How can you source more innovative top talent?
Hello innovation. Here are 5 steps to strategically drive your innovation by leveraging the emerging segment of top-level freelancers via open talent marketplaces.
Special thanks to the Harvard Business School podcast "Managing the Future of Work" for concepts and insights noted below. It's worth the full listen here if you have the time.
Step 1. Identify a specific project.
(The vision and plan to use open talent needs to originate with Senior leadership - or you as business owner)
This is the first exciting piece. This can be an existing project that drains resources or a more lucrative tech-forward project that fits your growth plan yet reaches beyond current resources.
Step 2. Define with specificity.
(include cross-function input here)
Set up your team to participate and task the team to very clearly detail the ask. This step serves double advantage. First, if you plan to invite other talent outside your walls to contribute to your project, it is imperative that it is defined to the detail level that enables them to get to work. You could throw this project out, "Build a website" or rather "Conduct focus group, UX, and build a website that drives sign-up leads from my target demographic of 22-28 year old runners on landing page" in which case the right top talent can consider if that website idea is even your most effective and deliver optimized solution. Clarity delivers result.
To get the most out of talent platforms, companies need to break work down into rigorously defined components that can be easily handed over to outsiders.
? -HBR, Rethinking the On-Demand workforce
Step 3. Consider.
What are the considerations that concern you regarding this test. IP? compensation? Ensure that you reach a comfortable place on these. I recommend starting with an experiment with minimal risk.
Step 4. Select a platform and Send it!
There are 3 types of platforms to procure your needed top talent.
- Marketplaces for premium talent offer access to highly-skilled and specialized talent. These roles that are high value-add to organizations can provide leading digital transformation initiatives, analytics, strategic initiatives and technical skills. Toptal and Catalant are noted in this thrilling segment that includes top 3% of freelance talent.
- Marketplaces for freelance talent Start here. This talent pool offers specific skills that will definitively find complementing solution and bolster innovation when provided your project request. Familiar examples noted by HBR include UpWork, Freelancer, and 99 Designs.
- Platforms for crowdsourced innovation These will be the subject of future exploration. But, if you're ready to embark on your journey to harness the power of open talent, the crowd offers strength in its diversity and an innovative solution to complex problems. Noted examples include InnoCentive and Kaggle.
Step 5. Dear team, let's do this innovative thing.
Embrace the Test. This model is a different way to work and it's exciting! Rally the team around the process as the complement that it is. Learn from each test.
Two parting thoughts. First, The gold standard can now be "the right talent on the right projects at the right time (irrespective of their employment status)" per the podcast and remember, the smartest people for your project work elsewhere.
(note: I'm writing this from a unique perspective. Currently exploring gig talent locally to help MI small businesses crush their marketing plans and also interviewing for Marketing Director positions, I see job descriptions and marketing goals that have far greater potential if they choose to leverage open talent models.)
Source credit: Thank you for the inspiring podcast. #ManagingtheFutureofWork podcast. Harvard Business School. "Building the on-demand workforce" Boston Consulting Group