Procurement Talent Pool or Puddle? What You Need to Know Now
The contingent workforce is rapidly growing – and so are talent pools. But what exactly are they, and how do they work in procurement? Mick Feild explains:
Being able to find and attract candidates, at scale and speed, is becoming a serious advantage in the increasingly tough competition for talent. One way organisations can improve their access to the people they need, when they need them, is to build talent pools. And for procurement teams, talent pools are no different.
But what exactly is a talent pool, how does talent pooling work, and what are the benefits of building talent pools?
Let’s take a look at the basics.
What is talent pooling?
A talent pool is a list of engaged candidates who have either worked or applied to work for an organisation in the past, and who have shown the required skills and desire to work for organisations in the future. Companies can have multiple talent pools for different roles and skill sets.
Ex-contingent workers, former permanent employees, freelancers, retirees, and even previously unsuccessful applicants (often referred to as silver and bronze medallists) can all be included in talent pools – which are usually managed in an online applicant tracking system (ATS) as part of a managed service programme.
Talent pooling plays a central role in direct sourcing strategies, where organisations bypass recruitment agencies to hire directly on the strength of their employer brand – often saving themselves significant time and money in the process.
Why is talent pooling useful to procurement?
Think about it – the supply chain world is undergoing an enormous demand and career reset. 80% of respondents from the What Next? research report from Procurious said that the supply chain is important or critical to their organisation, indicating that the procurement profession remains in high demand, and that this function will continue to have influential power globally. But alongside that, we are living in a radically transformed workforce environment, where it is estimated that over half the workforce population will be contingent labour by 2023.
Therefore, talent pools are essential resources for sourcing talent efficiently in a constantly shifting workforce climate. And, as business leaders have recognised that contingent labour is often one of the least visible areas of company spend, it’s more important than ever to have watertight onboarding processes for outsourced projects. Talent pools are the essential resource to kick off that process, with pre-existing data about potential employees ready to go.
How are talent pools managed?
Talent pools and direct sourcing strategies are typically developed over time as part of a maturing managed service programme, which improves consistency and quality of practices across all recruitment – whether contingent, permanent, or services-based.
While a talent pool can include current employees, talent pooling is generally concerned with individuals who are not currently working for an organisation. The idea is to create a list of people who have the talent a business may need in the future, and who would be happy to return.
This makes a talent pool different to a talent pipeline, which is more typically associated with identifying current employees who have the potential to become leaders or to fill crucial skills gaps in an organisation.
There is debate about what department is best placed to manage talent pools in the supply chain world – should it be procurement, or HR? Procurious’s recent article on this issue cited an article by Colum McGrath, Corporate Solutions Advisor at CXC Global, who argues that procurement should have a leading role in managing the contingent workforce. This responsibility, as McGrath stipulates, cannot be tackled by HR in isolation, as the non-employee workforce spend is intertwined with overall company spend, over which procurement has the overarching visibility.
“By treating the [contingent labour] service as a commodity,” McGrath says, “procurement can create significant front-end savings for organisations.” And the best tool for overseeing cost-saving candidates for future services? A talent pool.
Leading the talent pool pack
Members of the contingent labour workforce (or those who are considering becoming a member!) know how important it is to keep their candidacy top of mind, and up-to-date, in a talent pool. What’s more, it’s important for unsuccessful applicants to remember that if their job application isn’t successful the first time around for an organisation, it doesn’t mean that it will never be.
As agile, outsourced employees, contingent workers are in demand. The past 18 months have shown employers that flexibility in their workforce is not only a potential cost saver (when managed properly), but a competitive differentiator. What’s more, contingent workforces enable them to operate effectively while navigating uncertainty. So being in a talent pool isn’t a bad thing!
Want to learn more about the tools and solutions to engaging with outsourced talent?
On November 2, Procurious is kicking off our Level Up series with the ultimate white paper and webcast package, Level Up: Your Statement of Work. This is your ultimate guide to contract management and workforce visibility practices. Join the Level Up Your Procurement group now to be the first to gain access to these fantastic resources.
