The old approach is no longer enough

Next week, hundreds of us will convene in London for CWS Summit Europe — the annual gathering of workforce solutions professionals assembled by our partners at SIA. For most, it won’t be our first time attending a CWS event. But it might be our most important conference yet.

Our industry is at an inflection point. As we ride out the continued rightsizing of the global economy, one thing is certain: the solutions that worked the last time we came together are no longer enough. Inflation and rising interest rates have further squeezed organisations’ bottom lines, forcing leaders to take extraordinary measures in an effort to cut costs. Meanwhile, years of talent hoarding have given way to an inevitable pressure release — and a collective reckoning that it’s time to get smarter with our approach to talent.

Against these headwinds, the time for creative thinking is now. Whether you are joining me in London this month or not, here are three ideas to jumpstart our drive toward a new set of solutions to meet today’s challenges.

1. Prioritise candidate quality

Speed and cost defined the race for talent in the aftermath of COVID-19. As consumer demand spiked, organisations were willing to pay a premium for workers, causing a jump in wages that are still struggling to level off. In their sprint to fill jobs, organisations had no choice but to sacrifice the quality of their workforces, leading to a gap in expertise that impacted everything from the products and services sold to the customer service experience.

Naturally, the reality of today’s post-recovery environment begs a fresh perspective. Although the problems we face may feel worse, the cooldown of the economy creates room for organisations to act strategically, prioritising quality candidates who are more likely to excel in their roles. It also gives employers an upper hand in hiring processes that, just a year ago, were bogged down by historically tight candidate pools that have finally begun to ease.

2. Seek opportunities for long-term cost avoidance

In organisations’ hunt for short-term savings, suppliers keep getting burned. The cycle of letting workers go every 18 to 24 months in hopes of securing better rates with an MSP places an unfair burden on dedicated partners whose job it is to source talent. At the same time, ongoing supply chain issues — and the weekslong shutdowns that factories incur in a last-ditch effort to realise temporary savings on the cost of labour — continue to force suppliers to float the bill for talent that is going unutilised.

It’s time for us to face the music: cost savings are no longer achievable in this inflationary environment. Telling your clients otherwise risks breaking trust you’ve spent years building up and damaging the reputation of your organisation’s industry.

Instead, we need to learn to do more with less. Rather than focusing on the next few months, we should be thinking years into the future, finding opportunities for genuine cost avoidance that extend well beyond the present. Businesses can generate true value by creating strategic partnerships with their MSP, whose networks extend deep into the supply chain. Organisations can also realise a significant benefit by nearshoring at least part of their operations, which enables access to a deeper and more affordable talent pool without the significant language and cultural barriers of offshoring.

3. Build a talent pipeline with talent mobility

Organisations that are considering riding out high inflation by laying off their workforce should think again. Hiring costs valuable time and money — not to mention, it can lead to mixed results.

Instead, employers should give a fresh look to talent mobility, which enables organisations to shuffle talent to meet evolving needs. Talent mobility is made possible by total talent management, an approach to workforce solutions that combines all worker categories under one umbrella. As soon as organisations break down the barriers between FTEs, temporary staff, and everybody in between, they can begin to effectively hire and promote from within. It’s a smart move that helps thousands of our clients avoid costly external hiring processes.

Elevating existing members of your team allows you to create a more robust talent pipeline, with the added benefit of boosting employee morale. Once the time is right, you can backfill any vacancies left behind by a promotion with fresh talent, strategically scaling up your operations according to economic changes.

Original Post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/old-approach-longer-enough-james-hochreutiner/