Redefining work through a mature total talent strategy helps hire better talent more quickly and cost-effectively, says report.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the long-existing workforce models and labor demand. Organizations were not only forced to move to remote work, but thousands of people were also either furloughed or lost jobs as organization revenues took a hit. At the same time, people who were considered essential continued to work in warehouses, shop floors, grocery stores, or hospitals and healthcare centers. Many organizations also faced uncertainties and mandates to reduce fixed human capital costs. Given the agility and readiness organizations require in a post-pandemic world, organizations are forced to turn toward contingent talent.
Randstad Sourceright recently surveyed 850 human capital and C-suite leaders to understand their approach to hiring talent and released the “Rise of the agile workforce†reportOpens a new window . According to the report, 77% of employers say that their talent strategy is now more focused on workforce agility than ever. Further, 56% of the leaders expect to shift more roles to project, contingent, or contract work. Having said that, tough questions and challenges are facing the organizations. Yet, for companies that take advantage of this opportunity to transform, there is no better time.
The report further discusses how innovative leaders are driving transformation and greater business agility in their organizations. Read on to know how you can incorporate these steps in your organization.
Also read: Talent Gap Analysis: The Complete Guide for 2021
1. Harness the New Age of Contingent Talent
The global contingent workforce was expanding even before the pandemic, owing to several factors. However, when the pandemic first hit, the demand for the contingent workforce dropped drastically. By Q3 of 2020, companies started hiring temporary talent to supplement their workforce needs. In 2021, the demand for flexible talent is expected to be markedly higher due to the pandemic. In April, it was reported that billings for temporary labor had accelerated. This trend is in line with many organizations’ strategies before the pandemic as they sought to trade in fixed talent costs for flexible spending.
In recent years, businesses have examined how to balance talent holistically, giving them better cost utilization and control. For organizations such as Philips, a total talent mindset has become a priority as talent leaders realize the benefits of the model.
The study found that 47% of the organizations are increasing the budgets earmarked for total talent investment. Further, 69% expect they will likely implement total talent management this year. The most common reasons to invest in total talent are to create efficiencies in hiring (35%), build for the future (34%), and bring strategic planning into HR (33%).
2. Build a Sustainable Workforce Through Flexibility
For a long time, “workforce†meant permanent employees. However, this is no longer the case in many organizations. Many companies viewed contingent work as part of their strategic planning, and many of them even planned to explore it even before the pandemic seriously. The pandemic has given organizations a reason to accelerate their transformation, and, probably, some organizations will permanently change their workforce model.
The study showed a strong desire among organizations to integrate flexible and permanent talent. About 51% of leaders have consolidated internal responsibilities for contingent and permanent workers. Additionally, growing interest in direct sourcing contingent workers has forced many companies to think about how to hire talent, curate it, and redeploy wherever it is needed. Simultaneously, organizations will also have to think about how they will redefine work to leverage the accessibility and flexibility of contingent talent, as the traditional approach does not support an optimized talent strategy.
To optimize contingent talent, leaders and hiring managers will have to break down silos and see how different work arrangements can achieve better results than traditional hires.
3. Redefine Work Using a Total Talent Strategy
Once businesses consolidate internal responsibilities for talent, success will depend on how organizations redefine how work is done. Companies leading transformation realize there are different and better ways, using tech, data, and well-designed processes to decide how work gets done. Leaders redefine work through a mature total talent strategy, leading to the trifecta of resourcing: acquiring better talent more quickly and cost-effectively.
More organizations are now open to provide work flexibility to non-employed workers. This flexibility encourages talent to consider different work schedules, project work, job sharing or even contractor status. The study found that before the pandemic, only about 28% of contingent workers were remote. After the outbreak, the number increased to 44% in the last quarter of 2020.
However, permanent flexible work arrangements are just one aspect of redefining work. Going forward, understanding what talent is available and how quickly they can be deployed will play a huge role in workforce planning. Furthermore, many companies are creatively upskilling and redeploying talent to where resources are needed the most. Simultaneously, they are turning to reskill those relocated to other roles to help them succeed. This is done for both contingent talent and permanent employees.
Also read: 3 Sure-Shot Ways to Retain Today’s Top Performers and Tomorrow’s Top Talent
4. Use Technology as a Driver
When it comes to hiring, broader adoption of chatbots, advancement of AI-powered solutions, and candidate management platforms and talents are changing how organizations acquire talent. However, the challenge is making the most of HR tech investments to enable talent leaders and the workforce. The study showed that 73% of leaders say HR tech is helping their talent teams focus on business-critical activities better. Further, 70% report that AI will present new opportunities for organizations like theirs.
About 71% also say that robotics and AI will make hiring more efficient. About 71% believe they can source, attract, and engage more of the right talent. At the same time, while 72% believe that AI will create job opportunities, 52% believe that jobs will be lost from broad adoption. In such a case, process engineers will have to take a closer look at how work will be distributed between machines and humans on an ongoing basis. Organizations will also have to consider the value humans add to a role versus a machine.
5. Talent Analytics Create the Agility Needed for Agility
Companies that embrace a total talent model today not only rely on workforce data but also business metrics to guide decision-making. And AI will be critical for extracting actionable insights from the incoming data and information. Further, people analytics can help organizations to achieve more effective business decisions. For organizations to use analytics to optimize their workforce, they should consider the data sources that can transform access to, competition for and the relevance of skill sets.
Organizations can use market data at a role level to drive cost efficiencies and time to fill. Along with data of existing resources, talent acquisition and contingent workforce data can give hiring managers a clearer perspective into the options available to fill a role. At a line business level, global market data can guide where companies should establish a footprint to access the right talent pools. Finally, analytics can provide a long-term roadmap of skills availability within an organization’s workforce.
According to the study, 36% of businesses are keeping their predictive talent analytics budgets steady, while 42% say they are making more investments in this area. About 25% of the respondents have already integrated their tech stacks and talent analytics to move toward total talent management.
Also read: 6 Strategies for Hiring Tech Talent Remotely
Future-Proofing Talent Strategy
As organizations grapple with a volatile global economy, changing work environments, and competitive landscape, they have an opportunity to stay ahead of the trends and competition with talent. By building a more flexible workforce, changing the way they define work, and putting the technology and data in place, they can drive business readiness and future-proof their talent strategy.
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