As businesses undergo digitalization, finding talent for emerging tech roles (data scientist, ML engineers, etc.) is getting harder. Also, the increasing need to integrate technology into every facet of industry whether it be robotizing assembly line positions or integrating consumer electronics into vehicles has created an entirely new spectrum of roles that the recruitment industry is not ready for. The modern firm is looking for an entirely new workforce against the one that is available on traditional mediums, leading to talent scarcity. Employers are finding it tough to find skilled talent, and with the aging workforce in the USA (10,000+ Americans will turn 65 every day by 2030), companies are finding it hard to create talent pools for the future.

As these figures suggest, organizations are now looking at new sourcing channels and flexible hiring strategies to meet their current demands. We are already seeing increased use of temp workers and freelancers along with permanent hires to meet the growing demands. While earlier firms treated permanent hires and contingent hires in separate silos, the boundaries are now dimming, firms are now more than ready to substitute a permanent position for a temp role till the time a suitable replacement can be made. Managers have no option but to be more flexible in forming the right workforce mix (permanent hires, temps, freelancers, SOWs, etc.) as the market becomes more candidate oriented. Total talent management has become more of a necessity rather than a choice.

Is Technology Driving the Growth of the TTM Model?

Apart from talent scarcity and increase in gig workers, another big reason which is driving the growth of the total talent management model is the advancement in HR technology. These are some of the ways in which HR tech is influencing the spread of total talent management.

1) Better Analytics

With every metric like time-to-hire, fill rate, sourcing channel efficiency, etc. being tracked by ATS, firms are in a better position to track the average time-to-hire and tenure expectancy for a particular role. Also, with every project spec now detailing the number of resources required in the coming months, they are in a better position to predict the skill-set requirements for the future. So they can now plan well, and more importantly, innovate well with their workforce mix.

For example, if they need 4 data scientists in the coming 3 months in San Francisco, then based on the average time it takes to hire a data scientist, local competition in San Francisco, and taking ghosting into account, they could easily decide to include two temp workers and two permanent hires to meet their current demands. This would not only get the project rolling on time but it would also give them ample time to screen more candidates who may be apt for permanent roles.

2) Direct Sourcing Systems

The power to analyze proprietary talent pool (current and former contractors, silver & bronze candidates, etc.) to get access to an untapped workforce has given organizations the confidence to implement new workforce models. Many direct sourcing systems (TalentDome etc.) have come up which give these organizations access to pre-screened talent which has worked with top firms. These direct sourcing systems can integrate with VMS to provide qualified talent in minimum time-frame. Since these systems are properly segmented according to skills and locations, organizations can also invite referrals from these candidates to enrich their talent pool.

3) Freelance Management Systems

FMS is giving firms the flexibility to integrate different worker types in their project schema. Having access to top freelancers in different locations who have worked on similar projects gives them the confidence to bypass the traditional and optimize their workforce mix. Since most of these freelance management systems also show you the reviews for these candidates, it encourages the organizations to be bolder in their approach.

4) Recruitment Tech for Remote Hiring

The use of different recruitment technologies like chatbots, video interviewing tools, and candidate engagement tools help organizations hire remote talent with much more confidence than before. That is why we see so many organizations now having remote teams that haven’t met each other in person but collaborate every day through the use of communication tools like Skype and Zoom. The use of video interviewing tools (HireVue, Recruit Loop, etc.) in particular have given them the assurance to run remote teams that comprise of many freelancers and temp workers along with permanent hires.

There is no doubt that HR technology has driven total talent management and prompted firms to look beyond the traditional workforce mix. Temp workers and freelancers are now active part of every workforce and HR teams are more confident to try out temps for critical roles till they find suitable replacements.