Organizational Readiness is the New Competitive Advantage

Posted: 09/07/2018 - 18:08
Organizational readiness is the new competitive advantage. Being able to quickly adapt to—and take advantage of—the rapidly evolving world of work is now the key to success or failure.  
 
The emerging workforce has evolving expectations of how they want to work and what their relationship with employers should look like. Combine those expectations with rapid innovation in technology and new business models, and we’re in a breeding ground for all forms of ‘non-traditional’ talent to thrive within the workforce.  
 
The Deloitte 2018 Human Capital Trends report found that organizations anticipated contract talent to grow by 2020, but weren’t necessarily prepared to manage these non-traditional workers: 
 
  • 37 percent of organizations expect an increase of contractors 
  • 33 percent of organizations expect an increase of freelancers 
  • 28 percent of organizations expect an increase of gig workers 
Yet, only 16 percent of organizations have established policies and processes to manage the variety of workers within their workforce.  
 
Is your organization set up to attract, plan and manage this growing segment of the workforce? 
 
The key challenges organizations need to consider when aiming to enable readiness through talent are how they get work done and what makes work, work. Such concepts may sound simple, but they are the fundamentals on which an organization is run...and refining them will ensure companies are able to add value and reach full productivity as soon as possible. This is why increasing your investment in multiple forms of talent makes the most sense.  
 
Did you know companies on average save up to 20 to 30 percent a year on overall business costs when they hire contract talent?  
 
Plus, the benefits don’t just stop at cost savings. In addition, companies who hire contract talent bring innovation to their permanent workforce and are able to find consultative support and leverage special skills from these workers without taking on the commitment. When managed properly, performance guidelines and expectations are often more likely to be met and even exceeded by contract talent because the renewal of their contract depends on it…and isn’t a given. 
 
Organizational readiness in today’s world of work is acquired by having a grasp on what the emerging workforce wants, knowing how to not only plan but design the proper mix of traditional and non-traditional workers and using a collaborative approach with clearly defined roles to carry out that design.  
 
Understand the expectations the emerging workforce has, then provide it.  
 
Grasping the motivations of millennials and the newest entrants to the workforce—Gen Z—is particularly key, as these generations are expected to make up 70 percent of the workforce by 2020.  
 
Research has shown that people in these groups are less driven by financial reward and more concerned with career flexibility, mobility and progression, making contract work extremely attractive. Organizational readiness considers these motivations and uses them to their advantage by: 
 
  • Creating and communicating contingent career paths in recruitment messaging.  
  • Emphasizing job stability and being a supportive sponsor of the existing contract talent to improve the non-traditional employer brand. 
  • Building a collaborative culture amongst permanent and non-permanent employees to avoid turnover from disgruntled contract talent who feel as if they’re taking on all the work. 
  • Connecting contract talent with mentors, internal recruiters and shared talent networks to provide internal mobility and progression. 
Design the workforce by aligning business and worker outcomes.  
 
Aside from attracting the contract labor market, understanding how your business gets things done and what makes work, work is the key to concocting the right mix of traditional and non-traditional employees.  
 
One of the major challenges organizations face is deciding who is responsible for managing contract talent: HR or Procurement?  
 
There is an ongoing debate on who ‘owns’ contract talent. While both HR and Procurement appreciate the importance of contract labor, their relationship with each other must be truly collaborative.  
 
Procurement professionals believe finding temporary employees is their responsibility while HR professionals believe it’s theirs. In reality, both functions have attributes that lend themselves to dealing with contract employees and working together allows each of these to come into play. 
 
Leveraging Vendor Management Systems (VMS) for an analytical perspective into strategic hiring and Managed Service Providers (MSP) to balance contracts and find the right fit talent is a must in obtaining organizational readiness. All of this sheds light on the importance of a collaborative approach. 
 
Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders for a fully integrated approach to talent management.  
 
Building a consistent talent management strategy that encompasses everything from talent pipelines and employer branding to employee engagement, training, development and retention is vital.  
 
Research indicates that the top 10 percent of candidates are gone from the marketplace within 10 days. Ensure your organization develops a contingent recruitment plan, builds an effective contract talent pipeline and even leverages shared talent networks, the epitome of external collaboration.  
 
What are Shared Talent Networks? 
 
Shared Talent Networks are a new sub-vertical within the Talent Acquisition Technology Ecosystem, a map of the established and emerging technologies residing in all functions of sourcing, engaging, selecting and hiring workers. As Talent Tech Labs reports in their Ecosystem 7 Report, shared talent networks allow organizations to share their talent pool to leverage already vetted, quality talent. 
 
The global workplace has changed—there can be no getting away from that fact and organizations that choose to bury their heads in the sand may soon be left behind by their competition. Businesses can gain the competitive advantage and adapt by:  
 
  • Understanding the expectations the emerging workforce has and providing it; 
  • Designing the workforce by aligning business and worker outcomes; and 
  • Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders for a fully integrated approach to talent acquisition and management. 
People always have been, and always will be, the deciding factor in an organization’s fortunes and the desire to give the best to your people to get the best work from your people needs to be at the heart of every business strategy.  
 
Is your organization ready?
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About The Author

Bruce Morton's picture

As a distinguished thought-leader and global innovator, Bruce Morton has more than three decades of experience within the human capital and workforce management industry. As such, throughout his time in the field, Bruce has witnessed a massive shift in the way organizations manage their greatest asset: people.

As a sought-after and renowned international speaker, Bruce has stimulated audiences across the US, Europe, and Asia with his fresh and innovative approach to acquiring top talent—sharing his in-depth recruitment and retention knowledge with new-age media on a global scale. He has also designed, implemented, and managed some of the largest resourcing solutions across the globe—saving companies millions of dollars while securing the very best talent.

In his current role, Bruce serves as global head of strategy for Allegis Global Solutions (AGS). Promoted in January 2018, Bruce concentrates on adding increased value to AGS’ clients via new services and product-idea generation, internal and external thought leadership, and serving as a face to the industry through conferences and speaking engagements. Bruce was also promoted to chief marketing officer in 2013.

Prior to working at AGS, Bruce owned e3 Unlimited, a talent acquisition and development organization managing a breadth of staffing-related needs for global companies.

Bruce’s latest innovation is that of a dynamic integrated technology platform that, for the first time in industry history, integrates top-of-class digital recruitment technologies to create engaged living talent communities—diverging from traditional static methodologies. He was recognized as Thought Leader of the Year at the 2013 European HRO 'Be Transformed' Awards, and again as Thought Leader of the Year at the 2014 North American HRO Today Forum. 
Twitter: @BruceTalent