Total Talent is Rewiring the HR Ecosystem and Sparks Are Flying

Most organizations are dipping their toes into the harmonization of FTE and Contingent hiring practices. Call Centers and manufacturing plants have found a way to balance these populations for a long time. In fact, plants need “people” to get the product out the door to generate revenue.  Call centers need to sell or support clients to grow business and keep customer satisfaction high. While being managed by two separate teams, people strategies encompass this variable workforce. Over the last 18 months, I have rolled out many programs where these strategies thoughtfully included these multiple talent pools. With each program I find organizations  struggle with concepts such as “co-employment”, The mindset of “I am not responsible for contingent hiring,” requires harmonization  around an all-encompassing employee referral program, as well as messaging that protects an organization from risk.  Deloitte refers to this shift as “rewiring the organization”. Other companies are proclaiming “forward-leaning CHRO's need to think about building teams with the right mix of full-time staff and project-based freelancers.”  

The reality is, your organization is likely to be made up of 30% - 50% external workers that are consultants, freelancers or traditional temporary workers. This complimentary workforce shares a work space with full-time staff, and for many, they share this space together for years. Collectively these individuals impact revenue by selling, purchasing, delivering, or referring the products and services you sell. Although 3.5% unemployment has begun to shift organizational thinking, these programs, while small, begin to challenge the entire ecosystem.  Here are some facts to consider as your organization becomes inclusive of all talent

1.      The Employment Value Proposition is not just for Employees.

The Gallup Organization stated, “Publicly traded organizations that received the Gallup Great Workplace Award experienced 115% growth in EPS, while their competitors experienced 27% growth over the same period. We know today that workplaces are comprised of FTE, Contingent, Consultants, and Freelancers. HR leaders attempt to build high functioning work teams, and at the business unit level, these work-groups are celebrated. However, this “experience” and “belief” is challenged when all talent inside the organization does not feel valued and included in the workplace. An employer value proposition (EVP) traditionally focuses on just a fraction of the workforce, leaving out the very people delivering products and services that influence corporate culture and revenue growth.  The total talent mindset is rewiring how we think about the EVP and how all types of talent fit into that overall set of messages and experiences.

2.      Diversity and Inclusion Strategies need to extend beyond the Employees and include the external workforce, partners, and community relationships.  

For a  a cross-organization D&I framework and analytics project I am leading,we watched a series of videos such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnDgZuGIhHs and asked the question,“What experience have you had, when did you want to return, experience it again, or not experience something at all?“ The group composition includes a temporary employee, cross-functional business members, representatives from legal and HR.  While everyone shared a different story, authenticity, genuineness and strong positive feelings included were the common themes.  Today in numerous organizations "co-employment fears” leave many in  the workforce feeling excluded.  This feeling impacts negative attrition and the ability to attract further the diversity of talent needed to align with the overall business strategy. Suppliers can be an extension of your D&I strategy. They can extend your message through community partnerships. Contingent RPO/ Direct Sourcing /Branded Recruitment – however you wish to call it, can be the vehicle to harmonizing these valuable messages so your entire workforce can benefit from the overall D&I strategy.  Inclusion strategies can also result in partnering differently with alternative workforce providers by investing in aligned inclusive practices such as “days of caring,” collaborative events, and funding different experiences to include the entire workforce. All talent partners work together to make this happen.

3.       Your online reputation is built by anyone that works inside your organization.  

Our Indeed representative  recently shared with us that the first thing people do after viewing a job posting on their platform is click on the a company’s online reputation.  This matters! In fact, PWC released a report that said 72% of people check out the reputation before they apply for the job. Now, here is where it gets complex. A contingent worker that has been working onsite for a while identifies with your organization. Many provide feedback as an employee in your organization online.  They may also take a contingent role vs. a full-time role because of your reputation. There is a yin and yang to the online world. Either way, the external workforce are influencers who impact an organization’s overall online reputation.  Consider managing your online reputation and look for trends where actions can be taken to impact the total workforce.  Examine your reputation and determine how this may impact the choices candidates may make when choosing FTE, Temporary, or Freelance opportunities.

4.      If learning and training are critical to the growth of future talent, the alternative workforce should be included as a source of talent as well as a strategic part of the work team. 

Article after article talk about how HR and corporations must train for talent. Internal mobility, rotational programs, internships, temporary to permanent initiatives as well as promotions all fit into this talent growth plan. Each of these initiatives involves different types of talent and all become critical paths to growing the needed skills for tomorrow.   Some programs require rethinking how we engage, process and maintain compliance within each of these groups.   Often these processes are under resourced, ignored or immature due to rewiring the definition of talent inside the organization.

5.      Full-time recruitment invests in programs to enhance the candidate experience and outcomes. Rewire this approach to the external workforce.   

My personal work experience started in corporate recruitment. Years ago when I got involved with contingent workforce management, I was shocked to see how this talent pool is treated as a commodity. The pricing for this commodity has been managed so tightly, it has restricted the program innovation that is commonly found in FTE recruiting.   I am very fortunate to work with a client where we manage a total talent program that believes “all lives matter.” This organization lives its values and has invested in an alternative benefits plan, contributing funding to engage in events managed by my team, so the alternative workforce feels included, within a  program design that is inclusive of all talent pools.   

Total talent is rewiring our thinking about how we invest, attract, integrate, and grow talent inside the organization. While this article does not touch on HR technology, career portals, and compliance, these too, are part of the transformation process.  What I have learned is we can successfully deploy harmonized programs that collectively leverage a common brand and experience for temporary and FTE talent easily. However, as the workforce becomes more diverse, corporate social responsibility initiatives grow, diversity and inclusion connect to these external practices, the totality of the workforce cannot be ignored. All lives do matter, and so do the people that deliver the products and services we offer.

Written by: Tracey Friend, S.V.P Talent Solutions, [email protected]