One of the buzz words in recruitment today is talent – as in, it’s in short supply and everybody wants it. And not only does everybody want as much talent as they can grab for their particular organisation, they want to be able to put it in the right job at the right time. That’s “talent management” in a nutshell.

Dave Ulrich, the American human resources guru, recently devised this formula: “Talent = Competence + Commitment + Contribution” (see below). Competence, he says, “deals with the head (being able), commitment with the hands and feet (being there), and contribution with the heart (simply being)”.

The stereotypical perception of recruitment outsourcing (RO) is that it gives short shrift to the concept of talent, concentrating instead on bringing large volumes of no- or low-skilled workers into an organisation.

But as the practice of RO hits its stride, a much more sophisticated facet is emerging: employers are looking to RO providers to help their businesses fulfil loftier aspirations, such as capturing and effectively installing the right kinds of talent in the right jobs at the right time in the right organisation – their own.

“This is about hiring not to plug a hole or ‘can you fill this vacancy as quickly as possible’, but how to hire proactively,” says Meena Thuraisingham, an associate director at RO company Alexander Mann Solutions who specialises in talent and diversity issues.

For example, if a client is experiencing particular difficulty hiring for a specific role, an RO provider can help to create a so-called “pipeline” so that there is a ready flow of people with the necessary skills, qualifications or qualities ready to take on such roles in the future, she suggests.

In the public sector, the Cabinet Office has handed over the management of its Fast Stream recruitment programme for graduates wanting to enter the civil service to RO provider Parity Group. The scheme attracts about 25,000 applicants a year for the 450 places available.

Yvette Radford-Foley, head of the Fast Stream and European recruitment division at the Cabinet Office, says the cost of finding suitable graduates has fallen by about £1m a year and the length of the assessment process has been cut from six months to three.

“There is a growing trend towards outsourcing in the civil service because people want access to specialists and the efficiencies that are possible,” she says. “We still keep control and decide how the recruitment programme should work.”

While much emphasis is placed on external talent pools, a pipeline can offer links to both external and internal sources to fill specific jobs or career paths. “Talented people can get lost in organisations,” Thuraisingham says. “People often think about talented people in terms of the roles they put them in. But too often, they spend money on identifying A-players and putting them in B-roles.”

The complexity of such challenges may well advance RO into the realm of strategic recruitment outsourcing (SRO) sooner rather than later. “SRO is the tip of the pyramid,” says Paul Mallinson, managing director of Hays Resource Management, a provider of RO and HR services. “The biggest challenge for organisations is aligning the resourcing plan to the business strategy.”

Mapping out a long-term workforce strategy, to include a large-scale talent management programme, is not a complete unknown to some RO providers. Even now, some of the most stratospheric roles within an organisation are being directed towards RO providers to fill, as part of senior-level talent management, also known as executive search outsourcing.

As part of such work, an RO provider might help an employer pinpoint where talent gaps lie within a business and map the external market – in essence helping an organisation to build its own little black book and understand the competition.

“We see our role as building their own capabilities – that’s the end game,” says Sue Brooks, managing director of RO provider Profiles Resource Management. “We are saying, ‘It is in your interest that you build the knowledge and experience to create your own ability to meet your [talent] needs’.”

Ultimately, a business must take responsibility for fulfilling its most strategic aims, Brooks adds. “Fundamentally, the outsourcing provider should be an enabler – not a replacement.”

WHAT IS talent? How can recruiters and employers spot it and quantify it?

Dave Ulrich, professor of business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, has devised a formula: Competence + Commitment + Contribution = Talent.

Competence means that individuals have the knowledge, skills and values required for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs.

Committed or engaged employees work hard, put in their time and do what they are asked to do.

Contribution occurs when employees feel that their personal needs are being met through their participation in their organisation.

The whole person is involved, says Ulrich: Competence deals with the head (being able), commitment with the hands and feet (being there), and contribution with the heart (simply being).

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