourage you to keep reading below. I’m sharing a few insights to help you develop an agile workforce through adopting a frictionless approach to talent management. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

Looking for ways to access top talents with in-demand skills? Check out this staffing strategy! The workforce landscape is changing. With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating digital transformations, workplace transformations, and workforce transformations, many business leaders and HR managers are forced to position themselves not only as more valuable, strategic partners, but also as tech-savvy individuals. That’s why nowadays, lots of enterprises are focusing on how they can move forward and outsmart the trends in the industry. They believe these will help them adapt to the ever-changing workforce environment. One of the strategies businesses are trying out? Direct sourcing! In April 2021, MBO Partners conducted a webinar titled, “Direct Sourcing to Access Top Talent in the Future of Work.” Here, I, together with MBO Partners’ Senior Vice President of Enterprise Solutions Bob Lucas and two other industry leaders, KPMG’s Executive Director of Advisory Resource Management Marianne Galante and MUFG Union Bank’s Director of Contingent Workforce Management Sandra Buhler, discussed how businesses can establish a successful direct sourcing program. Below are the topics we talked about in the webinar: Growing trends in direct sourcing What organizations with defined programs can achieve in terms of cost savings, productivity, and access to skills How to create relationships with top-skilled labor sources, and establish talent pools and virtual benches of available talents How to build a business case for organizations to develop or improve a program How organizations are bypassing third party labor sources successfully How companies can integrate direct sourcing into their workforce and recruitment initiatives Before we dive deep into these topics, let’s first define direct sourcing… Direct sourcing is a strategy businesses use to find and engage independent contractors. This involves identifying candidates for an open project or role using their own internal resources instead of a third party. There are several options available when pursuing a direct sourcing strategy. You can access top talents via: Online Marketplaces These are open-to-the-public, skills-based platforms that allow access to people who have been prequalified to promote their services online. These marketplaces can be business-to-consumer or peer-to-peer. The best marketplace for finding high quality talents is one that is based on technology that delivers high quality matching. Additionally, a marketplace that offers compliance, onboarding, invoicing, and payment processing not only helps mitigate misclassification risks but also enables selected talents to get to work fast. Freelance Management Systems (FMS) Some companies that use contingent workers use technology that puts top talents into an online marketplace and provides an end-to-end solution to store talents, post and fill projects, and manage invoicing and onboarding. For example: MBO Partners has an online marketplace and an end-to-end contractor management services. Talent Networks, Talent Clouds, Talent Communities, and Talent Benches These are the places where organizations store talents. A talent network, cloud, community, or bench is a feature of the FMS. Here, the platform will allow the user to easily share projects and tap into this group of talents whenever a project opportunity comes. What are some of the benefits of direct sourcing? In our webinar, we explained that direct sourcing helps firms: Develop an agile talent strategy. Savvy enterprises are realizing not only the financial benefits but also the ROI (return on investment) of having quick access to in-demand skills, staffing flexibility, and ability to create a talent-centered brand to thrive in the future of work. Adopt a frictionless approach to talent management. Through direct sourcing, businesses can access talent on-demand, eliminate compliance risks, reduce recruiting and onboarding costs and times, and build and nurture known talents for future projects. Get the middleman out and focus on the connection. With direct sourcing, business leaders and HR managers build their talent pool while saving 30% to 70% of their resources by going directly to these talents instead of relying on a third party gatekeeper or intermediary. As more workers are joining the independent workforce, companies are realizing they have greater access to top talents than ever before. That is why many of them are looking for new ways to find and manage these talents! How to find Quality Independent Talents with Direct Sourcing One of the best ways to access top independent talents is through curation. In the webinar, we mentioned that the word “curation” began with the job of a curator in a museum or art gallery, and meant an individual who helps oversee the tangible assets of an organization and sort those assets into something meaningful for an audience. While the term has become overused nowadays, its concept remains valuable. The goal is still to offer a tailored and enhanced experience that is beneficial to the end user. When applied to the independent workforce, curation is the act of finding and selecting individuals based on a certain set of criteria. Why is this important in the world of work? Many clients only accept or welcome talents who meet a specific set of their criteria. From that first step, they can identify those who are fit for a certain task or project and those who are not. The result? A pool of quality candidates who would make for a far better client user experience! That’s why for me, Bob, Marianne, and Sandra, business leaders and HR managers must always remember that technology, platforms, and terminologies will continue to evolve. As individuals and organizations look to benefit from the future of work, it’s important to be specific AND correct in using each aspect of direct sourcing. — Successful direct sourcing has a huge impact on a company’s revenue and future direction. Because of this, many businesses are moving away from traditional hiring models and adapting to a new generation of workers. This staffing strategy can lead to significant savings in costs and time if done properly. It also helps companies directly access the booming contingent workforce. Making the most out of this labor pool is a great weapon in various firms’ competition for attracting top talents. Companies that find and engage with contingent workers outside of a traditional staffing agency are, by definition, direct sourcing. I hope you learned a lot from the recap of our webinar! By tapping into the power of direct sourcing to access top talents, you and your business can build a reputation as a “client of choice” of independents with in-demand skills, and continue to thrive in the future of work. Have a great day ahead!     Follow us on LinkedIn.