I recently wrote in an article for Staffing Industry Review magazine about an idea I have for a new service from staffing providers. I call it Tier 0.5, which in a nutshell is a connected talent cloud. This brings together the traditional agency search and direct sourcing, with staffing agencies playing a vital, bridging role by working with CW programs and technology partners. Why am I suggesting this?
Companies hire workers to generate revenue. On average, an employee brings in revenue of $100,000 to $2 million annually, so the revenue cost of a 30-day candidate search is $10,000-plus to the buyer organization. Meanwhile, staffing agencies work for free much of the time, typically filling 5% to 10% of the roles they work on. But with the Tier 0.5 model, both the agency and the client can eliminate cost and waste from this seemingly underperforming picture.
Let’s take a side-by-side look at both traditional-tiered and direct-sourcing models:
Traditional. Normally, the CW program would submit a job req and the staffing supplier(s) would be tasked with returning a certain number of CVs or résumés each in three days. Candidates would be shortlisted in the first week and interviews/selection in a few more weeks. Should a suitable candidate not be found, you would rinse and repeat, expanding the search to Tier 2 suppliers. Your search could end up taking months to fill.
Direct-sourcing. On the other hand, to direct source, your program must create a private talent cloud, which entails engaging a technology solution and a curator if you cannot process candidate selection internally. But that takes time — at least six months to start a private cloud and another year to cultivate it to critical mass or stay with business as usual with the traditional agency model.
Thus the dilemma.
The bridge. Enter Tier 0.5, which bridges the two models, cutting the time it takes to create a private cloud and enabling your program to find the best fit, fast.
How? By accessing — for a fee — your staffing providers’ rich databases, which might have millions of contacts, hundreds of thousands of whom might be available and interested. This is the connected talent cloud — crowd recruiting at its best!
The connected talent cloud leverages the suppliers’ database with artificial intelligence-matching to understand in seconds versus days or weeks the probability of filling a role. Such a technology would enable your program to check the market and adjust duration, location, rate, etc., in order to test fillability scenarios in real time.
Level Up
Given that digital transformation is here to stay and many CW programs are moving toward direct sourcing, your staffing firms can now be part of the solution to help your program find the best blend. The Tier 0.5 not only provides them this competitive advantage but it essentially creates a new product. Your program’s options would then include:
- Full agency search implemented for the hard-to-fill roles that take deeper connection and recruitment skills, typically the top 20%.
- Direct sourcing from your “private talent cloud” for the easy-to-fill general roles, the bottom 20%.
- And the 60% in the messy middle is handled by Tier 0.5.
So, agencies could market access to their data and become critical direct sourcing partners to your program.
My dream of “six second staffing” is not far off. Understandably, there still is a bit of heavy lifting needed to get partnering agreements in place to make this Tier 0.5 model work, but with a bit work, there is a way to accelerate results and manage risk.
