Rewards, Remuneration and Recognition<\/a> services, earlier in 2014 which took a new look at global payroll, benefits, and employee contact center providers and how they are moving away from simply processing paychecks to really help keep workers focused on work and appreciative of the support they get from the business.<\/p>\nThen given what HfS saw in terms of both the disengagement in the workplace and this massive workforce exodus upon us, I targeted Talent Acquisition Services next. HfS defines Talent Acquisition Service providers as those third-party firms that support companies in the strategy, sourcing, and engagement programs and processes required to attract and activate workers as businesses desire today.<\/p>\n
Talent Acquisition Service delivery is evolving from the traditional recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and contingent or contract work managed service providers (MSP) worlds as companies seek access to more flexible labor pools and talent sourcing and management support models as well.<\/p>\n
We know that work is getting done today across an extended enterprise of traditional workers, contract laborers, and third-party service partners, so our new Blueprint explicitly assessed if third-party service firms could support clients across types of labor: staff (traditional full- or part-time employees) and contract (contingent labor).<\/p>\n
And to achieve business outcomes of quality of hire, faster time to productivity, or better engagement and retention, these services providers are having to go deeper into traditional talent management areas like workforce strategy and planning, helping clients answer: what is the employer value proposition to potential workers? What makes them productive or retained over time?<\/p>\n
This gets into more qualitative issues than simply sourcing and placing workers, so we also looked at capabilities amongst the service providers in terms of how they could support talent strategy and engagement as well.<\/p>\n
And what are the important service provider capabilities companies are looking for today? <\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\nFirst, it\u2019s talent. Recruiters who know how to find passive candidates, assessment experts that understand people and organizational psychology, creative communicators who can help identify and amplify a company\u2019s unique employer brand and value proposition, and analytical and proactive account staff that can look across a client\u2019s business as well as network and share with their peers to identify opportunities or challenges and offer suggestions for solutions.<\/p>\n
Given the dynamics of hard to find skills and the geographic differences in labor markets, companies are looking for specific talent acquisition focus and sophisticated expertise, including in new technologies.<\/p>\n
Second it\u2019s the availability of the technology solutions themselves, particularly social media sourcing and passive talent community development, because firms are no longer simply filling reqs, but supporting the complexities of matching the right people to the right roles at the right time, which is much less of a transaction and more of an on-going supply chain and relationship development set of issues.<\/p>\n
Of note, this has meant some early multi-HRO players with administrative transactional models are opting out or just catching up in the Talent Acquisition Services marketplace, while others have successfully doubled down and are being recognized for developing talent strategies and changing outcomes, not just doing support tasks.<\/p>\n
Yet new entrants are also emerging specifically to deliver technology-enabled talent acquisition services that support overall talent management objectives like engagement or retention. They don\u2019t even use the term \u201coutsourcing\u201d to describe themselves really, it\u2019s just good service delivery.<\/p>\n
So which providers are leading this emerging new Talent Acquisition Services market space? <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\nCompanies in the Winners\u2019 Circle were those that have aggressively targeted providing progressive service delivery as we define it and incorporating the use of new sourcing methods and technologies, specifically:<\/p>\n
\n- Accenture \u2013 seen as a strategic client advisor with technology, global footprint, and C-level trust<\/li>\n
- Cielo (formerly Pinstripe Ochre House) \u2013 a growing global player rising to the top of the talent services \u201csky\u201d<\/li>\n
- KellyOCG \u2013 leading the industry in adapting acquisition to supply dynamics and methods<\/li>\n
- TheRightThing! \u2013 an early leader in progressive outsourcing being absorbed by ADP<\/li>\n
- Seven Step \u2013 savvy strategy and seamless services stalwart poised for greater success<\/li>\n
- Neeyamo \u2013 a complete human resources outsourcer featuring flexibility and focus<\/li>\n
- WilsonHCG \u2013 a tech-enabled talent acquisition specialist going global<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
High Performers were AonHewitt, IBM, Peoplescout, and WNS who are clearly going after talent acquisition clients, but have room to develop either in terms of broader strategy and engagement capabilities recognized and used by clients, or across traditional staff and contract labor support, or both.<\/p>\n
Of note, we also include 8 short profiles of companies in the traditional recruiting or staffing agency space that appear to be targeting this market, but shy away from official analyst RFIs. \u00a0These service providers will have to embrace new scrutiny though as they ultimately compete against the breadth of technology-enabled business service providers investing in the talent space.<\/p>\n
And what are some of the key take-aways of the study, Christa? <\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\nIn light of all of the changes and challenges in the modern workforce and workplace, I see talent acquisition today as the tip of the spear to broader workforce transformation. To deliver value beyond cost take out, Talent Acquisition Service providers are now being tasked with partnering with clients to acknowledge \u2013 and in many cases address \u2013 fundamental workplace and workforce issues beyond simply posting requisitions and screening workers. They are having to deal with the issues that impact quality of hire and company performance through approaches such as culture match and soft skills assessments which completely changes the way a company sees and values talent in many cases.<\/p>\n
From competitive pay data benchmarks and labor mapping to identifying employee engagement elements and career development initiatives, the bar is being raised against which the service providers are assessed for their ability to impact the quality of hire.\u00a0 But this also means buyers have to change how they operate and treat people in order to secure and retain the best workers today.<\/p>\n
Many of the enterprises I spoke with acknowledged that they are relying on their services partners to both strategically guide as well as tactically support them in on-going talent transformation efforts and it\u2019s going to be a long but ultimately necessary journey \u2013 and one they have to take with a third-party to be able to achieve results because they simply don\u2019t have the resources or expertise themselves today.<\/p>\n
An interesting aspect of the research you did was to document how fat Talent Acquisition Service providers are along the path to “progressive service delivery”, which we often talk about, can you expand more on this concept? <\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\nWith the expectations being raised with regard to the business transformation impact from talent acquisition services, more and more buyers say they are collaboratively partnering with service providers who they see as an extension of their own organizations, in many case completely transparent to their candidates and employees.<\/p>\n
In this way, talent acquisition buyer\/service provider partnerships are exhibiting the acknowledgement and commitment to Workforce Support Service orientations, where they actively work to culturally match the staff on their accounts with the client, find ways to motivate and reward extended teams based on a joint mission to drive business outcomes, and to provide ways they can connect across their organizations and regions as an extended enterprise.<\/p>\n
In delivering their services to the marketplace as third-parties specifically sensitive and focused on people and talent, I\u2019d say Talent Acquisition Service providers are leading examples of the characteristics of successful enterprise workforce extension. The service providers in our Winners Circle were recognized for developing an on-going partnership mentality to focus on outcomes not just the \u201chire\u201d but in securing a well-matched and engaged worker with a positive experience in the business.<\/p>\n
Also of note, while a number of long-term traditional outsourcing type contracts were analyzed as a part of this research report, more and more companies are seeking to buy Talent Acquisition Services in shorter contract durations, including project-initiated ways, with an eye to expanding to broader on-going service delivery as their needs dictate \u2013 and scaling down when necessary. This was clearly a flexibility that the Winners Circle service providers embraced. They are also very open to having discussions with their partners to add additional capabilities and technologies that ultimately involve new business and pricing models.<\/p>\n
With regards to technology, Christa, you’ve called it out as a contentious issue, can you elaborate? <\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n