In the world of recruitment and hiring, we hear one word constantly. Talent! Call it by any semantics… talent, hiring, staffing, or recruiting…it is one of the most critical business strategies an enterprise makes. No wonder, Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group says, “Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions, and a healthy dose of curiosity.”

The etymology of the word, ‘talent’, which originates from the Greek word, “talanton” meaning a unit of currency or wealth. Through a lexical shift, talent became synonymous with ability in English. To quote Alfred Marshall, the ability of a businessman is positively related to the profits which means the more the profit one gets, the more is his ability and vice versa.

In the world of the hiring process, talent acquisition and talent curation are the two sides of the same coin. Talent acquisition refers to hiring talent to match business needs/objectives and talent curation is assessing the candidate’s skills, most importantly in terms of diversity. In other words, while the former sources talent, the latter dives into scrutinizing resumes.

The world of today is shifting towards a gig economy where everything in the business ecosystem is available on demand. From permanent jobs to freelancing, hiring has become more about bidding than applying. The traditional terms of hiring, staffing, and recruiting have lost sheen to newer words like talent acquisition, curation, on-demand hiring, direct sourcing, etc.

Talent Curation

“Much of the job of a leader is to become a curator of talent: to find the talented people who can do their best work in the environment of your organization” – Faisal Hoque, author of Everything Connects.

Marriages are made in heaven, but a match between a talent and a business organization requires thorough examination and evaluation before hiring. In this regard, curation enables the “fit” between the two. Like talent, the etymology of ‘curation’ springs from Medieval Latin, “curate” which means a guardian of souls. What a lucid expression! No wonder, the meaning is relevant in the talent ecosystem too.

Do you know that according to SHRM, the average time for filling a position is 41 days? It is even higher for on-demand positions where roles need to fill quickly. In this regard, talent curation platforms are specialized in tailored industry jobs or roles, especially for contingent or short-term jobs. Like an eagle’s eye, these niche platforms assist recruiters in sourcing specific talent, more quickly than large job platforms. It means more speed-to-hire with lower sourcing costs.

Direct Sourcing

“It is the process by which a company leverages its internal candidate pool as a source for temporary employees and most often places on the payroll of a third-party organization.” – SIA

A robust talent curation process lays a solid foundation for a direct sourcing program. Though it is not the newest buzz word, it is a potential differentiator. It is one of the best co-employment practices in the talent landscape as it supports client organizations to explore seasoned internal candidates. Direct sourcing is also called self-sourcing as managers use their networks, internal recruitment sources to hire candidates or specialized vendors.

Direct sourcing helps clients to engage talents from communities like past employees, alumni, retirees, army veterans, and freelancers through social media, email, and online marketing.

For example, FMS or Freelance Management System is a contingent talent platform that helps companies to store and pick up talent, post and fill projects and manage to onboard too.

How can Talent Curation and Direct Sourcing help in MSP Staffing?

Effervescent technology has modified the global economy and paradigm shifts have become the everyday norm. Companies constantly face challenges like skills shortages, realigned roles, hiring short-term candidates, etc. Thanks to the gig economy and millennials, never heard before work culture and practices have made their way into business ecosystems and hiring is no exception.

Staffing MSPs play a vital role in sourcing outstanding talent for their clients. They can commit on a 360-degree level to hiring and sourcing compared to corporate counterparts. Their expertise in hiring, knowledge, resources, and related acumen help the clients to hire a contingent workforce in a hassle-free fashion. It is also needless to say that talent curation and direct sourcing have become the best buddies of staffing MSPs. Let’s plough through:

• Staffing MSPs can create performance profiles that define a job – its pros and cons.
• Develop strong networks and connections with corporate recruiters to speedily source and hire talented candidates.
• Facilitate interactions between talent pool members for demonstration and the free exchange of ideas.
• Build a virtual bench for passive, but qualified candidates and canvassing about them.
• Staffing MSPs understand real-world job needs, KPIs, and the need for exceptional talent.
• Seamless integration on online presence and physical lives. i.e., real-time, on-demand access.
• Lastly, staffing MSPs can take up the role of facilitating and socializing with candidates to match their talent with the best job in the marketplace.

Benefits of Talent Curation

Talent curation is on the rise. Unlike generalized over-saturated job platforms where talent and job do not match often, talent curation can come with the best benefits like:

• Screening and hiring a smaller number of qualified candidates, thus saving time and money.
• Access to tested-and-tried candidates who fit the team’s dynamic.
• Reduced risks of training the new hires.
• Opportunity to nourish the relationship with contingent candidates for more than one role
• Compliance with recruitment and performance metrics.

Challenges of Talent Curation

Hiring smart people is one of the biggest challenges an organization faces, especially in the current times. Hiring managers strive hard to balance between the talent needed and the position that needs to be filled. A quick list of challenges of talent curation help us understand the issue better:

• Finding people who can integrate into the team’s culture and micromanage
• Limited personal network to find and source talent
• Lack of proper communication bridge the gap of ‘work fit’
• Passion on the resume but not on board
• Building remote engagement models for quality talents
• Lack of a sound digital hiring ecosystem that reduces the burden of sifting resumes
• Reinventing new tactics to assess a potential hire

Curate Talent with Technology

Curation and technology go hand in hand. The competition for talent along with ever-increasing technology is reshaping talent acquisition and curation like never. Let’s take a quick look at those:

• Automation and integration across all platforms match algorithms. Hence talent curation happens swiftly.
• B2C talent marketplaces like Craigslist, SpareHire where people with talent can put their specific skill for purchase (hire).
• FMS like MBO partners allows access for high-quality independent talent for matching with projects and assignments.
• Talent cloud or community where a private group of talents can be created and projects can be shared only with them.
• VMS as human resource business partners for bridging the gap of talents with opportunities.
• Talent aggregation sites for filling full-time positions as well as staffing assistance.
• The omnipresent social media platforms for sourcing talented and skilled candidates

Talent Curation Best Practices

Talent curation is one of the instrument practices in the hiring program. Automated platforms assess a candidate’s skills and talents more scientifically which elevates the chances of hiring a ‘right’ candidate into the team. Some of the best practices in talent curation are listed below:

• Firstly, building a pipeline of talent community reduces cost-per-hire and shortens time-to-fill
• The qualified talent should be nurtured and engaged eventually. The key is to build relationships
• Customized career pages that better understand different candidates personas because one size doesn’t fit all
• Also, candidate personas help in building ‘talent maps’ that segment, plan and automate talent diversity and opportunities
• Encourage clients and customers to share a word or two about the talent on social media and blogs
• Sharing newsletters, blogs, and case studies about products, cultures, and best practices of your organization.
• Employee testimonials put the spotlight on talents and employee value propositions
• The obvious job openings and internships against a set of criteria.

How Glider can help you with Talent Curation?

Well, the obvious question!

Glider’s AI-based assessment and screening platforms understand the magnitude of the speed-to-hire process in the current marketplace. And that’s why a strategic partnership with Glider will significantly bring down the time-to-fill contingent workforce which is a much-needed requisite for any enterprise to fill a quality contingent workforce.

• Glider is one of the world’s leading staffing firms in all-in-one automation and Talent Quality solution. Some of its best features include:
• The AI’s best-of-breed assessment and proctoring insights evaluate a candidate’s skill set.
• Auto evaluation that reduces manual grading and proctoring of candidate’s profile
• Automated assessments  that support 150+ coding languages and technology frameworks
• Evaluations based on 100+ non-tech functional areas that include cognitive, analytical, psychometric, and aptitude evaluations.
• A SaaS solution with a “Total Talent Quality” approach for bringing quality metrics to the forefront at the Enterprise Contingent Programs.
• Greater value addition to MSPs/self-managed program through increased placement rates (by 3 times) and reduced time-to-fill (by 30-50%) positions.

Though the scale of talent evaluation is different across the industries, talent curation is predominantly reshaping the way the hiring ecosystem functions. Amid the global pandemic and the subsequent rise in unemployment, companies still prioritize the need for qualified talent for their organization. With all the digital and automated faucets available, hiring the best talent is no longer a necessary evil but an ingredient to organizations’ s success.

SIGN UP FOR GLIDER