No matter where you are or what business you are in, if you have not experienced a deficit in strong talent, you will soon.  The speed of business has increased exponentially, and most companies are trying hard to adapt while doing their utmost to remain lean. 

In order to keep up with clients demands, the staffing industry has had to reinvent itself every five years.  Traditional staffing methods don’t yield the results that they once did.  Perhaps that’s because of the greater demands placed on them by clients, but mostly it’s because of the talent shortage and competing opportunities.Both staffing companies and internal recruitment departments alike are struggling to come up with the required numbers and quality.  It becomes a little easier when one forgoes one for the other, but that impacts negatively on the business.

One of the biggest tolls of this global economic expansion is the inability to train and develop talent fast enough to meet current demands.  Hence, the global war for talent.

However, there is a solution that offers a significant source of relief…

Why not build a talent pool?  Simply put, it is an actively managed database of strong past Independent Contractors.

Quality is difficult to judge at the outset, and recruitment, training and workforce integration costs are high. Would it not be advantageous to eliminate these elements, thereby ensuring quality as well as almost instant ramp-up time?  The most effective way to achieve this is by hiring strong past Independent Contractors.

While many companies have come to the realization that strong past Independent Contractors are the best possible way to go, most have not taken any steps to make this a reality.  Some have lists or spreadsheets.  Some hiring managers call past Independent Contractors when they have an opening.  But by and large, most have no formal process.

The concept of talent communities is by no means new, yet, proactively engaging with them in the mainstream is.  When discussing this concept with corporate talent management groups, some of the most common questions asked are:

• Who do I include in the talent community?
• How do I engage with them upfront?
• What is the best system to use?
• How do I manage the database?
• What if they worked through a staffing provider?
• How many past Independent Contractors do I need in the database to make it viable?
• When the time comes, how do I engage with them contractually?

Since the needs of each company are so different, there are no standard answers to any of these questions.  Suffice it to say that the four key ingredients to a successful talent pool are:

• Low recruitment costs
• Quality of Independent Contractors
• Ease of access to the Independent Contractors
• Speed to engagement

The rest, like database management, system selection, process, etc., are merely semantics, albeit important to achieve the desired results.

Some companies are hiring professional human capital management firms to implement and manage the process, thereby ensuring success.  This lifts the burden off of the team and allows them to focus on the core tasks at hand.

HCMWorks offers our clients multifaceted talent pool management which brings visibility via reporting and analytics.  In addition to this, we assist our clients to manage costs against current market rates.  Included in our program are processes that mitigate the risk of misclassification and co-employment. 

We will also compliment your talent pool with additional tried and proven professionals from our internal applicant tracking system, when you need them, at the best price.  This talent is sourced through multiple channels including global e-procurement of IT professionals, Vendor Management Systems, previous client programs, alumni, retirees, etc. 

About HCMWorks

We are a contingent workforce service provider helping organizations gain better access to talent through the use of independent contractors, consultants, temporary workers, freelancers and other non-payrolled employees. We provide the expertise, the technology, and processes to help you reduce your workforce costs, mitigate against misclassification and co-employment risks, and increase the efficiency and timeliness of your contingent recruitment process. Read more about what our clients say about us here.