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It was a pleasure presenting with Defiant Solutions at our webinar on adding marketplaces to the talent game and the detailed questions that came from the audience really added to the experience.

In the feedback, there seemed to be a recurrent theme about the timing being right. So I just reflected on why this topic is right up there with talent decision-makers, and what that means for marketplace providers like us.

We know there’s a skills shortage, and in fact a bandwidth shortage, and the reasons for this like the Great Resignation, move to digital etc are well documented.

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Now it seems like there’s a growing recognition that talent marketplaces can be part of the solution but, and it’s a big but, there has to be a practical way, particularly for the larger enterprise – and that’s where most of the needs are going to lie – to include marketplaces in the existing talent sourcing programmes, working with MSPs and VMS providers.

Marketplaces aren’t staffing providers, and as that becomes clearer, working out how to get the best of this channel is going to be a joint responsibility of the marketplaces and those providers, because in the end, we want clients to get the talent they need. Otherwise no one is winning.

That’s why the topics in the webinar resonated with the audience, and why the need to act fast really resonated with me. There’s still education to be done, and it has to be across the board, from hiring managers, to program offices, to vendors and to the marketplaces. The engagement on the webinar was proof that this is the direction we need to move in, so I’m just going to leave with a quick summary of how I think we can start making moves. It doesn’t have to be revolution, evolution will work just fine.

If you’re currently responsible for your contingent and extended workforce programs, whether you sit in HR and/or Procurement, consider going direct to marketplaces if any of the following apply:

• You are getting urgent demands from your hiring managers and there’s a risk of them going ‘rogue’ and ignoring central initiatives to get coverage in the talent categories that are in demand
• The expertise lies in the project team and the hiring manager, the talent needs are likely to be complex and there needs to be significant interaction between the hiring manager and marketplace to scope and hire and other intermediaries are likely to slow down the process or introduce friction
• You are likely to have infrequent / limited needs through a marketplace

It will mean introducing another provider to your mix, but the speed and value that getting the talent on board when needed will mitigate the negatives.

Start working with your providers to create efficient flows that bring marketplaces into your programmes if any of these apply, or if the previous scenarios are now becoming regular and widespread demands:

• You are looking to use multiple marketplaces and it’s not practical to have these outside your Program with cross-organisational users, multiple logins and requisitions adding to the load
• You are likely to have high volume or regular needs through marketplace(s) with clearly defined and matching categories
• You want a single view of all non-employee talent, and your existing solutions can provide this capability to improve your sourcing and management costs

Do listen to the recording if you can, and let me know if you have any questions about implementing marketplaces into your models. I’ll be happy to share our current roadmap on making this work with you. And thank you again to everyone who attended for being such a great audience.

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Sandeep Dhillon, Talmix CEO