Making the Shift to a Talent-Centric Supply Chain

But not just ANY talent. TOP talent—those skilled, in-demand, high-performers who make a real difference to their employers.

Research has shown that productivity of average-performing employees is significantly less than that of top performers, and that difference becomes even more pronounced as the complexity of a job increases. In highly-complex occupations, superior talent was shown to be up to eight times more productive.

While they may recognize the need to capture top talent, many organizations are still struggling to do it. In the Conference Board’s 2016 survey, “Failure to attract and retain top talent” was the number one concern of global CEOs. In the U.S., almost 60% of companies report that they have extended job vacancies for 12 weeks or longer, costing upwards of $800,000 annually due to their inability to find the skilled workers they need.

There’s no reason to expect attracting the right talent is going to get easier any time soon. Technology continues to increase the need for skilled workers. Experienced baby boomers continue to exit the workforce. As the market becomes increasingly candidate-driven, talent demands and expectations continue to evolve. Today’s talent prioritizes growth and development over tenure, and more and more of them are coming to value the freedom and flexibility that free agency offers.

With all of these shifts in the world of work, forward-thinking companies are making a shift in the way they think about talent. They’re recognizing that a more talent-centric approach can have huge impact on not just their ability to attract the most in-demand workers, but on their organization overall. By creating talent-centric strategies that reinvent how they attract, engage, manage, and retain talent, these companies are able to align the demands of the people they want with the business outcomes they need.

It starts with realizing that much of what we’ve previously accepted as facts about talent are no longer true. The talent landscape has changed dramatically, and the ways in which we’ve traditionally defined talent, suppliers, and MSPs simply don’t work for the future. To evolve, we must set this outdated ‘script’ aside and define new truths for today’s talent reality.

Temporary work is often viewed as “less than” or secondary to permanent work, and permanent work was always assumed to be the preferred arrangement for the highest-quality candidates and the best jobs. But permanent work no longer works for everyone. Today’s top talent is demanding more control, mobility, and independence from their employers. Organizations that find ways to meet their demands and strike the right balance of flexibility, security, and performance will win. Stop thinking of temporary, part-time, and independent work as a second-class alternative, and recognize that, going forward, these employees may represent the most valuable and productive members of your workforce.

Traditionally, supplier participation models have engaged multiple suppliers and incentivized them to deliver as many candidates as possible into the hands of the MSP as quickly as possible. While candidate-to-hire ratios and time-to-fill remain important measures of success, today’s most successful suppliers are also seeking out more talent-centric supply chains, particularly those in which they will have a higher level of collaboration with their MSPs. By combining a focus on talent needs with MSP-provided insight on the company’s talent strategy, culture, employer brand, etc., suppliers are able to create proactive talent pipelines that attract and deliver the right candidates from across various talent segments. Suppliers who understand what talent wants, and who are able to match those demands with forward-thinking organizations will be critical to the success of any talent-centric program.

The MSP landscape is diversifying. The highest-performing MSPs are breaking free from outdated, stagnant ways of thinking, and even more importantly, helping their customers to follow suit. Today, that means putting a greater amount of focus on talent demands, and creating talent-centric supply chains that out-perform competitors and capture the highest quality talent. They’re finding new ways to create alignment between talent needs and business objectives, connecting talent to work that works for them, as well as for the businesses they serve.

In order to successfully make the shift to a talent-centric supply chain, organizations must ditch the outdated practices and perspectives they’ve come to know—and it all starts with education. By first understanding the ways in which the talent, supplier, and MSP landscapes have shifted, organizations can then understand how they need to shift their mindsets, processes, vendor relationships, and more in order to most effectively yield the top talent they require. To learn more, attend the workshop, “Does your Program Lack a Talent Focus? How a Talent Centric Supply Chain Strategy Can Elevate your Program” at CWS Summit on October 2, 2018.