There is no question that the world of work is changing. Flexible work options, the gig economy, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidenced by the “Great Resignation”, have changed our expectations for, and relationship with, work. Contract talent is more popular than ever and shows no signs of slowing down. This presents a challenge to hiring managers who need top talent because, these highly sought after people are increasingly working as contractors. They have the specialized skill set and experience to command top prices while enjoying the benefits of flexible work arrangements and more control and independence over how, where, and when they work as well as who they work for.
What does this mean for hiring managers? It means taking a fresh look at strategic hiring practices.
Strategic Hiring Defined
Strategic hiring has traditionally been defined as a process of recruiting that is aligned with and supports business goals and objectives. The idea is that the company hires the candidate who has the best ability to deliver in their area of expertise for a project or the company as a whole, however being strategic is less about the role and more about the approach to hiring. Where strategic hiring once may have been a Rolodex full of preferred contacts it evolved into online job boards and procurement solutions such as VMS systems and MSPs. While those approaches may have worked in the past, they are stuck in the past.
Times have changed and changing times call for changing methods.
As conveyed by Dr. John Sullivan, an internationally known HR thought-leader from Silicon Valley, “The concept of pivoting when economic and talent market factors change is simple. When the current economic assumptions change, you automatically shift or pivot your approach in another direction that is now a better fit for the upcoming business conditions.”
Given how difficult it has become to source qualified candidates, and the direct impact top talent has on the bottom line, a focus on hiring contract or flexible talent has become a strategic priority for leading organizations. Widely cast nets are tossed aside in favour of targeted, intentional sourcing of candidates who are uniquely qualified to meet the position’s needs. Platforms like Curasion enable companies to pivot to a hiring model that is more proactive and more strategic.
How Curasion Supports Strategic Hiring Within an Organization
Curasion offers an innovative platform service approach for identifying, tracking and connecting with curated talent.
“Our solution is a next-gen, innovative approach to talent acquisition. Companies can now manage their own talent ecosystem. Hiring is reprioritized to first engage with known talent and then leverage external partners. Businesses and their hiring managers access talent through their own talent ecosystem on their own terms. Our solution is faster and less expensive than traditional sourcing approaches and it has the added benefit of providing high-quality curated talent based on your needs. This is a game-changer for hiring flexible talent,” said Andrew Dillane, President and Chief Product Officer of Curasion.
Curasion’s talent ecosystem provides:
1. Better Quality Candidates. Curasion’s solution operates under an invite-only approach. This is a simple concept that has an enormous impact on talent quality. Inviting talent provides companies with an inner circle of top talent to hire. This is in contrast to the hundreds of applicants you might have to wade through via a LinkedIn job posting. Not only that, candidates are vetted by your team, our team, and our talent partners or a combination thereof. This helps you avoid candidates with fake profiles or questionable experience. It dramatically raises the trust factor for leveraging flexible talent.
2. Direct Access to Candidates. One of the biggest benefits of leveraging platforms and your own talent ecosystem is that you no longer have to work through an intermediary, internal or external. ALL talent brought into the platform, whether from internal or external sources, can be directly contacted by hiring managers. And by hiring managers having direct access alongside internal teams companies can lighten the load on internal recruiters (giving them more horsepower) by collaborating on current and future talent needs.
3. Direct Source First. Curasion powers companies to connect the dots to top known talent and then helps prioritize direct source hires over externally sourced. When was the last time a staffing agency offered you the option to hire your own talent over theirs? According to Talent Tech Labs, “the biggest evolution of contingent workforce programs over the next twenty years will be the rise of Direct Sourcing”. Do you have a partner that you can trust as an extension of your internal recruitment team?
4. Faster Time to Hire. The proactive approach of inviting talent and staying connected leads to an 80%+ faster, and often immediate, time to hire. Strategic hiring is no longer about scouring hundreds of resumes for a potential fit. The future of recruiting is about curating an inner circle of well-qualified candidates so that when a position opens up, you can move fast, or when top talent comes available you can hire them before they’re gone. And equally important, talented people have a chance to stay connected with companies they want to work for by proactively making a decision to join talent pools matching their expertise.
5. Line of Sight to the Future. Traditional hiring practices are “just in time” but this reactive approach doesn’t provide a view to the future for the types of talent you will need and when they may be available. It relies on the hope that the right candidate will be available at the right price when the time comes. Gig economy flexible workers, (expected to be 40% of the workforce by 2025) move from project to project and most companies don’t have a way to engage them effectively and hence miss the opportunity to hire some of the most talented people on the market. Curasion allows you to stay connected to your network of talent for immediate access when you need it.
6. Financial Savings. Curasion is as much a new business model as it is a technology platform. This means costs are consistent and predictable from hire to hire and year over year, and traditionally high and inconsistent hiring fees are eliminated. This provides budget stability and cost savings over traditional recruitment approaches. Curasion’s unique business model offers pricing that works for startups hiring only a few people, to large enterprises that hire hundreds or thousands of people.
7. Better Access to Top Talent. While the value of new talent platforms are multi-faceted, ultimately what’s most important is that hiring managers can find the right talent at the right time. When it comes to success rates Curasion is 3 to 4 times more likely to help a hiring manager be successful with the talent they need when compared to the traditional agency model.
Talent platforms like Curasion provide a tremendous advantage and new unprecedented levels of performance in the world of strategic hiring. They make the hiring process faster, more effective, and save money, all at the same time. The process offers unprecedented transparency and collaboration around your hires and simply provides better access to top talent. If you are ready for a more efficient way of hiring flexible talent, contact Curasion to learn more.
Sources:
The Downturn Forces These Strategic Pivots In Recruiting. DrJohnSullivan.com. May 4, 2020
The Future of Recruiting: What Do Job Seekers Want? PWC.com.
The Ultimate List of Hiring Statistics For Hiring Managers, HR Professionals, and Recruiters. LinkedIn Talent Solutions.
The Future of Contingent Workforce Management. Talent Tech Labs.
Gig Economy FAQs for Talent Analytics Leaders. Gartner.
