Internal talent marketplaces (ITMs) can help bridge talent gaps and alleviate some of the current pressures in talent recruitment and retention
At a time when the state of both the labor market and the economy present recruitment and retention challenges, using an internal talent marketplace and looking inward to identify talent opportunities may be in an organization’s best interest. As a complementary resource alongside its key internal talent marketplace research, leading HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company has released its new Internal Talent Marketplace Buyer’s Guide to prepare HR and organizational leaders to select a talent marketplace platform that fits their organization’s talent needs.
A talent marketplace is a technology-enabled platform that uses artificial intelligence to match people to opportunities based on their skills, interests and aspirations. Opportunities can include internal gigs, temporary projects, full-time roles, mentorships, or learning experiences.
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“There is immense potential for talent marketplaces to positively impact the way an organization prepares talent for the future of work, moves its people, and grows,” says Janet Clarey, principal director of HR research and advisory services at McLean & Company. “However, it’s imperative that the right platform is implemented to support an organization’s specific needs and goals. There is no one-size-fits-all platform on the market, and no platform can do everything, so understanding organizational requirements ahead of looking at or purchasing talent marketplace technology is a critical step.”
The firm’s guide will help HR and organizational leaders accomplish two things:
- Understand the talent marketplace platform vendor market as well as core and differentiating features.
- Determine the questions to ask vendors to find the best fit for their unique organizational needs.
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To understand the vendor market and core and differentiating features of talent marketplace platforms, as well as to determine the right questions to ask platform vendors, the new buyer’s guide walks leaders who are acting as technology decision-makers and purchasers through seven key areas of consideration:
- Purpose and value proposition – The purpose drives the platform choice, so defining the purpose of the talent marketplace must be at the core of any technology decision. Once the purpose has been determined, the talent marketplace vendor’s value proposition should be evaluated as the next step of the decision-making process.
- Buying scenarios – The talent marketplace platform market is changing rapidly and includes integrated, augmented, standalone, and adjacent solutions with a trend toward convergence and consolidation, so leaders must learn to recognize talent marketplace buying scenarios.
- Core and differentiating features – Core features are the most common features of a talent marketplace platform. Differentiating features are new or emerging features possessed by one or a few products that stand out from the rest of the market and often become core features in the future if they bring exceptional value.
- Things to keep in mind – Knowing the organization’s requirements for a talent marketplace platform is key, and technology buyers must remember that there is no one singular best platform since each organization’s needs will be unique.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) readiness – Examining the organization’s readiness to incorporate AI is a necessary preparation step when considering a talent marketplace. A suggested best practice for leaders is to pose questions like, “Do we have enough quality data to train AI?,” “Do we have the appropriate infrastructure in place?,” and “Where are we at with AI governance in our organization?”
- Questions to ask vendors – A variety of questions should be posed to solution providers, including but not limited to general questions around successful implementation, security measures, and customer support; product questions around matching capabilities, integrations, and data sets; and employee experience questions around transparency, self-service, and upskilling.
- Vendor directory – A breakdown of 10 popular talent marketplace platforms is included as a jumping-off point for HR and organizational leaders seeking to implement the right talent marketplace platform for their respective organizations.
McLean & Company reminds HR and organizational leaders to watch for the conflation of HR technology and HR technical expertise. There are many industry influencers and analysts talking about this market, and while many have good information, best practice is to rely on data-backed research and testimonials from several sources.
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