Category: Talent Acquisition Strategy

Dissecting the July Jobs Report

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The Labor Department released its July jobs report with higher than expected jobs numbers and an unemployment rate that returned to a 16-year low.

July Jobs Report

The numbers

222,000: The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July
4.4%: The unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent
2.5%: Wages went up 2.5 percent over the past year

The good

The 209,000 jobs added in July is good news for the economy. According to the Wall Street Journal, this number is above the yearly average and shows that the economy is nowhere near slowing down as some had feared earlier this year. CNBC reports that the job growth exceeded economist expectations for the month, and most of the gains came in bars and restaurants, business and professional services and healthcare. Even retail, which has been an economic weak spot, showed some modest job gains in July.

The 4.3 percent unemployment rate is another positive, falling back to May’s 4.3 percent, the lowest unemployment rate in sixteen years. Last month the unemployment rate rose .1 percent, which economists attributed to more people entering the workforce. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that the difference between June’s unemployment rate and July’s unemployment rate is only a rounding difference, and the unemployment rate is essentially unchanged.

The bad

There is a lot of good in this jobs report, but the weakest point is the 2.5 percent wage growth, which has been a common theme throughout mid-2017. Wage growth has remained around 2.5 percent even though Marketwatch reports that wages typically rise 3 percent to 4 percent when the economy is running at full throttle.

The unknown

The question for economists in this report is why wages are only showing modest growth when other signs indicate that the labor market is tightening. According to Marketwatch, it could be a number of factors, and likely a combination of low productivity, global competition and a reluctance of Americans to change jobs after the Great Recession. The New York Times reports that the slow wage growth may cause the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy more quickly.

We’ll have our analysis of the August jobs report when it comes out next month.

The Commercial Driver Talent Landscape – Candidates are in the Driver’s Seat

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Changes in the talent landscape, skills shortages and demographic shifts are making it harder than ever to recruit commercial drivers. Commercial truck drivers are among the hardest jobs to fill in the United States. A downward trend in the number of active candidates available and an increase in the overall number of job postings make for a difficult recruiting climate, according to a recent study by CareerBuilder. With employers competing for CDL candidates, these job-seekers can “drive” their relationship with organizations.

The Driver Talent Landscape

  • More than 3.5 million people in America make their living as truck drivers, via American Trucking Associations (ATA) Trends.
  • The average CDL candidate has six to 10 years of driving experience.
  • The median pay for a truck driver in 2015 was just more than $40,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Trucking is the largest job in 29 states, according to The Guardian.
  • Trucks will transport over 10 billion tons of freight in 2017, and that number is expected to increase in 2018, via ATA Trends.
  • The trucking industry will need to hire nearly 900,000 drivers in the next decade to meet rising demand and cover for the aging workforce nearing retirement age.
  • The average driver is 49-years-old, and retirement is driving much of the current turnover.

Truck Driver Shortage

The industry is currently facing a shortage of nearly 50,000 drivers, and that deficit is expected to grow in the coming years due to low numbers of qualified drivers, an aging workforce and overall industry turnover, according to the ATA Driver Shortage Analysis.That report states that trucking company representatives think attracting and retaining new driver talent is their most crucial strategic initiative, outweighing other issues like regulatory compliance, risk management and revenue growth.

The driver shortage is also due to the out of pocket costs of obtaining a CDL and the physical demands of the job. The local delivery driver position, in particular, is one that requires the employee to not only to drive a truck but physically unload and interact with customers. There is a decrease among millennials who are choosing to do labor-intensive work, so it’s more important than ever for organizations to consider how to attract this generation.

ATA also reports that between 2016 and 2027, the amount of freight moved by trucks is expected to increase by 27 percent. In fact, Fortune named truck drivers the most in-demand job in 2016. Meeting that demand while dealing with the current shortage won’t be an easy task. The ATA proposes a variety of solutions to help address the shortage, including increasing driver pay and offering sign-on bonuses, providing drivers more at-home time and catering to veterans.

Attracting a New Generation of CDL Drivers

The commercial driver landscape is further complicated by the fact that currently, the demand for commercial drivers is increasing as a significant portion of the CDL workforce is nearing retirement age. How can recruiters attract millennials to the industry as they watch the development of driverless cars? How can job hunters prepare themselves for the current CDL talent market and the future driverless talent market at the same time?

Companies that use CDL talent and the talent acquisition professionals focused on recruiting those drivers, must be focused on ways to attract millennials to these in-demand driving positions or risk getting left behind. Responses to traditional print media ads are declining, making it increasingly necessary to use social media, mobile and digital sourcing strategies to attract drivers who are on the road.

Trucks.com reports that more than a third of trucking companies are increasing investments in employee recruiting and improving their HR functions to help attract new talent and speed up the hiring and training process. Companies are also increasing their use of social media to promote open positions, partnering with local CDL schools to attract new graduates and working with the U.S. military to recruit veterans.

What’s Next? Self-Driving Trucks

Another thing affecting the industry is the self-driving car, with both Google and Uber regularly making the news for their tests and industry experts predicting they’ll be common and affordable by 2025.

The freight transportation industry needs to be prepared for the change because as the industry transforms, they need to find the candidates who can be successful in the shift. According to the LA Times, research has shown that artificial intelligence creates more roles for highly educated people. While the demand for drivers may go down, the search for candidates who can build and maintain driverless fleets will provide a new challenge.

Check out our fact sheet, Source the Right Commercial Drivers for Your Organization with PeopleScout, to learn how partnering with an experienced provider can help find the drivers you need in this competitive talent landscape.

Self-driving vehicles are one of the top seven trends impacting the talent acquisition industry. To learn more about how the technology could transform recruiting and to learn more about the other six trends, download our ebook: Seven Tech Trends Shaping the Talent Landscape.

Dissecting the June Jobs Report

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The Labor Department released its June jobs report with better than expected job growth and signs that point to increasing labor force participation. Here’s what we know:

The numbers

222,000: The U.S. economy added 222,000 jobs in June
4.4%: The unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent
2.5%: Wages went up 2.5 percent over the past year

The good

The 222,000 jobs added is good news. According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s the largest increase since February, and it’s even larger than economists were expecting. This helps quash some of the fears about slowing job growth that we talked about after the May jobs report.

Additionally, even though an increase in the unemployment rate may not seem positive, it’s a sign that more people are entering the job market. Marketwatch reports that’s typical for the month of June, as the flood of new college grads enter the job market, though modest gains in labor force participation indicate that some workers sidelined during the recession have gained the confidence to re-enter the job market.

The bad

The 2.5 percent wage increase is a familiar number for economists. Bloomberg reports that while hiring has accelerated throughout the recovery from the Great Recession, wage gains have remained modest. Economists had expected wages to increase as the unemployment rate fell. So far, that hasn’t happened.

The unknown

The biggest unknown is why wage gains continue to disappoint. The New York Times reports it may be a sign that the economy is not yet nearing full employment like some had predicted and still has room to grow. Bloomberg reports that the growing labor force participation could be keeping wages down, but other economists point to the retirement of high-earning Baby Boomers who are being replaced by the lower-earning millennial workforce. Marketwatch also points to the possibility of decreased productivity and increased global competition.

Read our analysis of the July report here.

Designing a Total Workforce Solution

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The rise of the gig economy increased access to global talent and changing candidate expectations are forcing many companies to reconsider the make-up of their workforces. Organizations are beginning to recognize the benefits of integrating both full-time and contingent talent into one total workforce program. Evolving your talent acquisition program to include both full-time and contingent workers allow you to focus on finding the best talent, regardless of worker type.

In this disrupted talent landscape, it’s clear that Total Workforce Solutions can provide a competitive advantage. But what, exactly, does a total workforce solution look like in action?

What are Total Workforce Solutions?

A total talent solution lets you hire the best talent for your positions, regardless of worker type. Total Workforce Solutions programs can incorporate full cycle, scalable RPO and MSP programs or specific services to meet your needs. Total Workforce Solutions provide a holistic approach to talent acquisition by providing visibility across all worker types – from contingent to full-time – and talent channels.

Key drivers and advantages of Total Workforce Solutions

Key drivers for MSP and RPO integration include:

  • Bifurcated talent acquisition strategy
  • Lack of visibility across total workforce
  • Siloed decision making
  • Risk
  • Growth of the non-employee workforce
  • Globalized workforce
  • Emerging talent pools
  • Skills and experience scarcity
  • Escalating competition for talent
  • Demographic shifts
  • Ineffective pipelining
  • Workforce disruption

Total Workforce Solutions drive financial advantages like cost savings from better workforce utilization, improved demand management and lower service and vendor management costs than in a previously decentralized program. Strategic benefits include more access to global expertise, cross-trained and fully integrated implementation teams, and insights and advice across your entire talent spectrum.

Finally, moving from a bifurcated talent acquisition strategy with siloed decision making and a lack of visibility across employee and non-employees to a holistic view of the entire talent spectrum will allow you to be more flexible and adaptable. You can engage the talent you need, whether it be full-time, contingent, freelance, contractor, remote or on-site, depending on the position.

Designing your total workforce solution

Other benefits of a fully integrated talent strategy include competitive advantage, stability and the opportunity become more proactive – moving from “default” to “design.” However, moving your talent acquisition strategy from default to design is not a simple process. The factors that go into creating an integrated talent strategy differ based on every organization and the maturity of their workforce programs.

There are three key questions you should ask yourself before starting down a path to a total talent strategy:

  • What is your current state?
  • Where do you want to be?
  • How do you get started?

Getting started may be the most difficult hurdle for companies moving to a total workforce solution. For some organizations, it may help to first show the value of centralizing all forms of contingent and full-time employees into a single program. Once internal stakeholders can see the value of greater reporting visibility, risk mitigation, cost savings and more, it begins to remove the uncertainty and knowledge siloes that have been created.

At PeopleScout’s 2017 client forum, attendees participated in roundtable discussions on Total Workforce Solutions. Key takeaways on getting started with a total talent program included:

  • Have a plan to help you move from reactive to proactive
  • Analyze the data you have at your disposal to determine what you can use to support your workforce planning
  • Find an executive sponsor for your total workforce program to provide guidance and reinforcement

Check out our white paper, Total Workforce Solutions: Optimize Talent Acquisition by Blending RPO and MSP, to learn how to optimize your talent acquisition efforts.

Exploring the Veteran Talent Landscape: Why It’s Time to Focus on Turning Veteran Jobs into Veteran Careers

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There are plenty of reasons to hire veterans. For companies, it makes good business sense. Veterans make great employees. They’re leaders, team players, disciplined, hard workers, and their military experience makes them quick learners who can perform well under pressure. As civilians, it’s the least we can do. After years of service, as veterans transition into the civilian world, we owe it to them to make that transition smooth.

Falling Unemployment

Over the past five years, the veteran hiring landscape has transformed. In 2011, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans hit a high of 12.1 percent. At the time, the U.S. economy was recovering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and thousands of veterans were looking for civilian work as the military scaled down operations in the Middle East.

Now, the picture is vastly different. By the end of 2016, the veteran unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent. The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans is about a percentage point higher.

There are several reasons for this drop in unemployment. The U.S. economy has recovered dramatically. As the veteran unemployment rate fell, so too did the overall unemployment rate. Additionally, many companies started veteran hiring initiatives. The Veteran Jobs Mission started in 2011 with the goal of hiring 100,000 veterans. Member organizations have now hired nearly 400,000. Companies like Walmart and Starbucks also made high-profile commitments that have translated into thousands of jobs. According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study, companies now consider veterans a top three recruiting priority.

New Challenges

Despite these encouraging numbers, veterans in 2017 face a new set of challenges – the biggest is underemployment. Military Times examined this issue, pointing out that many of the jobs offered to veterans making the transition to civilian work fail to take advantage of their unique skill sets.

We can also see this because when it comes to hiring veterans, one of the biggest challenges now is holding on to them. A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found 44 percent of veterans leave their first civilian job in the first year. Of those who leave, 31 percent say it was because they took that first job just to make ends meet, but it wasn’t actually what they wanted to do. It wasn’t a good fit. Another 30 percent left for a better job with more pay and more opportunities for advancement.

These issues impact some veterans more than others. Post-9/11 veterans struggle more than veterans from earlier periods of service. Most of the unemployed veterans are middle age or older.

Some challenges affect the entire military family. The unemployment rate for military spouses is 18 percent. They face many of the same challenges as veterans when it comes to finding and holding a job, but they don’t have access to the same employment support networks. Hiring Our Heroes is drawing attention to the challenges faced by military spouses. Read more about those unique issues and PeopleScout’s relationship with Hiring Our Heroes here.

Looking Forward

Now, employers have a new challenge. It’s time to focus on placing veterans in the right job the first time and put them on a track to build a civilian career. We need to focus on building company cultures where veterans feel comfortable and where they can advance.

The biggest challenges standing in the way of these goals are that most hiring managers have a hard time reading military resumes and translating those skills to civilian jobs, and most companies don’t have the training or formal programming to build a veteran-friendly culture.

There are steps employers can take to improve veteran hiring and retention. See our list of best practices for companies looking to improve their veteran hiring.

Dissecting the May Jobs Report

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The Labor Department released its May jobs report with the lowest unemployment rate in 16 years but lower than expected job growth. Here’s what we know:

The numbers
138,000: The economy added 138,000 jobs in May
4.3%: The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%
2.5%: Wages went up 2.5% over the last year

The good

The unemployment rate is the highlight of the May report. The Wall Street Journal reports that this is the lowest level since 2001. Broader measures of unemployment and underemployment are also down, and it’s also down from the April jobs report.

The New York Times reports the numbers show we’re nearing full employment, but depending on who you are, that may or may not be a good thing.

The bad

Despite the banner unemployment headline, economists say this report sends some mixed signals about the economy. First, the Wall Street Journal reports the 138,000 jobs added was actually lower than economists expected, and Bloomberg reports the past three months show the slowest job growth since 2012.

Additionally, part of the reason for the decreasing unemployment rate is a shrinking labor force. The New York Times points out that the labor-force participation rate dropped this month to 62.7%, which indicates that workers sidelined during the recession are not rejoining the labor force despite years of job growth and a low unemployment rate.

The 2.5% wage gain has been steady since late 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal. Economists had predicted that would eventually start to increase with the falling unemployment rate, but so far, that hasn’t happened.

The unknown

Economists are debating what exactly these mixed signals mean when looked at as a whole picture. Marketwatch reports that the low unemployment rate will be enough for the Federal Reserve Bank to increase interest rates. However, they also show the report caused the dollar to weaken and the stock market gains were limited.

Read our analysis of the June jobs report here.

PeopleScout 2017 Client Forum Wrap Up

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PeopleScout’s annual Client Forum took place last month in Orlando, FL. We appreciate our clients and partners who took the time to join us to explore topics surrounding the changing world of work. Our time at the forum allowed us to share ideas, gain value insights and enjoy a great opportunity to network. The goal of the forum was to help attendees walk away with actionable ideas for driving escalating value in their organizations. Our keynote speakers and roundtable facilitators armed our attendees with content that is relevant and applicable to take back and consider implementing at their organizations.

Gary Bragar, HR Outsourcing Research Director at NelsonHall, shared an excellent recap of our event on the NelsonHall blog. I encourage you to read the post for Bragar’s take on three areas where PeopleScout is preparing for the changing world of work: global expansion, offering total workforce solutions and an enhanced technology offering.

I’m eager to share an overview of this year’s event. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we look deeper into the topics discussed at the forum, including the future of work, diversity and inclusion, employer branding and Total Workforce Solutions.

Keynote: Talent Solutions for the Changing World of Work

Taryn Owen, President of PeopleScout, and Patrick Beharelle, President and COO of TrueBlue, kicked things off by diving into the changing world of work and sharing how PeopleScout is prepared to respond to industry trends.

From robot bartenders that can mix cocktails and make small talk to driverless car technology that will disrupt many of the 4.4 million long-haul, cab and bus driver jobs, major shifts are happening in the way we do business. Add that to the changing candidate experience, and you’ll see how recruitment must evolve to appeal to candidates as consumers. For example, according to CareerBuilder, candidates are using 16 different resources – including social networks – to research a company before applying!

We are facing a new landscape for talent acquisition due to the rise of the gig economy, increased access to global talent and changing candidate expectations. Beharelle lead us through a discussion of three forces that are disrupting the talent landscape:

  • Technology is disrupting the workforce on a scale never seen before
  • Globalization is changing how we access the workforce
  • Evolving social preferences are transforming how we attract talent

What is PeopleScout doing to stay ahead of the disruption? Owen shared how PeopleScout is innovating for the future of talent. Over the past year, PeopleScout has focused on many initiatives, including integrating HRX, an Australian RPO provider, into the PeopleScout brand by becoming PeopleScout in APAC. We also completed our acquisition of the AON RPO business just more than a year ago, bringing a wealth of knowledge, leadership expertise and robust operational procedures to PeopleScout. With the AON acquisition, we opened five new offices in four countries: Gurgaon, India, Krakow, Poland, Toronto and Montreal in Canada and Charlotte, NC in the U.S.

Most recently, we migrated our MSP division from our sister company Staff Management | SMX to PeopleScout. The integration of MSP services allows us to offer Total Workforce Solutions, creating synergies across our people, processes and technologies and providing our clients more access to expanded expertise across the talent spectrum.
As we look forward to 2017 and beyond, our top priorities center around:

  • The continued expansion of our global footprint to ensure that we leverage talent where it exists
  • Further evolving our total talent solutions offering to make sure we bring the best talent to our clients, regardless of worker type
  • Launching our new technology platform that will provide a competitive advantage for each of our clients in this disrupted talent landscape

We look forward to sharing more with you about our technology roadmap in the coming months.

Keynote: The Future of Work
Author and futurist Jacob Morgan shared ways to challenge the status quo and embrace creativity to attract and retain top talent during his engaging keynote presentation. Morgan focused on three things he believes make organizations a top place to work: culture, technology and physical space.

Culture, Morgan says, makes up 40% of an employee’s overall experience with a company. Although it makes up the largest percentage, it also is the hardest piece of the puzzle for many companies because it’s not tangible. Technology, which includes the systems and tools employees use every day to get their job done, makes up 30% of employee experience. Finally, physical space also makes up 30% of employee experience, and is made up of the actual physical space employees perform their work in, whether it’s a cubical, open floor plan, or a hybrid mix. Understanding, evaluating and investing in these three areas will help organizations win the war for talent.

Keynote: The Disney Approach to Employee Engagement
Carmen Garcia, lead facilitator at the Disney Institute, talked about Disney’s approach to employee engagement and shared how to foster a culture of leadership and service. Garcia shared insights on how Disney created a culture that helps their employees, or cast members, become the best ambassadors of their brand.
One tactic Garcia shared was Disney’s decision to “over-manage” parts of their employee experience. While some may have a negative view of that term, she explained that it means Disney has an intentional thought process behind everything they do; it is designed with a purpose in mind. Throughout the presentation, it was clear that Disney’s focus on over-managing their culture creates high-quality results throughout the entire organization.

Keynote: Industry Disruption and Leadership
Patty McCord, a workplace innovator and leadership consultant, lead a discussion on industry disruption and how to reconsider the idea of best practices. She shared her approach to creating winning teams by changing our assumptions about employees, talent and transformation. McCord ended her presentation by asking the audience to try one new thing and throw away one old thing to see what happens when you challenge the status quo.

Roundtable: Diversity & Inclusion
Dr. Arin Reeves facilitated roundtable sessions on diversity and inclusion. Questions from participants ranged from how to create a balanced strategy to how to integrate diversity and inclusion into a contingent labor practice. A key takeaway she shared is the idea that “the more you retain, the more you attract.” Inclusion programs are essential for retaining diverse hires. The best way to show people that they can be successful in your organization is to have an example of that in place, like diverse employees in leadership roles. Additionally, it’s more cost-effective to focus on retention rather than managing high levels of attrition among diverse employees.
Find out key takeaways from the roundtable in this video:

Roundtable: Employee Engagement
Jacob Morgan facilitated roundtable sessions on employee engagement, encouraging attendees to share challenges they were experiencing or examples of how they dealt with tough situations. One key learning was the lack of effectiveness of annual engagement surveys and reviews. Morgan and roundtable attendees agreed that there were issues with annual reviews. The primary challenge is that they are not frequent enough; results take too long to receive and analyze and many factors can skew the results. Ideas to replace annual surveys include internal social media tools that encourage employees to give feedback daily and engagement surveys conducted on individual teams.

Hear the key takeaways from his roundtable in this video:

Roundtable: Employer Branding
Stacy Zapar facilitated roundtable sessions on employer branding. Zapar discussed where the industry is going in the next three to five years and what organizations can do to prepare for it now. She also shared where companies have room to improve and what they can do to differentiate themselves. Attendees also discussed the importance of giving your employees a voice through social media, videos, blogging and more. Giving employees a voice allows companies to leverage their most connected people as brand ambassadors.
Learn more of the key takeaways in this video:

Roundtable: Total Workforce Solutions
Dana Shaw-Arimoto facilitated roundtable sessions on Total Workforce Solutions. Shaw-Arimoto shared information on the current landscape of Total Workforce Solutions and factors that go into creating an integrated talent strategy. She suggested asking three key questions before starting down a path to a total talent strategy:

  • What is your current state?
  • Where do you want to be?
  • How do you get started?

Attendees shared where they are on the journey towards total talent management and what they are most looking forward to from a total workforce solution, which included competitive advantage, stability and becoming more proactive.
Find out other key takeaways in this video:

Evening Reception
The Client Forum wrapped up with a fun and exciting evening event at Epcot. Dinner at the Living Seas Salon in Epcot followed by a front row seat at the Illuminations Reflections of Earth fireworks show made for great networking and conversation. Our evening was capped off with an exclusive ride on Soarin’.

Thank you again to our clients, keynote speakers and roundtable hosts who made this year’s event so rewarding. We look forward to sharing more insights from the forum over the next few weeks!

Dissecting the April Jobs Report

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The Labor Department released its April jobs report with higher than expected job growth, showing a rebound after a slow March. Here’s what we know:
The numbers
211,000: The economy added 211,000 jobs
4.4%: The jobless rate fell to 4.4%
2.5%: Wages went up 2.5% over the past 12 months
The good
There’s a lot of good in this jobs report. The 211,000 jobs added is more than economists expected according to Marketwatch, and it’s more than double the growth in the March report.
Additionally, the 4.4% unemployment rate is the lowest in nearly a decade. According to the Wall Street Journal, the last time the unemployment rate was 4.4% was May 2007. The last time it was lower was May 2001. The number suggests the economy may be near full employment.
The bad
While not necessarily bad, one of the weaker points in the report is the 2.5% wage increase. According to the New York Times, it’s a sign that the economy hasn’t actually reached full employment. However, Bloomberg reports wage gains should be the next step in the continued recovery from the recession, citing the tightening labor market.
The unknown
The biggest questions out of the April jobs report concern what exactly the results mean for other parts of the government. Marketwatch reports the job growth keeps the Fed on track to raise interest rates again soon.
The April report also clears up some questions after March’s surprisingly low job report, according to Marketwatch. Their analysts say April’s strong numbers show March was likely an anomaly caused by bad weather.
Read our analysis of the May jobs report.

Dissecting the March Jobs Report

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Dissecting the March Jobs Report

The Labor Department released its March jobs report with lower than expected job-growth numbers. Economists are debating what those numbers mean. Here’s what we know.
The numbers
98,000: The economy added 98,000 jobs
4.5 percent: The jobless rate fell to 4.5 percent
2.7 percent: Wages went up 2.7 percent over the last year
The good
The 4.5 percent unemployment rate is the lowest since 2007, according to the New York Times. The Wall Street Journal calls it a signal that the economy is at or nearing full employment, and Bloomberg calls it a “signal of underlying strength.”
Additionally, The Wall Street Journal reports the 2.7 percent wage increase shows wages are rising faster now than at the start of the recovery from the Great Recession – a sign the labor market is tightening.
The bad
The economy added far fewer jobs than economists expected at just 98,000. That’s less than half the number of jobs added in January or February. Additionally, the Labor Department revised its numbers from January and February, indicating employers added fewer jobs than the department estimated a few weeks ago.
Retail was one of the worst performing sectors in the economy, losing nearly 30,000 jobs in March after losing about 31,000 in February.
The unknown
Economists are still debating the reason behind the slowed job growth. The New York Times reports some blame the numbers on a cold and snowy March in some parts of the country after a nicer than expected January and February. However, The Atlantic points out that some of the biggest losses were in retail, which wouldn’t be explained by weather.
This puts more pressure April jobs report. You can read our analysis of the April report here.

Lexicon of RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions Terms

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There is a growing demand from human resources, talent acquisition and procurement professionals for increased visibility into their entire spectrum of talent. Organizations can meet that demand by blending their RPO and MSP programs into one integrated Total Workforce Solutions program. Traditionally, RPO and MSP programs have been siloed. A lack of understanding of the terminology of either RPO or MSP programs can inhibit the collaboration between the two programs. To help ease the transition into a talent acquisition program that attracts and retains both full-time and contingent workers, we’ve put together a lexicon of some of the most commonly used RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions terminology.

ATS: Applicant Tracking System

  • An ATS is a software application that enables the electronic handling of recruitment needs. An ATS stores candidate data to allow recruiters or hiring managers to search, filter and route applications. ATS software can also be known as Talent Management Software (TMS), Candidate Management System (CMS) or Recruitment Management System (RMS). ATS solutions are often used in conjunction with an RPO program.

Assignment

  • An assignment is a task or project performed by a contingent worker. An assignment may also refer to the length of time a temporary employee will be working for an organization.

Blended Workforce

  • A blended workforce uses both direct hire, full-time employees and contingent, temporary workers. Blended workforce planning uses both RPO and MSP programs. A blended workforce is also known as Total Workforce Solutions.

BI: Business Intelligence

  • BI tools provide powerful analysis of program-specific data and metrics. BI tools are used with RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions programs.

BPO: Business Process Outsourcing

  • BPO uses third-party business services providers to perform business activities or functions for a company. BPO services may include payroll, HR, accounting or customer service.

Candidate

  • A candidate is someone who has applied for a job and is qualified for temporary or full-time consideration.

Consultant

  • A consultant is another term used for temporary employees or contingent workers. Consultants often perform professional work for departments such as IT or engineering.

Contingent Worker

  • Contingent is an overarching term that covers freelancers, independent contractors, consultants or any other outsourced, non-employee workers. They are generally hired on a per-project or temporary basis.

CWM: Contingent Workforce Management

  • CWM is the strategic approach to managing an organization’s contingent workforce.

Contract Worker

  • A contract worker is also known as a 1099 or independent contractor. There are very specific guidelines for classifying workers as independent contractors, including whether the worker controls when and where work is to be completed, if the worker provides their own work equipment and supplies, and how the workers are compensated.

CRM: Customer (or Contact) Relationship Management

  • CRM systems manage a company’s interaction with current and prospective customers or contacts – including employees.

Direct Hire

  • Direct hire positions are permanent, usually full-time with benefits.

Diversity Supplier

  • Diversity suppliers refer to minority, woman, disabled or veteran-owned staffing suppliers.

Employee

  • An employee works directly for an organization in a job with no specific end date. Employees may be full-time or part-time.

Exempt Workers

  • To be exempt, an employee generally must be paid at least $23,600 per year, be paid on a salary basis and perform exempt job duties. Exempt workers are not entitled to overtime pay.

Non-Exempt Workers

  • Non-exempt workers are entitled to overtime pay.

Freelancer

  • Freelancer can refer to almost any independent professional who performs work unaffiliated with a specific employer. Freelancers are typically classified as independent contractors.

Gig Worker

  • A gig worker refers to someone who works on gigs, or small freelance projects. Gigs are typically facilitated through an internet platform or app.

Independent Contractor (1099)

  • The general rule, according to the IRS, is that an individual is an independent contractor if the employer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. Independent contractors are also known as contractors or freelancers.

KPI: Key Performance Indicator

  • A KPI is a measurable goal that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organizations use KPIs to evaluate their success related to specific business metrics.

MSP: Managed Service Provider

  • MSP programs provide end-to-end workforce and vendor management for users of contingent labor.

RPO: Recruitment Process Outsourcing

  • RPO programs provide direct-hire talent acquisition services for professional and non-professional positions that solve compliance, scalability, cost, quality or other recruiting challenges.

SLA: Service Level Agreement

  • An SLA is a commitment between a service provider and customer. Aspects of the partnership – quality, availability, responsibilities – are agreed upon between the service provider and the service user.

SOW: Statement of Work

  • An SOW is a document that captures the work activities and deliverables to be supplied as part of a contract or project timeline. SOW arrangements are used in contingent workforce programs.

Temporary Workers

  • Temporary workers are generally hired to fill short-term positions or to complete specific projects with a set time frame. Temporary workers also fill positions that have irregular or seasonal work schedules.

Temp-to-Hire Workers

  • A temp-to-hire worker is hired as a temporary worker with the knowledge that the short-term position may transition to a full-time job. Temp-to-hire workers can be managed by an MSP program and then transitioned to the employer once they become permanent employees.

Total Workforce Solutions

  • Total Workforce Solutions blend Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP) capabilities in one integrated program.

VMS: Vendor Management System

  • VMS platforms help businesses manage and procure staffing services – temporary, and, in some cases, permanent placement services – as well as outside contract or contingent labor. VMS platforms are generally used with MSP programs.

As RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions continue to mature and evolve, we will make updates to this lexicon. If you would like to see new terms added or share corrections or contributions to the existing list, please send us a note at marketing@peoplescout.com.

Check out our white paper, Total Workforce Solutions: Optimize Talent Acquisition by Blending RPO and MSP, to learn how to optimize your talent acquisition efforts.