Broadleaf’s Executive Vice President Jason Krumwiede was recently featured as one of three panelists in a webinar hosted by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA). The discussion centered around the current state of total talent acquisition/management.

What is total talent acquisition/management?

Total talent management (TTM) integrates direct hire employee (RPO) and contingent/temporary worker (MSP) talent solutions to create an all-encompassing approach to workforce management. By loosening the constraints of existing talent silos and thinking about it holistically, organizations gain the ability to make resourcing decisions based on the task at hand and align the right talent to meet their needs—regardless of the resource type. When asked to elaborate further, Jason said, “it’s a comprehensive approach to where job candidates are in the process of their employment journey and understanding what their needs are.” With the current economic conditions of inflation and recessionary headwinds, there’s been a shift around Managed Service Programs (MSP) and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) programs and designing contract labor and supplier strategies to meet clients’ needs through a flexible, holistic total talent management approach.

Embracing total talent management workforce strategies

Within an organization, workforce management is often siloed with contract labor managed by the procurement department and the HR or talent acquisition department responsible for full-time labor. Companies often use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for full-time hires and a Vendor Management System (VMS) for larger contingent labor programs, and these platforms are often not integrated.

When a Broadleaf client creates a job requisition—regardless of whether it was created in an ATS or VMS—our client delivery team asks the client questions to challenge their standard thought process and procedures. Would you consider a full-time hire in place of a contingent worker? Or a temp-to-perm worker in place of a direct hire? We have found that 25 to 27 percent of workers that start as temporary contractors are converted to full-time employees in 90 to 120 days. Jason stated, “regardless of whether a worker is a full-time employee, contract worker, or 1099, it’s important to bring the right skill set to the business to meet their needs.” He went on to say that creating a holistic approach to a client’s talent management is a building process and it takes time, credibility, and momentum to drive the change they are seeking.

Total talent management adoption and obstacles

To support a client in adopting a total talent management strategy, workforce management providers:

• Offer a suite of technologies with live data to assist the client in making intelligent decisions and create a positive candidate experience
• Help clients formulate a competitive compensation strategy. There’s been an increase in labor market intelligence tools leveraged to generate a greater understanding of regional hiring trends and market strategies.
• Create a strong value proposition of what TTM is and align it to the client’s business strategy and culture
• Leverage the support of executive sponsors to keep the client on track and ensure full utilization of a value-driven program
• Demonstrate the value of TTM through case studies

When asked for examples of client obstacles—that workforce management providers encounter—when adopting total talent management strategies, the panelists noted the following challenges:

• Siloed business functions—human resources, procurement, IT, and business leaders—that do not have the same understanding or knowledge
• Lack of investment in technology and tools
• Competing priorities within the organization
• Change of stakeholders that requires reeducation
• Fear of change that deters adoption inertia

Direct sourcing

Direct sourcing solutions provide an alternative way to ensure greater success in talent curation and pipelining. Direct sourcing is the process by which an organization leverages its own candidate pool—former employees, retirees, and silver medalist applicants from its own ATS—to place as contingent or direct hire employees within a company. When asked about out-of-the-box ways TTM providers assist their clients to overcome talent challenges, Jason spoke about direct sourcing as “a really unique way to address talent challenges with total workforce solutions to drive change.” He then shared a Broadleaf success story in which a manufacturing client experienced a large spike in retiring employees at the start of 2020. This created a skills knowledge gap between the high level of turnover and the number of new employees that were not yet fully trained. Broadleaf assisted the client to bridge their experience and productivity gap by direct sourcing from alumni pools and recent/new retiring tenured employees for temporary placement as contract workers.

Related: Enabling Total Talent Acquisition with Direct Sourcing

Navigating the current labor market

The talent shortage is at its highest level in 15 years and 68 percent of employers are challenged in finding the right workers to fill open positions. The candidate-driven labor market in which job seekers define when and how they want to work is not going away any time soon. Organizations must be creative in their talent acquisition approach and push the boundaries of their current strategies. A total talent workforce solution with direct sourcing can add flexibility to the hiring process with the procurement and talent acquisition departments working together to identify the best worker for each role regardless of the resource type. Organizations that are not flexible will lose the war for talent.

Partnering with a TTM solutions provider expands your talent community–by engaging the largest pool of potential candidates possible–and increases the probability of procuring higher-quality talent on a consistent hiring basis.

Related: Leveraging the Power of Total Talent Management with Broadleaf

To discover more about the RPOA and its membership opportunities, check out the organization’s website here.

View the full webinar here.

To learn more about Jason, connect with him on LinkedIn.