Permanent work isn’t working for everyone, and today’s contingent-by-choice talent has an increasing number of employment options available to them. These candidates are looking to be closer to brand-specific job market intel, and for direct access to relevant opportunities–but traditional vendor neutral programs often struggle to engage and/or redeploy them.
Adding to that, many employers lack the strong contingent value proposition (CVP) they need to effectively engage the best flexible workers. As talent becomes more and more scarce, and vendor neutrality continues to diminish suppliers’ loyalty to specific programs, these employers are experiencing both longer cycle times and higher costs.
During a recent webinar Direct Sourcing was discussed as a new, innovative, and increasingly popular way to connect these varying talent needs.
So, what exactly is Direct Sourcing and how can it help employers stay relevant in today’s shifting world of work?
I’m glad you asked. Let’s take those questions one at a time.
I like to define Direct Sourcing as an outsourced service that uses your company’s brand to attract contingent talent directly without the involvement of a recruitment or staffing agency. Contingent talent is pooled in a community and employed through a payroll provider when the right opportunity opens up.
Essentially, Direct Sourcing moves the MSP services upstream and helps organizations secure access to mission-critical contingent talent. By developing customized attraction strategies, initiating talent-relevant nurturing campaigns, and articulating a clear value proposition, Direct Sourcing can deliver cost savings of more than 15%–and this could have a dramatic impact on the cost base of a client organization.
Benefits for your organization include:
- Gaining direct access to contingent talent, rather than relying on the talent supply chain
- Attracting the best flexible talent by utilizing the company brand
- Reducing time to fill, as talent is proactively pooled in the talent community
- Achieving tangible cost savings due to the lower payrolling markup versus agency markup
- Increasing talent redeployment, as the company doesn´t lose contact with talent after the assignment ends
- Creating a community of loyal contingent talent with a good cultural fit
But let´s not forget about the talent perspective!
As we all know, talent is in high demand and has high expectations. In the past, contingent talent was sometimes perceived to be a commodity by some organizations. If we lose sight of talent, a Direct Sourcing program will not generate the expected returns.
Benefits for talent:
- Direct access to the company's contingent job opportunities
- Awareness of industry trends, company insights, and work culture
- Increased chance of being redeployed
- Reduced application efforts
- Access to educational events and resources
- Ability to connect with a company without having to apply for a specific job
Most–if not all–of these benefits are directly linked to the talent communities that your organization needs to build to make Direct Sourcing successful.
A talent community is the mechanism by which you can leverage your organization’s brand to identify, pool, and re-engage highly qualified talent for your contingent work opportunities. I like to think of a talent community as an always-on talent pipeline designed to help you get the most out of your employer brand and your existing talent leads.
Your Direct Sourcing talent community may include:
- Former employees, retirees, and applicants
- Previously hired contractors
- Dedicated talent pools, built and maintained under your company brand
Here’s the thing–the Direct Sourcing market is growing.
A lot of employers have already adopted or plan to adopt a Direct Sourcing strategy within the next few years, according to recent information from Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA). Early adoption is key to capitalizing on this fast-growing model.
If you’re interested in how a Direct Sourcing model can help your organization achieve your business and talent goals, visit www.kellyocg.com/solutions/direct-sourcing for more info, or watch the webinar mentioned above by clicking here.
Beeline welcomes this guest post from our partner, KellyOCG. This post represents KellyOCG's opinions and not necessarily those of Beeline.
