The workforce is changing. Know how this direct sourcing program is changing the way agile firms find top talents!

Friday: Mindfulness by Miles FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Happy Friday, everyone. Welcome to “Mindfulness by Miles!” Today, we’ll be sharing some of the key points I discussed in a webinar MBO Partners conducted in October 2021. The main topic of the event was about optimizing talent programs with branded marketplaces. Here, I spoke with top industry professionals from KPMG and UnitedLex. You may listen to the recording and view the transcript of our discussion here. We also encourage you to read the article below. We’re sharing some of our insights about ways to create direct relationships with highly skilled workers through branded talent marketplaces. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

The workforce is changing. Know how this direct sourcing program is changing the way agile firms find top talents! Enterprises today are having to adapt to new business practices. With the acceleration of various workforce trends due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some firms are even facing shortages, especially for highly skilled, in-demand workers. That’s why lots of companies nowadays are looking to increase their businesses’ speed, flexibility, agility, and use of independent labor. What’s more? They’re also turning to private branded and curated marketplaces to access, hire, and manage highly skilled independent consultants, contractors, and gig workers. On October 14, 2021, my team at MBO Partners conducted a webinar titled, “Optimizing Talent Programs with Branded Marketplaces.” In this event, I had the privilege to speak with KPMG’s National Director for Recruiting and Advisory John Henkel and UnitedLex’s Senior Vice President for Digital Solutions and Methods Audra Nichols. In our discussion, we highlighted new data from an exclusive report on the use of branded marketplaces and contingent labor, and shared how organizations can engage and optimize their own workforces for future growth. We also discussed other topics such as: The benefits of establishing strategic plans to set a path for business success in the coming years Ways to establish a successfully branded marketplace as part of a direct sourcing program What organizations with defined programs are achieving in terms of cost savings, productivity, and access to skills Actionable insights regarding established and grown internal direct sourcing programs and marketplaces Let’s dive into these topics further… Today’s human resource (HR) landscape has evolved and that’s why it’s important to know the growing trends in organizations across various industries to directly source talent. Knowing these trends will not only help firms establish talent pools and virtual benches but also create direct relationships with highly skilled labor via branded marketplaces. We also highlighted some studies and statistics in the webinar. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans 45 years old and below will likely change jobs in 4.5 years. Meanwhile, those who are 35 years old and below will likely change jobs in 3.2 years. This shows in today’s work landscape, firms no longer have a permanent workforce. That’s why when hiring workers, companies must not think about either-or strategies. They need to have a full-time workforce AND an extended workforce, which consists of consultants, independent contractors, gig workers, etc. I believe this ecosystem is what will lead to business success in the future of work. Another statistics we mentioned in the webinar was from MBO’s State of Independence of America report, where it was stated that the number of independents grew by 30% in 2021, and most of these workers are millennials and Gen Zs. Based on this data, Henkel, Nichols, and I agree that not having enough jobs is not the problem the world is facing right now. Rather, it’s not having enough full-time workers to work on a certain job. This talent scarcity is what’s driving employers, managers, and recruiters to think about how they’re going to use their workforce. One of the strategies firms are implementing nowadays? Building branded marketplaces as part of their direct sourcing program! According to another study, branded talent marketplaces are changing the way agile firms find top talents. Contingent labor trends also show that business priorities have shifted. Currently, the average contingent labor workforce of companies in the U.S. is at 28%. This number is expected to grow to 38% in the next 5 years. Some of the top reasons for adopting this type of workforce are: Increased productivity Getting tasks done more quickly and efficiently Meeting workload peaks Access to specialized skills and hard-to-hire talents Surprisingly, saving money is no longer part of the top reasons as the factors listed above take more of firms’ priorities. That’s why for Henkel, Nichols, and I, a branded marketplace is the best way to find contingent talents. In fact, usage of internal independent talent worker marketplaces are expected to grow in the next 18 months as high levels of satisfaction are reported by current users. … and one of the ways to attract talents to branded marketplaces? Building a relationship with them. Examples: At UnitedLex, Nichols says they have a program called, “Engagement Campaign.” Here, the firm focuses on building positive relationships with talents that come into the firm’s pool by letting them know as much about UnitedLex as clients and full-time employees do. Through this program, the company is able to ensure those who are coming to its marketplace actually want to work with various teams and employees because they have a passion to be in an organization that offers lots of opportunities for them. Meanwhile, KPMG has a different strategy. According to Henkel, the firm has a robust recruitment-branding-marketing strategy, and he and his team spend a lot of time doing research about the contingent workforce. For instance, whenever KPMG sends out surveys to its engaged resources, it wants to know how it could further refine its marketing to make its brand more compelling for highly skilled talents. Henkel also adds that once talents are coming into KPMG’s pool, he makes sure everyone in the firm treats these independents as true professionals and not just people who come and go. This enables the contingent workforce to feel valued and contribute to KPMG. — Nowadays, independent talents are looking for companies they think could be “Clients of Choice.” This is because in the current world of work, the balance of power has shifted from employers to employees. This means workers of today have the power to pick which company they would like to work for… AND in a much more fluid or mobile way. That’s why branding is crucial! It’s all the things companies do to let independent talents know who they are. Besides, training and creating impactful learning pathways are an added feature of robust, branded talent marketplaces. By harnessing the power of these workers, firms establish positive interactions and value creation to ensure both full-time employees and independent talents stay happy and fulfilled. We hope you learned great leadership and management insights from our webinar! Keep in mind that for your talent marketplace to thrive and TRULY add value, you have to build a culture of proactive engagement and co-creation within the workplace. This will not only attract highly skilled talents but also bring about positive changes in your organization. Stay tuned for more topics related to the independent workforce and the future of work!     Follow us on LinkedIn.