Roadmap, Schmoadmap: How to Evolve Your Contract and Full-Time Talent Acquisition Strategy in Times of Uncertainty

I have a problem with the word ’roadmap.’ I know it’s a favorite in corporate jargon as the analogy for how to get from here (i.e., current state) to there (i.e., ideal state). It’s not that I don’t believe you need a plan – you absolutely do – it’s just that ‘roadmap’ can be misleading.  

‘Roadmap’ is overly linear, implying a straight, predefined path from point A to point B. Real journeys are rarely linear. The term also promises a false sense of predictability – nothing else is going to happen except what’s on that roadmap slide – leaving you unprepared when it inevitably does. And lastly, it assumes a single destination. Goals can change. Information gathered along your journey can impact or alter the desired destination(s). 

Roadmaps are helpful, but they’re not a substitute for true strategy, which can help guide you toward your mission regardless of the landscape you traverse, challenges you face or opportunities that arise. 

In times of uncertainty, you need a talent acquisition strategy and workforce partner that can evolve with you. Let’s explore a few common TA challenges and how to address them in any market with confidence. 

Attracting and Engaging Candidates  

Budget constraints. Hiring freezes. Layoffs. You can’t read the news or doomscroll LinkedIn without picking up the vibe to “hunker down.” Your prospective candidates feel that, too. Passive candidates are weighing a lot of pros and cons when it comes to considering new job opportunities. While the US is not currently experiencing low unemployment, seasoned recruiters know that even times with high unemployment don’t always equate to large talent pools being available for the taking. Labor supply and demand varies.   

This means that even in times of uncertainty, employers still need to invest in their marketplace presence and experience to attract and engage candidates.  

Employer Branding and EVP

Your employee value proposition should be defined and evident through all content, interactions and steps in your hiring process. From job postings and job fairs to the application and hiring process – you need an EVP that is clear, consistent, concise and compelling. Your brand needs to be able to move with you through any economic or market landscape. Working with experienced experts like AGS Ignite can help build, rejuvenate or adapt your employer messaging, brand materials and UX to perform in a cluttered hiring landscape. 

Candidate Experience 

Candidates are consumers. The ease, tone and respect in your candidate experience cannot be deprioritized, even when major hiring initiatives are on hold. Communication should be timely; the process should be accessible; and handoffs between humans and technology should be seamless. (By the way, it’s a great time to consider where best to balance AI and humans in the hiring process for cost-savings opportunities.)   

Recruitment Marketing vs. Referrals

Spoiler alert – you need both. Referrals are more likely to lead to an offer and hire. However, it can’t be relied on too heavily, as there can be unintended consequences like dried-up talent pools and decreasing diversity of thought coming into your organization. The truth is you can’t afford to ignore recruitment marketing. It is the best way to broaden your network and ensure you are reaching top talent in any market landscape. It is critical to talent pipelining so you can move quickly when opportunities arise to seize market share. 

Guiding Questions for Your TA Team  

• Is our employer brand bringing in active and passive candidates? 
• Who in the organization is accountable for the outcome of employer branding, candidate experience, recruitment marketing and referrals?  
• Does this work address challenges for both contingent and FTE talent acquisition? 
• And if not, should we look to extend current investment or efforts in these areas to support talent acquisition of both worker types?  

Recommended Reading: In this article, my colleague Vee Nathoo outlines six steps to developing your strategic employer branding blueprint.  

Talent Data and Technology

Even in ‘normal times,’ hiring decisions based on gut and intuition are a bad idea (e.g., bias, overpaying). In uncertain times, this type of decision-making is even riskier. As HR budgets tighten, or freeze, you need to make sure you are making the right hire at the right cost and at the right time to meet business needs, because delaying, or making a bad hire, is expensive.  

Having a vetted, integrated technology stack and access to current data and analytics will help to further fortify your talent acquisition strategies in good and bad times.  

Recruitment Technology

When it comes to technology, there seems to be a feeling that more is more. (Until it’s too much, of course.) Our partners at Talent Tech Labs illustrate the conundrum of breaking through the clutter of talent tech possibilities annually in their Talent Acquisition Ecosystem. There’s also this thing called AI (have you heard of it?) that is already changing how companies recruit and hire talent. Whether you’re looking to add, remove or replace parts of our talent tech stack, prioritize long-term value, not short-term gains.   

Talent Pipelining

Bear markets don’t last forever. So even if you’re in a holding pattern now, building a healthy pipeline of talent will behoove you in the future. Consider investing in talent communities, and strategies like anticipated demand planning, so you have a pipeline of pre-vetted candidates when opportunities arise. During slow hiring times, the focus is usually centered around how to reduce recruiter headcount, and this is important. Structuring the future of your recruitment power to be able to pipeline during downtimes is possible with a scalable model. Further, how the model can impact pipelining of both contingent and permanent talent in an uncertain time can change the way delivery is fulfilled when the market turns.  

Data and Analytics

It’s hard to find value in data by not having it, value is being able to derive real analysis and value from the reports. When costs are being extra scrutinized, you need insight into worker supply and demand, compensation rates and more to support decision-making and fortifying action. Furthermore, you need data and analytics into the market and the talent landscape as it changes – soon enough you will be tasked to respond. Retrospective data may prove useful, but the technology landscape and hiring now for skills has changed recruitment requirements. Equipping yourself with the right data during times of uncertainty will certainly start to dictate how you come out of those times.  

Guiding Questions for Your TA Team  

• How do you ensure that recruitment technology enhances the candidate experience rather than detracting from it?  
• How does your organization pipeline talent for contractor and FTE hires? Does your focus vary based on market conditions?  
• How does your organization use data analytics when assessing contingent and FTE workforce landscapes? Do you keep the analysis separate, or does it make sense to compare the data?  

Recommended Reading: In 12th annual Talent Acquisition Ecosystem, Talent Tech Labs breaks down over 500 technologies, across 13 verticals and through four central stages of Talent Acquisition: Source, engage, select and hire. 

RPO Offers the Scalability You Need to Bear Through Any Market

At the risk of stating the obvious – no one ever wants to go through layoffs. However, fluctuating supply/demand in the market, perilous economic times and uncertain geopolitical landscapes make it challenging to maintain a full workforce while minimizing risk. 

The current market and technology landscape requires flexible, adaptive talent acquisition strategies to stay competitive. Whether you are looking at a large recruitment process outsourcing model, project-based support or outsourcing part of the recruitment process, the ability to scale to meet the needs of the business is critical for success.  

Guiding Questions for Your TA Team  

• How do we ensure that recruitment technology enhances the candidate experience rather than detracting from it?  
• How does we pipeline talent for contractor and FTE hires? Does our focus shift based on market conditions?  
• How doe we use data analytics when assessing contingent and FTE workforce landscapes? Do we keep the analysis separate, or does it make sense to compare the data?  

An RPO such as offered by AGS Managed Services (AGS) can help you balance the needs of the business with your commitment to your employees, candidate community and brand reputation. As your RPO partner, AGS can help you scale without sacrifice. Privately held, committed to service excellence and with deep recruiting expertise and tools at the ready, AGS is able to flex and invest based on our clients’ needs, not stock prices.