Why on Earth would I ever use an embedded talent consultancy?

Fair question.

I've been asked a few times by friends and family 'what exactly is it that you do?' and am often met with a slightly confused look and the question 'so why would I use an embedded talent consultancy?'. In this blog I am aiming to answer 3 simple questions and do so as concisely and simply as I can (not in an overly long essay that takes over 20 minutes to read). Those 3 questions are...

1. What exactly is an embedded talent consultancy and how does it work at Scout ?

2. When should I consider using an embedded talent consultancy?

3. When should I NOT consider using an embedded talent consultancy?

What exactly is an embedded talent consultancy and how does it work at Scout?

I will often shudder when Scout is described as an 'RPO'. When I think RPO, I have images of a warehouse of outsourced recruiters, frantically trying to fill jobs for a large corporate, caught in the purgatory between working for their actual employer and the business they are working for Monday to Friday. Scout and the embedded talent model is NOT that.

An embedded talent consultancy provides a business with one or more Talent Partners that become fully 'embedded' in their client. At Scout, that means that the Talent Partner works for their client on the same contracted hours as all other full time employees and their time is dedicated entirely to their client. The Talent Partner will be given access to internal comms, attend internal meetings, use internal platforms and may even attend the Christmas party. They are, in essence, no different to any other permanent and full time member of staff.

Another important distinction to make is that a Talent Partner from an embedded talent consultancy is not solely there to 'put bums on seats' (much like the old school RPOs would be). An embedded Talent Partner is available to the key stakeholder in the same way that any permanent member of staff would be. Filling vacancies is undoubtedly important but so are all the other day to day functions of an internal talent acquisition function. More on that to come...

At Scout, we work on a monthly retainer and a contract that can vary in length depending on the needs of the client. This enable us to start quickly but also end quickly and adapt according to the needs of the client.

When should I consider using an embedded talent consultancy?

• When you need additional heads in your talent team and you need them quickly - if you have big hiring targets to hit and need support fast, then embedded talent could be the way to go. Scout are able to introduce you to potential Talent Partners extremely quickly and you could have an experienced Talent Partner fully embedded and ready to start adding value to your business within days.
• When you do not have the time to manage internal talent yourself nor the time to hire someone else that can - Founders, CEOs and other employees of small businesses are often extremely busy managing multiple areas of a company. They simply do not have the time to dedicate to recruiting, setting up a talent department or managing all of the other areas that internal talent acquisition entails. An embedded talent consultancy like Scout can be a fantastic solution. Scout can have a senior Talent Partner onsite quickly to manage all hiring, all additional aspects of talent acquisition and we can even hire our own replacement. Leaving you to worry about everything else!
• When you don't want to hire perm and are spending far too much on contingency recruitment fees - contingency recruitment agencies can be a fantastic way of finding the right person quickly and with little effort but they can also be extremely expensive. Scout clients have saved over ￡9,000,000 on what they have spent on our embedded Talent Partners vs what they would have spent using only contingency recruitment agencies (on an average fee of 17.5%).
• When you have an existing team but you need a bit of extra firepower to hit those hiring targets (but dont want to hire anyone permanently) - the Q1/Q2 targets are in and they don't look easy, you've got a fantastic internal team but you will likely need a couple more heads in quickly if you are going to get where you need to go. An embedded talent consultancy like Scout can have a Talent Partner in quickly, help you reach those targets and we can step away when we are no longer needed. No need to spend time searching for and interviewing contractors, we are there when you need us and gone when you don't.?
• When you don't want to take the risk of hiring perm - in times of economic uncertainty, even with growth plans in place, hiring a permanent team can be a risky and daunting prospect. An embedded talent consultancy removes that risk and our model allows businesses to be flexible and move with the demand.

When should I NOT consider using an embedded talent consultancy?

• When you want to hire a permanent head or heads and you are happy to wait for the right person - if you are able to wait the time it takes to find and interview the right person and then for that person to work any contracted notice period, then using an embedded talent consultancy is not the right move for you
• Hiring demand is very low and you have no internal talent requirements - if the amount of hiring in the near future is very low and you would not benefit from any additional heads managing any of the internal talent acquisition functions, then an embedded talent consultancy would not be a sensible move

Sounds like I need an embedded talent consultancy, what should I do next?

• Personally, I would recommend using Scout (but then I am biased), either contact myself or our Founder and CEO Ed Jenner and we will set up an introductory call to see how we can help...