The employment world has changed significantly over the past few years. Highly-qualified and skilled talented workers are now frequently choosing alternative working models over full-time and permanent employment.

In fact, a study from Ardent Partners - titled The State of Contingent Workforce Management 2017-2018: The Convergence of Talent, Technology, and the Future of Work - has found that a staggering 40 percent of the total global workforce is now made up of the gig economy - which includes non-permanent workers such as contingent workers, freelancers, contractors and temporary workers.

This shift has a huge impact on the talent acquisition strategy of your organization. No longer can a business thrive through the use of traditional hiring techniques and a full-time employee model.

To access the very best talent in your industry and avoid the ever-growing shortage in skilled workers, it’s essential that your company implements new hiring processes that engage non-permanent workers.

This is where a total talent management (TTM) strategy will help.

Defining total talent management

You may remember a blog on the blended workforce which we wrote back in 2018, titled ‘What is a Blended Workforce, and can it Benefit my Company?’. While many believe the terms blended workforce and total talent management are different, they actually refer to the same concept.

Just like a blended workforce, total talent management is an emerging model of talent workforce management that integrates the full range of talent sources - from traditional full-time employees to the various contingent workers that an organization works with.

This universal and company-wide approach is a way for your business to break down the traditional barriers between your permanent and non-permanent workforce.

It brings together HR, which is traditionally tasked with hiring full-time employees, and procurement, which is typically tasked with hiring contingent talent. By bringing the two departments together, you can ensure your entire organization is using the same strategy to engage top talent.

The benefits of total talent management

A successful total talent management strategy will empower your organization to focus on the value that a worker can provide your organization without focusing on their employment status.

Your company will be able to create an agile workforce, and your management will be in a better position to make strategic talent acquisition decisions without the silos and fractious processes that exist among companies who still use traditional hiring techniques.

There’s a huge range of benefits that come with this holistic process, including saving money on bad hiring practices and inefficient processes, faster delivery of talent, improving efficiencies, better access to talented workers, more precise workforce planning, greater visibility and control of workers and much more.

A Randstad Sourceright survey of 400 organizations which have adopted a total talent management model, titled 2018 Talent Trends, found 96 percent were “extremely” or “very satisfied” with the results of its implementation.

The three benefits most often cited during this survey were:

1. Bringing strategic planning into the HR function (45 percent).
2. Achieving a competitive advantage through attracting and engaging higher-quality talent (44 percent).
3. Improving their employer brand (42 percent).

What are the challenges of implementing total talent management?

The definition of total talent management is pretty straightforward and, as a result, an increasing number of employers are becoming more aware of integrated approaches to talent acquisition and management.

A report by ManpowerGroup revealed that 89 percent of HR leaders recognised the value of taking a more holistic view of their workforce, but just 44 percent had started to adopt such an approach.

That’s because the implementation of a successful, ongoing total talent management strategy is a complex, difficult and highly-specialized task.

To ensure success, it’s important to partner with a professional managed services provider (MSP), such as HCMWorks, who can help your organization create and effectively manage your talent acquisition strategy.

If you want to learn more about how HCMwork’s contingent workforce and talent acquisition expertise can revolutionise your company’s use of resources? Contact our team of experts today, we would be more than happy to discuss any challenges that your company is facing.