A growing number of businesses are realizing the value of better utilizing internal talent to fill skill gaps. A talent marketplace is a great way to match your employees with internal opportunities. Let’s take a closer look at what talent marketplaces are all about.
Understanding Talent Marketplaces
Employers would be wise to maximize the skills of their current employees. Nevertheless, knowing exactly what is available and being able to identify hidden internal talents can be difficult. This is especially pertinent for larger organizations with multiple locations. The solution is a centralized resource that can determine and enhance employees’ skills before matching them to open positions.
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A talent marketplace is a technology-enabled system that links employees with potential positions and growth opportunities within the company. It improves efficiency and adds value to both the employer and the employee by assisting people with their career goals and meeting the organization’s changing labor demands.
Many corporations and even military systems are implementing talent marketplace strategies. UBS, a global bank, believes that well-developed employees become assets to the company. In 2019, they launched a talent marketplace to endorse a culture of internal career advancement and make the most of what their employees had to offer.
How does a Talent Marketplace Function?
A talent marketplace is usually a two-sided system that collects and distributes data. It employs artificial intelligence to match employees’ skills with suitable positions within the company.
It works similarly to how we find a hotel using a travel booking app. On one side of the spectrum is a database of hotels and their amenities. On the other side, you enter the search criteria (location, dates, amenities, etc.). It then displays a list of available hotels that fits your criteria.
All available postings for jobs, training, projects, temporary assignments, and so on are housed on the talent marketplace platform. Employees create a profile of their abilities and competencies, which they can update as they gain new skills through training or new experiences. Algorithms make matches and recommendations to qualified candidates based on their expertise and interests.
A talent marketplace can be used by departments across a company to either announce or locate the ideal candidate for opportunities.
This system streamlines the process by providing employees with on-demand and direct access to available opportunities without requiring them to go through their manager. Managers can also review applications and make decisions without involving a third party.
The Role of HR in Talent Marketplaces
When a talent marketplace platform is implemented, HR may relinquish some direct involvement in the internal process of recruiting. Instead of fighting this change, HR professionals should embrace it as an opportunity to strengthen their strategic role as business partners. As an administrator, you can instruct and support leaders and staff in their use of the talent marketplace.
- HR can assist in making the most of the platform in the following ways:
- Identifying which skills are most important for key roles.
- Strategizing and rewriting job postings and descriptions.
- Linking training and employment trajectories to the specific skills required.
- Monitoring training outcomes.
- Helping employees create and update their profiles.
- Assisting managers in identifying opportunities to post to the marketplace.
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The Advantages of Implementing a Talent Marketplace
A talent marketplace provides numerous advantages to both employees and the company. Listed below are some of the key benefits:
Developing an agile workforce
Technology is constantly progressing, priorities change, and the business pace continues to quicken. It’s critical to understand which skills are in high demand and whether your employees have them.
Organizations that use a talent marketplace platform can see what their employees are capable of. This allows them to continue to be successful while dealing with restructuring or other challenges by putting the right people in the right roles.
Unilever attributes its ability to adapt during the 2020 pandemic wave to its talent marketplace. It saved jobs and distributed 300,000 hours of productivity by reallocating 4,000 employees to areas where demand was higher.
Employee upskilling and reskilling
Upskilling and reskilling existing staff is a low-cost way to find the right people for future operational needs. Your employees are matched to projects where they can gain hands-on experience to gain new skills and expertise with access to a talent marketplace’s internal opportunities.
You will be able to close skills gaps within your company as they become qualified for new roles.
Recruiting right talent
Job applicants are looking for companies that are committed to investing in their employees’ long-term growth and development. As an employer, a talent marketplace can help you stand out. It demonstrates that your organization highly values internal mobility and professional growth by investing in employee development. This assists potential recruits in visualizing a future with you.
Employee engagement and retention
Internal mobility opportunities are among the top motivators for employees to stay at their current jobs. High performers want to broaden their skills, so they seek out new experiences and collaborate with new people. A talent marketplace enables employees to do exactly that.
Employees who are encouraged to advance their careers within the company are more likely to see the value in staying and being engaged with their employer.
Employees will put their best foot forward and produce more if they know they can advance or reinvent their careers. They gain perspective and insight as they move into new projects and roles, and you get to keep their organizational knowledge and experience for your company.
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Strengthening diversity and inclusion
A talent marketplace can help to discover talent and unlock the doors for employees who might otherwise go unnoticed. The use of AI eliminates the possibility of bias in a person’s perceived and actual capabilities.
Giving all employees equal access to opportunities will inevitably contribute to promoting diversity and inclusion in your company.
How to Effectively Use a Talent Marketplace in Your Company
A talent marketplace can be tailored to your organization’s needs, but there are some things to consider before implementing and utilizing it effectively. Among these steps are the following:
Specify the purpose and objectives
When a new strategy is introduced, it must be clear what problem it is attempting to solve. Before you can choose the best platform for your organization, you must first determine what you want the talent marketplace to accomplish.
Here are some similar benefits that businesses seek from a talent marketplace:
- Finding employees permanent new opportunities.
- More cross-departmental projects are being offered.
- Making use of available employee skills.
- Allowing for talent reassignment.
- Managing seasonal demand fluctuations.
- Giving employees opportunities for advancement.
- Making your internal mobility program more transparent.
Encourage the adoption of the talent marketplace
Once you’ve decided on a talent marketplace platform, you must ensure that it will be widely accepted and used. Begin at the top of the organization and gather support by communicating how the marketplace will contribute to meeting internal business needs. You can share research findings on what has worked for other companies using talent marketplaces.
Consider that managers may be concerned about losing precious team members who will have access to new prospects, either temporarily or permanently. Explain that the talent marketplace will also provide available talent and skills to help them meet their needs more quickly. If possible, provide incentives to leaders who promote the development of their team members. It can help them advocate for the talent marketplace concept.
The marketplace will only function if people participate, so spread the word to your employees. They must understand how they can benefit from the platform’s capacity for learning and career development. Reassure employees that the platform is encouraged and fully supported by leadership. Employees should not be afraid that their managers will resent them.
Formal training on how to use the system should be provided. It should cover not only how to use the platform but also how to make the most of what it has to offer.
Continuous communication with employees about the talent marketplace and what it has to offer encourages them to stay involved. Discussing the success stories of those who have benefited from it can motivate coworkers to give it a try.
Examine how the market is performing
Workers may take some time to fully embrace a new system, so the data may not reflect gains right away. After the first week, review the numbers every thirty days for the next several months. That way, you’ll know whether you need to promote the talent marketplace more in specific departments or devise alternative strategies.
You can also interact with users. Surveys of participating managers and employees can reveal their level of satisfaction and desire to continue using the marketplace.
Over time, the market will settle and evolve. Then you’ll have more visible outcomes to attribute to it, such as new skills, turnover, and post-opportunity performance.
Make professional growth a part of your company’s culture
Don’t think of a talent marketplace as just another tool in your HR toolbox. It must become a vehicle for talent mobility within your organization, where people are encouraged to explore new opportunities and focus on their personal development.
A culture of professional growth begins with leaders being open about their commitment to the talent marketplace. Fostering continuous learning and development fosters employee trust and encourages a growth mindset. They will feel encouraged and persuaded to use the marketplace to explore new opportunities and advance their careers.
Choose a technology solution with care
A talent marketplace cannot function without the right technology and a satisfying user experience. Because customization capabilities vary greatly between products, you must find a platform that meets your organization’s specific needs and aligns with your goals.
You can conduct online research, shortlist a few platforms, schedule demos, and ask numerous questions. The integration of your talent marketplace tools with your other systems is crucial. This procedure may be more complex and difficult than vendors suggest, so make sure you have your tech experts on board and adequate support.
Many vendors are attempting to meet the demand for talent marketplace platforms because many employers see the value in them. Here are a few examples:
- Gloat– A major provider aimed at enterprise organizations.
- eightfold.ai – Targets medium and large-sized businesses, including government agencies.
- Fuel50 – Provides services to mid-sized businesses, enterprises, government, and non-profit organizations.
- HRForecast’s smartPeople – It focuses on mid-sized businesses, enterprises, and the government.
Conclusion
Employees and managers can use talent marketplaces to share their skills and talents while also developing new organizational capabilities. They also provide the insights required for a future-proof workforce.
HR professionals can be the motivating factor behind a talent marketplace to help your organization grow and advance from within.
[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]