More and more experienced professionals are opting out of the traditional work model and are turning to freelancing, portfolio careers, and gig-based work. It is these changing work preferences, along with a business need for greater organisational agility, that is fuelling the rise of the professional gig economy.
In order to access this emerging talent pool, organisations need to reshape their talent strategy and consider the role of their central Talent team.
Our research
Werkling asked senior leaders (i.e. Executive, General Manager, Director, Head of and Senior Manager) working across People & Culture, and Talent one question: Do you think Talent Acquisition teams should play a role in helping the business access on-demand talent (i.e. freelancers, independent consultants)?
We had over 100 leaders respond and the results were loud and clear.
The short version: 85% of Talent and People & Culture leaders believe that Talent Acquisition teams should play a role in helping the business access on-demand talent
The results also demonstrated that leaders in both non-talent P&C roles (83%) and leading TA functions (89%) believe that Talent teams have a role to play.
Implications
With 81% of leaders believing that something other than job-based design is the best way to organise work (Deloitte, 2022) and 90% of leaders reporting that flexible talent will be important to their organisation’s future competitive advantage (HBS, 2021 ), People & Culture and Talent professionals must turn their attention to the role of their Talent teams in helping the business access on-demand talent.
Werkling has identified three models: Business owned, Shared Pools, and Centrally Managed.
1. Business led: Business leaders access on-demand talent through their personal networks and/or various platforms. They brief gigs and select on-demand talent directly with no involvement from a central Talent team.
They build their own on-demand talent pool that they draw on as needed to flex their team.
2. Shared pools: Business leaders access on-demand talent through preferred platforms and on-demand talent pools curated by the Talent team in partnership with internal SMEs.
They brief gigs directly following a clear process, contacting the central Talent team if they need additional support. There may be a process for leaders to add to talent pools from their network.
3. Centrally managed: Leaders brief a central Talent team on the work requirement and the Talent team advises on work design and delivery options (i.e. employee, contractor, on-demand talent etc).
The Talent team access on-demand talent through preferred platforms and talent pools, screening options before passing it on to the leader.
Discuss your on-demand talent strategy with Werkling
With the changing nature of work and workers, leading talent teams are seeing their role broaden. While their primary focus remains on the acquisition of talent, they are increasingly playing an advisory role around the different talent segments and where they are best applied in an organisation.
If you would like to discuss your On-demand Talent Strategy or execution model, please book a time with the Werkling team here.
