How do we deploy talent into new growth areas of the business?

Develop and implement a talent marketplace strategy and match people to development opportunities sounds easy, however, it’s extremely complex since it involves managing several factors such as:

• Vision and business case alignment
• Experience and program design
• Talent and Skill data
• Platform selection
• Support system
• Leaders and Managers buy-in
• Etc.

The biggest challenge for a marketplace is not implementing the system/platform and/or services, it’s the ADOPTION of a new CULTURE of MOBILITY. Not every company is ready for it.

If implemented right, companies have real-time visibility of talent and skills. Talent can be redeployed to support growth areas of the business, reduce hiring cost and meet client demands. From the employee perspective, it elevates engagement, retention and makes the employees owners of their careers.

How the Talent marketplace market respond?

Talent marketplace vendors have evolved and matured overtime. In 2022-2023, we have seen more vendors competing in the marketplace ecosystem. Some key acquisitions and partnerships were made to expand offerings and services:

• ServiceNow acquired Hitch and launched its AI-powered skill intelligence offering
• SuccessFactors launched future-ready workforce to connect talent to opportunities
• Ceridian launched its career explorer offering to provide access to career pathing and opportunities
• Skyhive is partnering with Fuse to transform skills, learning, and careers
• Upwork and Open AI are partnering to bring AI talent experts to support organizations in their AI journey
• Neobrain acquired Flashbrand to strength its talent management offerings in the US market
• Gloat is now embedded in Microsoft Teams to provide opportunities in the flow of work

Opportunity

1. I believe there is a huge opportunity for talent marketplace vendors (with cash for acquisitions) to combine performance, learning experience and internal mobility capabilities and expand its footprint (some are already doing this) and centralize skill and talent data.

1. From the enterprise perspective, it provides employees with access to projects to fill skill gaps, develop skill-building experiences that align to business needs, provide visibility into existing talent ecosystem and promote internal mobility and upskilling to develop a skill-based organization.

Talent Marketplace One-Pager

The slide below connects personas with experience, strategy and talent marketplace capabilities.

Here are some additional thoughts that I learned working with clients on their internal mobility journeys

• Change management is required to align leadership, activate mindsets, behaviors, skills and embrace new ways of working
• Reimagine talent and HR practices and processes
• A strong talent marketplace strategy is complemented by a platform accelerator and a detailed talent strategy
• Start small with an MPV and/or a pilot to gather feedback and prove value

I would like to hear your thoughts. What other challenges have you seen implementing a talent marketplace?