Solution: Total Workforce Solutions

[On-Demand] Boosting Candidate Engagement with a Comprehensive Talent Strategy

Posted on by nfuqua

[On-Demand] Boosting Candidate Engagement with a Comprehensive Talent Strategy

The current hiring environment remains a challenge for employers—in the U.S., there are currently 4.3 million more open jobs than there are job seekers. Not only are employers struggling to find enough qualified candidates, keeping them engaged proves even more critical amid rising trends like candidate ghosting and recruitment process drop-out as well as the continued Great Resignation.

To cope, many organizations have added more gig workers, but the market for contingent workers suffers the same challenges. If talent leaders aren’t leveraging a unified strategy for recruiting both full-time employees and gig workers, gaps in their workforce will persist.

So, how can you engage these different types of candidates? Join PeopleScout Global Vice President of Implementation Mark Fita for the newest Talking Talent webinar, Boosting Candidate Engagement with a Comprehensive Talent Strategy, available now on-demand.

In this webinar, Mark will cover:

  • Today’s candidate recruitment process landscape

  • Best practices for optimizing your recruiting process

  • How to expand your employer brand to gig workers

  • The importance of using the right technology to engage candidates

  • And more!

Total Workforce Solutions: A Holistic Approach to Talent Channel Management

Posted on by edyson

Modern workforce management has evolved. Increasingly, organizations are leveraging a multi-channel approach for sourcing talent to extend the reach of both their internal and external workforce. In fact, evidence of this trend can be seen in a survey conducted by the MIT Sloan Management Review, which found that 87% of global executives included some portion of external workers (contingent workers, contractors, freelancers and statement of work [SOW] consultants) when considering their workforce composition. 

And, because employers are leveraging multi-channel sourcing strategies, workforce management programs are more complex – thereby resulting in the need for new strategies, proven methodologies and enhanced levels of service from outsourced providers. So, in this article, we’ll discuss how a Total Workforce Solution (TWS) can help your organization by providing a holistic approach to total talent management through enhanced strategic capabilities; precise and up-to-date workforce information; and greater visibility into the multi-channel workforce.

What Are Talent Channels?

A talent channel is a managed and repeatable source of talent and may include anything from a job board to staffing vendors and college campuses. Essentially, a talent channel is a dependable path that leads job-seekers to your open positions.

Just as marketers utilize a variety of marketing channels and techniques to acquire customers, talent professionals likewise need to utilize various talent channels to attract prospective job candidates. And, while there are a host of recruitment channels and platforms to choose from, below we’ve outlined some of the most common and effective sources:

  • Job Boards: Job boards (including generalist and specialist websites) – where recruiters and organizations post open positions – have long been a source of candidates. More recently, job aggregators like Indeed have provided an alternative platform where job-seekers can search and apply for jobs. 
  • Internal Recruitment: Internal recruitment offers many benefits. For example, internal talent pools already have a wealth of knowledge about the company, the company culture and expectations. Therefore, directly sourcing and redeploying candidates who are already within the organization can also dramatically decrease time-to-hire, as well as hiring costs associated with training and onboarding.  
  • Campus Recruiting: Campus recruiting has been a mainstay for recruiting the next generation of young talent for years. Campus recruiting involves sourcing, engaging, and hiring college talent for internships and entry-level positions, while also building a talent pipeline for an organization’s future hiring needs.
  • ATS Database: An organization’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is an invaluable resource for sourcing and curating top talent. An ATS offers a recruiting channel full of applicants who may not have been the best fit for one position, but who have the experience and skills needed for a current or future opening. 
  • Events: Whether you host career events or attend networking opportunities, the power of face-to-face interactions with candidates is priceless. And, although in-person meetings have been less likely lately due to the pandemic, many organizations are still leveraging virtual events to meet and engage with candidates. 
  • Employee Referrals: Employee referrals are an effective way to build a talent pool because they allow employees to submit candidates from their professional and personal networks for open roles. Plus, by encouraging referrals, employers can tap into a steady flow of candidates, while also providing additional opportunities for engagement and compensation for current employees.
  • Staffing Vendors: Organizations might also outsource certain recruitment functions to staffing vendors to curate talent pools and supply candidates. Staffing vendors help organizations with permanent placement, executive search, SOW contracting and procuring talent of all categories – both permanent and contingent.

Sometimes, a hiring or procurement manager may fill an open role from a certain talent channel and labor type simply due to historical practices or for budgeting reasons. However, a Total Workforce Solution model opens the possibilities for reassessing historic practices and identifying the most efficient labor category and talent channel to deliver better outcomes.

Why Total Workforce Solutions Are Perfect for Workforce Management

workforce management

Total Workforce Solutions – also known as Total Talent Solutions and Total Talent Acquisition – are outsourced programs that blend the capabilities of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP) programs by integrating the talent acquisition function for permanent and contingent workforces under one delivery team. By bringing together disparate talent functions under one centralized program, Total Workforce Solutions provide organizations with greater visibility for all workers, including full-time employees and contingent workers (such as temporary workers, independent contractors, freelancers and SOW providers). Total Workforce Solutions also provide a holistic view that leads to better workforce, sourcing channel, and demand management by deploying the resources, technology, and strategies best suited to improve talent and business outcomes. Specifically, a TWS offers:

Data Capture & Analysis: A TWS can take unstructured workforce management data from multiple sources and formats and create structured outputs, which create greater visibility into an organization’s workforce and talent channel efficacy. This enables an organization to measure the success of each recruiting channel, as well as employer brand campaigns and staffing vendor performance.

Resource & Process Control: The right workforce management view helps ensure the right work is being done by the right type of worker. Thanks to the holistic view provided by a Total Workforce Solution, organizations can track how budgets, headcount, procurement, staffing vendors and other issues are being managed across the entire enterprise.

Talent Engagement Expertise: Understanding the talent market is key to knowing how to best attract and engage job-seekers across all labor categories. To that end, a TWS provider’s ability to engage with job-seekers in both full-time and contingent sourcing channels in ways that job-seekers want to be engaged is driven by expertise in candidate experience and engagement. What’s more, TWS providers also have dedicated resources to support education and adoption of the best practices among an organization’s hiring managers and other stakeholders; this ensures that talent teams are engaging candidates from all talent channels in the right way.

Single Point of Contact: While procurement, HR, and talent teams each have their own methods, talent channels, and hiring objectives, each department strives to secure talent to meet their organization’s business needs. Fortunately, Total Workforce Solutions can help successfully align talent acquisition strategy across each of an organization’s recruitment channels by communicating between HR, recruiting and procurement teams. In this way, the TWS ensures that the right talent decisions are made for wider business goals, thereby optimizing both permanent and contingent workforces to give you a total talent view.

Workforce Management: Leveraging Talent Channels to Plan Ahead

In the dynamic talent environment created by the pandemic, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to source talent. Even so – and despite persistent hiring challenges – organizations need to be smart about the allocation of talent acquisition resources when filling roles. For example, conversations about filling open roles should begin with fundamental questions, like: What do we need to accomplish? Is the role easily managed with clearly defined goals? Is it core to the organization’s long-term strategy? Does the role require a long-term commitment, project ownership and management?

Depending on the answers to those questions, you can determine whether a full-time employee or a contingent worker is the best option. And, understanding how to more effectively fill or augment talent gaps also allows teams to scale, prioritize and be nimble – each important factors in today’s business climate.

Furthermore, different talent channels will have different advantages and disadvantages to consider. But, a TWS provider can provide insights by identifying all available sourcing channels, as well as assess where work needs to be done and what skills are needed to get it done. Then, from this evaluation emerges a talent strategy that taps into available candidates from across an organization’s recruitment channels – which then provides a high level of precision for getting the work done with the highest-quality output at the most cost-effective rate.

Candidate & Hiring Manager Experience

In talent acquisition, the human element matters. Specifically, an empowered experience on the part of workers who feel they have access to more opportunities can help boost an organization’s employer brand across its talent channels, as well as among job-seekers and the general public. At the same time, a positive experience for a hiring manager who has access to all talent types equates to higher engagement from the manager, including an increased commitment to sourcing talent from the right talent channels and at the right time and cost to achieve the desired goals.

Furthermore, the traditional employer brand is built on the idea of the employee value proposition that seeks to answer, “Why would this company be a great place to work?” And, to appeal to the growing, flexible workforce, the concept of the Assignment Value Proposition (AVP) is gaining ground as a fundamental brand component to support cases in which an organization needs to sell the value of the project just as much as the strength of the business itself. Add to this assignment value the idea that an organization provides many ways to work – through traditional employee roles or flexible assignments – and the result is a reputation that appeals to professionals of all working preferences.

Fortunately, a TWS provider can help you create compelling employer value propositions across your talent channels so you can attract the right mix of external workers and traditional employees. In particular, a TWS provider will have discussions with your team to consider the following in relation to messaging:

  • Work: Role versus project type and required necessity of skill; core versus non-core
  • Speed: Time to fill, time to contract, time to productivity and leveraging known relationships to reach candidates
  • Cost: Expected tenure of salary plus benefits or rate; or pay rate plus mark-up or deliverable and milestones
  • Worker Engagement: Classification preference or mandates, talent motivation, and talent communication

This discussion will provide you with insights into delivering precise and sophisticated messaging to job-seekers regardless of talent channel, as well as create better recruitment marketing for talent sourcing, engagement and management activities. Moreover, a TWS provider with a firm understanding of your workforce needs that is supported by the right talent technology and committed to continuous improvement will bring the value of a holistic view into your talent channels and workforce strategy. As a result, your organization will be able to make better data-driven decisions and broaden your choices from a single note to a full orchestra of talent options. While the journey takes time and dedication, the effect of this approach – in terms of access to talent, speed of engagement, cost control, and alignment of talent and business strategy – makes the effort essential for growth in today’s competitive global business environment.

IR35 Reform: How Well Are You Communicating with Your Contingent Workers?

Posted on by akessler

The changes being brought about by the IR35 reforms will have a significant impact on both employers and freelance workers. Yet, it seems that organisations are failing to communicate with contractors about the shift. As an award-winning RPO, MSP and Talent Advisory company, PeopleScout lives and breathes the importance of internal and external candidate and employee communications. 

A Brief Summary of IR35

IR35 is a set of tax laws designed to combat tax avoidance by freelance or contract workers and the organisations using their services (i.e., the end-client). These workers are typically self-employed and engaged by organisations through an intermediary rather than on an employment contract.

Determining whether a contract would be categorised as employment, in which IR35 applies, or as business-to-business services, in which IR35 would not apply, is complicated. If the legislation applies, a contractor could be significantly impacted financially as they would have to pay income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) as if they were a full- or part-time employee. Employers would also be on the hook for taxes and NICs.

This off-payroll legislation was introduced to the public sector in 2017 and is now being extended to the private sector.

The Employer’s Responsibilities Under IR35

The responsibility of determining whether a contract sits within IR35 is not just up to the contractor. Both the contractor and end-client are equally accountable, and any unpaid tax can be collected from both parties if an error is made.

Yet, contract workers are largely uninformed about what their end-clients are doing to prepare for IR35. A recent survey of over 1,400 contractors who will be affected by IR35 reform revealed:

  • 57% have not been contacted by their end-client about IR35 reform.
  • Only 15% have received a Status Determination Statement (SDS), outlining their perceived IR35 position.
  • Of those who have had their contract assessed, 56% have been determined as outside IR35, with 44% deemed inside the legislation.
  • 28% have been informed of their end-client’s strategy for the changes but are yet to be issued with an SDS.

Given that IR35 in the private sector has already been postponed from April 2020 due to COVID-19, it’s surprising that companies, contractors and agencies are not better prepared.

The Importance of Communication About Compliance

Most companies are going to be affected in one way or another by IR35 reform. It’s imperative that you prioritise preparation for IR35 to ensure compliance, especially if you have contingent workers with hard-to-find specialist skills and knowledge. 

As with any change, communication is key. Your contractors want to be kept informed about what you’re doing to ensure compliance, and if they don’t receive that reassurance they will move on to other projects or opportunities where the strategy is clear.

The last thing you need is to lose talent. This could impact your ability to service customers, to achieve strategic milestones and fulfil financial objectives. Contingent workers are an important part of your workforce, and communicating about your IR35 plans will keep them engaged and productive.

Healthcare Workforce Planning for Improved Patient Care

Posted on by epadmin

According to U.S. census data, the senior population will experience unprecedented growth in the coming years, with the population of individuals aged 65 and over projected to be 83.7 million by 2050. The projected growth of the senior population and the rise in insured individuals as a result of the Affordable Care Act, present both opportunities and challenges for healthcare organizations. To meet the rising demand on the healthcare system, it is imperative for healthcare organizations to proactively plan for the future. In this post, we outline the steps organizations can take towards healthcare workforce planning to ensure they are well-equipped to handle the changes and challenges in hiring for healthcare.

The Case for Healthcare Workforce Planning

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 439,000 new nursing jobs will be added to the economy by 2024, along with 700,000 nursing vacancies created by retiring Baby Boomers. Nursing is not the only healthcare profession facing a talent shortage, a study conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. will face a shortage of between 40,800 and 104,900 physicians by 2030. As the healthcare sector grows, so too does the shortage of essential clinical staff.

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Healthcare organizations that lack a clear healthcare staffing plan may experience an imbalance in staff that can result in an inability to achieve business objectives and hinders the ability to provide adequate care for patients in the face of growing demand.

By developing a healthcare workforce plan that is responsive to hiring needs, healthcare organizations can more effectively manage recruiting and staffing challenges. What’s more, healthcare workforce planning can give organizations an advantage in attracting top medical talent. In turn, helping improve patient care.

Challenges in Healthcare Workforce Planning

With dramatic shifts occurring in the healthcare workforce, the leadership of healthcare organizations needs to identify challenges to their respective organizations and lead the discussion on workforce planning and development. Leaders need to ensure that healthcare workforce planning is a part of comprehensive strategic planning for their organizations, not a far-off solution to future issues not yet manifested.

The American Hospital Association’s Committee on Performance Improvement surveyed healthcare leaders and experts in the field to identify the key workforce challenges highlighted below:

  • Rural communities are facing challenges in recruiting healthcare professionals and providing education and training opportunities to current staff.
  • Healthcare leaders report facing an inadequate supply of behavioral health professionals to fill roles within their organizations.
  • The need for an improved educational pipeline and partnerships between academic and medical institutions need to be strengthened.
  • Identifying and harnessing technology to meet future workforce needs.
  • Improving commitment to workplace diversity in all aspects — race, ethnicity, gender and age.

While addressing these challenges head-on with healthcare workforce planning is a step in the right direction, healthcare leaders need to also effectively communicate the importance of upcoming changes to their organization.

Navigating Healthcare Workforce Imbalances

Effective healthcare workforce planning takes imbalances in available talent and resources needed to meet organizational staffing requirements into account, whether those imbalances are due to insufficient financial resources to recruit healthcare professionals or a shortage of qualified candidates to fill positions. To address imbalances, healthcare organizations should conduct an internal review of resources available for recruiting and survey the healthcare talent market for insights.

To properly understand potential imbalances, healthcare organizations should take the following factors into account:

  • Traditionally, the unbalanced distribution of the healthcare workforce resulted in greater disparity in available healthcare professionals between rural and urban locations. As the healthcare talent gap widens, urban communities are now seeing similar imbalances between available talent and open positions.
  • The availability of healthcare workers and financial resources is influenced by whether a healthcare organization is public or private. Depending on an organization’s alignment, they should plan to address limitations and capitalize on advantages respective to their private or public status.
  • The government can also influence the healthcare worker talent market by creating laws or establishing public policy to regulate the talent market.
  • The healthcare educational system and professional institutions are verdant talent pipelines and also play a role in healthcare imbalance, impacting the number of candidates available.

Once a review has been conducted, healthcare organizations can then draft a plan of action to address challenges in healthcare recruiting.

Defining Workforce Planning Roles and Responsibilities

Before creating a healthcare workforce plan, stakeholders need to identify why a workforce plan is needed and for whom ownership of the planning process belongs. Stakeholders should clearly communicate the intended use of the healthcare workforce plan and its scope; whether it will cover a single service area, a particular patient facility, or an entire nationwide healthcare network.

Once need and scope are established, stakeholders should communicate who will be responsible for ensuring the plan is delivered and who will be involved in the planning process, including senior and executive staff, physicians, HR professionals, community relations and outreach staff and others who may have a role in the plan’s implementation.

Defining the Required Workforce

After establishing roles and responsibilities, healthcare workforce planners must assess their organization’s hiring needs and what skills and specialized labor are required to fill positions. Workforce planners will also need to determine the number of workers needed to fulfill the healthcare organization’s workforce demand. In order to estimate workforce demand, planners must consider their existing workforce, turnover rate, current hiring model and average time-to-fill metrics.

Assessing Healthcare Workforce Availability

This step involves surveying the existing healthcare workforce both nationally and regionally, the number of credentialed candidates available to fill positions and assessing issues arising from retirement or turnover. Healthcare workforce planners should consider the practicalities and cost of any retraining, redeployment and/or recruitment activities that could increase or change their organization’s workforce.

Developing a Plan

A crucial element of healthcare staff planning is the development of a plan to acquire and retain the necessary number of qualified candidates and employees to fill an organization’s talent pipeline. To achieve this, workforce planners should identify the specific policies and practices for acquiring, developing, assessing and retaining talent and look for areas of improvement.

While identifying policies and practices, planners should outline specific recommendations and changes they believe will improve planning and share them with leadership for future action. Planners need to take into account the potential effects and outcomes of new policies and practices when making suggestions to ensure that short-term solutions do not mask long-term and reoccurring issues.

Community Partnerships

The role of healthcare providers is changing, and to meet the needs of patients and the communities they serve, each organization needs to evaluate its role within the community and how they can better partner with local organizations.

Community partnerships are not just outreach vehicles; they can also enhance talent pipeline sustainability and help an organization’s recruitment efforts. The primary partnerships that should be considered are local universities and community colleges.

In addition to partnering with educational institutions, healthcare organizations should consider partnering with public health departments, social service organizations, law enforcement and community development groups. Developing relationships with both private and public institutions should become a key to any successful healthcare workforce plan.

Monitoring and Refreshing the Healthcare Workforce Plan

After a healthcare workforce plan is implemented, periodic reviews and adjustments are essential for continued success. Workforce planners need to establish a review and monitoring process so they can amend the healthcare workforce plan according to changes in the organization’s healthcare hiring needs. The plan should be explicit about how success will be measured so stakeholders and leadership can have transparency on the success of the workforce plan. What’s more, a proper monitoring program can help identify any unintended consequences of changes and offer leadership the opportunity to take corrective action if needed.

A well-crafted monitoring program should take into account the future strategic direction of an organization and how specific successes and failures will affect workforce needs in the future. Assessments are also useful in evaluating the skill sets of current staff, determining the future needs of patients and identifying the actions needed to build partnerships for a steady talent pipeline.

Conclusion

For the success of any healthcare organization, workforce planners must continually assess the impact of their hiring model, employee retention strategy and talent sourcing methods. Workforce planners should be clear about what they expect to achieve through planning. Their objective should allow the development and maintenance of a health workforce with the skills to support their organization.