By Marta Chmielowicz
The gig economy is exploding, but are companies truly embracing the diversity of their new workforce? For many, the answer is no. According to Ardent Partners’ 2016-2017 State of Contingent Workforce Management report, nearly 38 percent of the world’s total workforce is now considered “non-employee,” but only 63 percent of organizations are reshaping how work is done across the numerous talent sources in their enterprise. Without a unified talent acquisition solution to help manage the different types of workers in today’s world, companies may be missing out on the best-fit talent for their needs.
“By taking a more extensive view of their workforce and embracing a truly blended working population, companies can exercise more flexibility and adapt more easily to alternative ways of working to secure the talent in the right place and the right time to meet their needs,” says Kate Heath, global head of RPO, partners and alliances at Lumesse.
Organizations that wish to adapt are turning to total workforce solutions, empowered by technology like TalentLink by Lumesse, winner of the 2017 HRO Forum EMEA iTalent Competition. By delivering a personalized and cohesive recruitment experience that embraces all types of workers, TalentLink is modernizing talent acquisition.
TalentLink is “a consolidated solution that truly enables organizations to manage their talent regardless of worker type,” says Heath. “[It] integrates the full breadth of talent sources, from permanent employees through to non-permanent workers, independent contractors, consultants, freelancers, volunteers, and outsourced resources.”
Whereas the recruitment of permanent and contingent workers has traditionally been separated, TalentLink combines these functions, enabling organizations to manage all of their talent from one unified, easily accessible platform that ultimately improves efficiency, engagement, and collaboration across the talent acquisition function.
Companies that use Lumesse’s TalentLink platform will experience number of features:
- Streamlined recruitment process.
By providing a 360-degree view of all available internal and external candidates, TalentLink accelerates the search for talent, allowing talent acquisition professionals to efficiently rank and compare candidates by various criteria such as key skills, experience, and cost.
“In total workforce acquisition, a search for a contractor is an efficiently volume-wide search for full-time employees as well, and vice-versa. Once this information is collected and optimized according to matching skills, relevance, and other criteria, hiring teams can compare the total set of sourcing opportunities, side by side, before they make a choice,” says Heath.
In addition, the TalentLink platform’s ability to automate certain processes and synchronize with external apps like Facebook and LinkedIn makes the recruitment process easier for both applicants and talent acquisition professionals.
“Through the benefit of chat bot technology, HR can realize the far-reaching benefits of process automation for the repeatable process areas such as initial contact (LinkedIn, Facebook, email, Skype), easy apply, prescreening, outplacement/rejection, interview scheduling, feedback collection, and offer negotiations,” Heath explains.
TalentLink also provides real-time analytics that give hiring managers valuable insight into effective recruitment strategies and the workforce as a whole. According to Heath, these competencies ensure that “[recruitment] decisions and their impacts are completely holistic and transparent, leading to greater success, and all achievable through a single blended talent acquisition platform.” - Improved candidate management.
TalentLink simplifies and streamlines the recruitment process for all types of employees, saving time and providing talent acquisition professionals with a wider range of potential candidates. “The ability to call on exactly the same technology and implement a single process frees [hiring managers] to spend more time focused on the core business,” says Heath.
However, according to Heath, the cost benefits of a total workforce acquisition strategy go beyond the immediate positive impact of the reduced overall headcount needed to manage temporary and permanent recruitment. “A range of processes will also be streamlined; invoicing is an immediate case in point, as this can be centralized under a single individual or smaller team. A number of communication, liaison, and reporting tasks will follow suit, particularly at a business-unit level where managers will have a single point of contact covering all their recruitment and talent needs.” - Comprehensive user experience.
TalentLink’s cloud-based, highly configurable platform is designed to provide the ultimate user experience for job candidates, existing employees, and talent acquisition professionals. Instant mobile access to candidate information allows for better communication between recruiters and candidates, and a customizable user interface gives managers the option to personalize the platform to optimize their workflow.
“Any business process works better when all the participants can clearly and openly communicate,” says Heath. “That’s why it’s essential that hiring managers can benefit from a platform that frees them from their desktop PC and allows them to make quick and easy decisions on the go.”
In addition, TalentLink offers various functions to attract brand-conscious applicants and improve the application process, including video interviewing, online questionnaires, and tests. And it doesn’t end at the click of ‘Apply’ -a positive end-to-end candidate journey is essential to a successful talent acquisition strategy. “That’s why the ability to automate key stages and communications through this journey are intrinsic to fulfilling the need for a smooth and efficient journey for all types of talent,” she explains.
The platform also considers the needs of existing employees, bringing employees and recruiters together to improve internal mobility and employee satisfaction. According to Heath, email features that allow employees to receive alerts about the latest job postings, career pages for employees, and office based referral campaigns are all supported.
Lumesse TalentLink is a total workforce acquisition solution that effectively simplifies the recruitment process for all types of workers. By delivering a single, customizable platform from which to manage the entire talent acquisition function, TalentLink allows talent acquisition teams to successfully support the changing face of the workforce.
