Talent Strategy Use Case

As an operating company of Randstad N.V. — the world’s leading global provider of HR services with revenue of €20.7 billion — Randstad Sourceright’s subject matter experts and thought leaders around the world continuously build and evolve our solutions across recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), managed services programs (MSP) and total talent solutions.

Filling a client’s contingent needs can involve a variety of talent sources, including traditional third-party providers. Furthermore, there are different ways to structure the relationship between the client and Randstad Sourceright, depending on how much of the technology and administration the client wants Randstad Sourceright to manage. Direct sourcing allows them to bring some of the approaches that have been successful in the RPO world of permanent hiring to the world of the contingent workforce.

Direct sourcing has been a big success for some of the most reputable providers of contingent staffing solutions and their clients, significantly reducing costs, improving access to talent, and time to fill. Below, the leaders of direct sourcing at Randstad Sourceright share their insights.

Estrada says that one oft-overlooked element of direct sourcing is nurturing the talent in the pool. Randstad Sourceright takes the concept of a talent community seriously, and this starts by asking the question of why the right talent would want to be in that community. What is it about the enterprise’s brand, culture, type, and the number of jobs that are appealing to high-quality candidates?

It’s important to understand how the client’s brand is perceived by the people they are trying to attract. For example, a company may have a sterling reputation in its industry but is seen as lacking glamor by tech talent. If that’s the case, then part of nurturing talent is to get them excited by the kinds of IT projects the client offers and what aspects of the culture are particularly attractive to tech workers.

Once there is clarity around what to communicate, then it is a matter of offering candidates the degree of connection they want. Some just want to be notified when there is a job that is a good match; others want to learn about the company, what it is like to work there and what the company is working on. If there are interesting sustainability initiatives, then people in the candidate community may love to learn about them.

Randstad Sourceright knows “talent-centricity” is key to direct sourcing success. The whole process needs to be attractive to the candidates. That starts with making sure the process of signing up is fast and then ensuring there is enough ongoing communication so that the candidate doesn’t feel like they have fallen into a black hole.

A talent-centric approach means thinking in terms of why it is to the candidate’s benefit to join a community. It also means personalizing communication so that the candidate never has that feeling of “you know nothing about me.”

Estrada believes the role of technology is to empower services and solutions. All the steps she discussed are enabled by automation. Whether it be automating workflow, matching talent to openings, or constantly communicating with talent, direct sourcing technology is an essential tool.

One thing Randstad Sourceright looks for in direct sourcing tech is the ease of automation. The team that uses the software — including recruiters, sourcers, and curators — want to automate as much of their workflow as possible. That is only practical if the automation tools are easy to use.

Randstad Sourceright realizes a lot of value with referral engines and helps its clients make good use of referral technology to build the talent pool.

Direct sourcing is more effective if there is an understanding of what talent supply and talent demand will be in the coming year. This understanding allows the managed services provider (MSP) to be proactive in filling talent pools with appropriate contingent professionals.

Randstad Sourceright uses a workforce advisory council to look at what’s coming up in the labor market. They have access to large amounts of data and market intelligence both from within Randstad and from other data providers. This gives the direct sourcing programs insight into what they need to prepare for.

Estrada’s parting advice is to see direct sourcing as one element of a total talent acquisition strategy. It needs to be implemented thoughtfully with careful attention to change management. She also points out that you don’t have to start with 100 percent of your roles in your direct sourcing program; start where it will be most beneficial and easiest to launch. Beyond that, she says that clients have learned that it’s not just about the cost savings you realize; the big payoff of direct sourcing is in accessing high-quality talent quickly.