Interest in open talent is climbing

Factors ranging from worker preference to greater flexibility for clients are driving interest in “open talent,” according to a joint report by Randstad Digital, Open Assembly and SIA.

Open talent uses digital platforms to access global pools of freelancers, contractors and contingent workers. And 62% of large staffing buyers already either use a talent platform or plan to within the next two years, according to SIA data.

“What makes open talent attractive to large enterprises is its promise of greater flexibility, speed and access to in-demand skills,” according to the report. “These platforms often use AI to match talent with tasks, streamline compliance and payroll, and provide real-time visibility into workforce activity.”

Overall, forces promoting adoption of open talent are:

• Technological advances. AI and automation improve matching speed and reduce administrative burden.

• Freelance economy growth. More professionals are opting for flexible work arrangements.

• Changing workforce expectations. Talent seeks meaningful, autonomous work and career development.

• Enterprise agility. Businesses benefit from scalable, just-in-time access to talent and reduced fixed labor costs.

Mike Morris, CEO and co-founder of IT staffing-focused talent platform Torc, said 70% of Randstad Digital’s North American work currently goes through Torc. That will increase to 100% in the next couple of months, and then the organization plans to expand Torc’s use in its work to India and the UK. Randstad acquired Torc about a year ago.

Morris also commented on a trend he’s seeing in open talent.

“We’re seeing a pushback from talent on wasting their time,” he said.

This means nonvaluable activity. For example, Morris cited the job board model. A tech job ad may attract 1,000 applications, but only 500 will take the technology assessment for the job; then there are numerous interviews, and finally just one person is hired.

However, AI can help by doing the matching. That means fewer people — but ones better matched for the job — go through the interview process.

“We’re trying to minimize that that wasted — nonvaluable time — as much as feasible for the talent, and that ends up also saving a lot of time on the customer side as well,” Morris said.

The full report is available online.