May 16, 2024
Digital transformation is happening everywhere. For many companies, staying competitive means becoming a technology-led business, ready to exploit the potential of tech within their sector and the internal processes of everyday work. Technology presents a crucial method of communication with current and potential customers, but the impact of digital transformation goes beyond the marketplace.
A truly digital business is an agile business, one which identifies and responds to opportunities quickly and effectively. Digital tools and processes can unlock this ability, delivering value for customers through more efficient services or creating entirely new offerings. Equally, employees can be more innovative and empowered by the digital tools at their disposal. Digital transformation is therefore not just about doing what you do better, but doing new things and opening new revenue streams.
To achieve an effective digital transformation, companies need specialist talent. However, securing this talent presents a range of challenges which, if left unaddressed, could compromise the digital transformation.
Key challenges businesses face:
Quick Scale Up
Across all businesses, those that pursue digital transformation first are often the ones who will reap the lion’s share of the benefit – whether this be efficiencies or taking market share through new and improved products or services. This means companies need to onboard digital talent as quickly as possible while still supporting their business as usual. For many, this poses a challenge around the capacity and resources to do this, for example, can existing in-house Talent Acquisition teams (TA teams) build a new digital team quickly enough to take the competitive edge without negatively impacting the wider business?
Transformation is not forever
Digital transformation is something a business undergoes in order to become a more tech-led, efficient and competitive business. It typically has an endpoint, admittedly this could be in 18 months or even 5 years’ time. However, getting to this point will, in all reality, require both permanent and temporary specialist talent. It is crucial to know how each role should be positioned in the business as that decision will have a direct impact on the success of the whole project.
Extensive Roll Out
Digital transformation needs to happen across the whole organization. Digital talent therefore needs to be positioned in every part of the business. But does the in-house TA team have the capacity to address a recruitment program on this scale without impacting support for the rest of the business with its talent needs?
Diverse agencies and partners
Finding the right skills and candidates means working with different organizations and agencies all with different costs and frameworks for delivery. Handling these relationships can be complex and time-consuming, so does the business really want to take this on at a time when it also needs to concentrate on the digital transition itself?
Overcoming talent challenges
Finding talent at the right level and in sufficient numbers to deliver transformation is not straightforward, especially as skill shortages exist in this area. In-house TA teams may be well-versed in finding talent for their sector, but they’re less likely to be used to finding specialists that are not currently available or used in the business today. The candidates required are likely to be new in terms of skillset to the business and attracting this talent to the program will need positioning in a way that perhaps your current team are less familiar with. This can make it harder for in-house TA teams to find and recruit candidates when the pressures of the wider business requirements are still needed.
Of course, one way to solve this is to invest in the TA team itself, growing its capacity to deliver. However, this investment can take precious time and delay the actual search for digital talent. It can also mean extra cost – diverting funds which could be dedicated to attracting digital talent. Not only that but once the talent is in place within the organization, the TA team would have to be scaled back as their job would be done. Again, this could waste resources for the employer and detract from the digital transformation not to mention the potential damage to the employer’s brand.
However, there is another way to meet the talent challenge and this is to partner with an RPO partner (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) that specializes in digital talent. RPOs are already versed in finding the digital talent required and are ready to work with the employer to quickly find the talent they need.
The RPO Solution
Partnering with an RPO provider means the talent search and onboarding process can be carried out with minimum disruption to the rest of the business, enabling the digital transformation to take place and the business to continue working as usual. Outsourcing the process to an RPO partner delivers a number of benefits:
Cost savings
Partnering with an RPO means securing talent without having to increase expenditure on the in-house TA team or expand the team in the short term or indeed face large costs via a wider supply chain of recruitment agencies.
Speed
An RPO partner, particularly those with a strong footprint in the tech sector are already engaged and working with the digital talent, meaning they can access the required talent swiftly and efficiently.
Accuracy
Due to their dedicated experience in recruiting for digital transformation, the RPO partner can support workforce planning and the phasing of onboarding the correct talent at the right time by talent pooling around the various steps in the program of work.
Consistency
With access to a large talent pool, an RPO provider ensures each new hire matches the organization. Partnering with an RPO can build an effective digital transformation team that delivers for the business.
Dedicated team
Your RPO partner will provide dedicated, white-labeled resources to work closely with your existing team, providing the scale you need at the right time. This dedicated team will significantly reduce time to hire and cost as well as leverage the employer’s brand vastly increasing the interest of potential candidates in what is a highly in-demand sector of skills.
Brand ambassadorship
Working with an RPO with a strong technology heritage helps to promote the employer’s brand among digital talent, positioning the business positively within the talent market; helping to attract the skills needed and also helping to build a pipeline of future talent for the organization.
Unique and dedicated solution
An RPO provider is accountable for the recruitment process at every stage, and as such, offers delivery security. The provider will often have access to talent via a wider supply chain if for any reason the team are unable to complete any hiring themselves.
This more project-focused use of RPO services offers organizations a cost-effective, quick and scalable solution from experts in the functional industry. It is vital that the services are on-boarded sympathetically to tie in with existing processes and to dovetail with any in-house resources you may have. Setting the program up as a true partnership with clear deliverables is essential and something your RPO partner should advise on.
Selecting the right RPO for digital transformation
When engaging an RPO partner it is important to consider:
- Track record – has the RPO partner delivered this kind of digital talent before to this kind of organization?
- Ability to move quickly – as mentioned, speed is of the essence to gain traction in the digital world. Can the RPO partner deliver talent within an appropriate timeframe?
- Knowledge of the local market – has the RPO partner worked within the employer’s geography and sector before and do they have knowledge of the talent available?
- A strong network – bringing in the right talent means being able to access and communicate with a strong network. The chosen RPO partner must be able to find the right talent at the right level and they should also be ready to deliver temporary or permanent workers according to the talent requirements.
- KPIs and market insights – a great RPO partner will agree and achieve appropriate milestones. Their work may also provide more information and insights for the employer which can be used to inform future workforce planning, further improve recruitment processes or even strengthen the organisation’s employer brand in the talent market.
- Supporting technology/Applicant Tracking System – a good RPO Partner will provide an effective and efficient technology system and/or have the ability to work with the employer’s own systems.
Success factors
Making an RPO project work requires a strong partnership between the organization and the RPO provider. There needs to be a solid project plan which governs the RPO activity and responsibilities, with clear demarcations between the supplier and in-house team in order to ensure the smooth running of the process. Both sides need to know what to expect at every stage, sharing requirements, information, ideas and success.
The RPO should work closely with the organisation’s own TA and/or HR teams. They should tap into and complement pre-existing recruitment activities and draw from the in-house team’s knowledge when identifying and onboarding digital talent. Through this relationship, the RPO can gain a firm understanding of the business and its culture and thereby make more accurate and successful talent matches. The relationship also means the RPO is better positioned within the business and is not viewed as a threat or competitor to existing teams.
For true success, there needs to be a clear mandate at the heart of the arrangement, backed by a strong executive sponsor from the employer’s business who supports the RPO, can make decisions around the partnership and is empowered to encourage teams to support the project.
Building for the Future
Ultimately an RPO should not be disruptive or out of step with the company’s ongoing recruitment activities. It needs to extend and build on existing practices, dedicating itself to bringing in the new skills the business needs
Having achieved the objectives of the RPO, the project can be brought to an end, removing the recruitment service from the business and leaving it with the talent it requires. In this way, the employer has no ongoing additional recruitment costs and simply benefits from the new talent it has gained.
In this way, engaging with a good RPO provider offers businesses the chance to secure the best digital talent to deliver digital transformation; unlocking competitive advantage for the business by enabling the digital transformation team to be assembled quickly, and managed according to the needs of the project. Once the talent is in place, the RPO can then be scaled back, removing the cost of the recruitment resource and leaving the business to benefit from the new talent it has and the digital transformation achieved.
To find out more about Flexhuis’ RPO solution click here or contact us at hello.usa@flexhuisglobal.com