Direct Sourcing is a talent acquisition strategy that optimizes the acquisition of new and pre-identified talent through the creation of a private talent community of qualified, engaged contingent resources. It’s an innovative, proactive way for companies to find the talent they need for temporary contract roles, without relying solely on reactive, inbound applications or stagnant applicant tracking databases. Instead, companies can quickly identify and reach out to the best talent that has a heightened interest and awareness of their employment brand because they’ve received highly relevant communications based on their curated talent pool and career interests to form a relationship with the company’s brand.
As the modern workforce makeup evolves, the strategic use of contingent workers has steadily increased, and uncertainty only gives further momentum to this trend. Experts anticipate that Direct Sourcing will demonstrate its enduring value as a foundational talent acquisition strategy that also serves as a talent sustainability engine, solidifying its role in the workforce management landscape of tomorrow.
Workforces are Shifting to Direct Sourcing
Rebecca Cenni-Leventhal, CEO of Atrium, writes, “As the modern workforce makeup evolves, the strategic use of contingent workers has steadily increased, and uncertainty only gives further momentum to this trend.” And Christopher Dwyer, Manager Director of Future of Work Exchange, agrees, “Direct Sourcing will demonstrate its enduring value as a foundational talent acquisition strategy that also serves as a talent sustainability engine, solidifying its role in the workforce management landscape of tomorrow.”
Direct Sourcing can be a powerful tool for companies looking to offset talent shortages and rising recruitment expenses, among other challenges. In fact, 60% of large companies are using or plan to use a Direct Sourcing program, according to recent research. However, a whopping 40% haven’t considered implementation yet, which begs the question: what is the true cost of leaving Direct Sourcing on the table?
The answer is that the power of Direct Sourcing goes far beyond simple convenience. It’s a robust, dynamic, and future-proof solution for looming talent challenges. For example, talent shortages are one of the biggest challenges facing companies today. If not addressed, they could lead to $8.5 trillion in unrealized revenue by 2030. Direct Sourcing can help companies find the talent they need to fill these gaps.
The rise of the contingent workforce is a trend that Direct Sourcing is well suited to address. In 2020, 33% of companies hired contract workers, and 20 to 30% of the U.S. and EU-15 labor market is part of the gig economy. This trend is likely to continue, making Direct Sourcing an essential tool for companies looking to stay competitive and leverage this growing population.
Benefits of Direct Sourcing
One of the top benefits of direct sourcing is cost savings, with 98% of businesses deriving cost savings from their Direct Sourcing efforts. For many companies leveraging Direct Sourcing, these savings average 10 – 15%. Other benefits include higher quality of talent and candidates, quicker hiring cycles, and the ability to ‘humanize’ the candidate experience. Direct sourcing can also help companies improve and amplify their employer brand, build better relationships with candidates and talent, and improve the diversity of their candidate pool.
Maximizing ROI is another important benefit of Direct Sourcing that comes as a result of focusing on attracting and retaining top-quality candidates. The success of these efforts can be measured in many ways, but one important metric is achieving high levels of conversions from temporary to permanent employees. Direct Sourcing populations can be a powerful pipeline for permanent hiring and should be proactively mirrored against historical requisitions and client-provided forecasts for specific labor categories. By doing so, Direct Sourcing providers can enhance the population in labor categories where there are forecasted needs, further optimizing ROI and increasing temporary to permanent conversions.
Direct Sourcing is a powerful tool for companies looking to stay competitive in the modern workforce. By creating a private talent community of qualified contingent resources and reaching out to known populations who are engaged with and invested in your company, companies can find the talent they need quickly and cost-effectively. If you’re not implementing a Direct Sourcing program, you could be putting your business at a disadvantage. That’s why leading organizations choose extended workforce management partners like Atrium.
Direct Sourcing Solutions
Direct Sourcing solutions from AtriumWORKS™, a specialized division of Atrium, blend new and pre-existing talent with forward-thinking direct sourcing strategies and a unique technology ecosystem. With 13 offices across the US and the ability to support direct sourcing on a global scale, Atrium is a diversity supplier with deep experience offering curation as a service and managed Direct Sourcing focused on creating custom solutions for clients that drive efficiency, product cost savings and amplify client DEI initiatives.
