A New Name for nextSourcing – Total Talent Management

In an article at StaffingIndustry.com, SIA president Barry Asin said, “The concept of total talent management is still in its infancy, with only a few leading-edge examples of practical implementation.” What is total talent management and why does Mr. Asin suggest that more organizations will soon be adopting it? Read on for the answers to these interesting questions.

At nextSource, seeking out what’s new, innovative and, well, “next” is in our DNA.  So from our perspective, the term Total Talent Management (TTM) provides a name to something we’ve been actively helping our customers achieve for years. Before we examine the implications, let’s first provide a definition of what TTM means. 

According to the SIA article here, “The concept of TTM integrates and engages the full range of talent sources, from traditional employees to a wide variety of non-employee workers — temporary workers, independent contractors/consultants/freelancers, volunteers, outsourced resources, and even non-human options such as robots, drones, and cognitive computing applications.” The article notes, however, that to date, the most common categories of non-employee workers are temps and ICs which comes as little surprise because most organizations haven’t yet begun to mine the more innovative worker types called for by the TTM strategy.

This blog focused on numerous cutting-edge strategies utilizing workers outside of the temps and ICs typically associated with contemporary workforce management. From the rehiring of retirees to crowdsourced workers we’re always reporting on new and innovative ways to approach the development and maintenance of a truly flexible, scalable, effective, and efficient modern workforce. Clearly, thought leaders from all corners of the human capital management industry and HR practitioners from companies of all sizes are growing more sophisticated in their approach. The stiffening competition in almost every area of business pretty much demands it.

So what are the crucial aspects to consider when seeking to implement a nextSourcing strategy or TTM as it is being referred to in the industry? Here is a short list of considerations:

• Identify the proper mixture of worker types to maximize productivity and cost efficiency
• Ensure legal and reputational risks are considered when placing different types of workers into any roles
• Achieve a clear-eyed assessment of the true cost of pay and benefits for all types of workers you intend to use
• Work on methods for achieving cohesion between full time workers and non-employee workers
• Build solid training and career vectors for all types of workers
• Develop ways to keep a diversified workforce motivated and focused on common goals

Want to know more about TTM?  Ask a nextSource subject matter expert today or simply leave your question in the comments section and it will be answered.