Introduction
The world of work is undergoing significant change and HRtech is having its moment in the sun. Gartner’s Emerging Technology Hype Cycle for 2023 has highlighted “Internal Talent Marketplaces” as a transformative innovation. As a former Gartner associate it was great to see the inclusion and I am passionate about the potential of this technology. Let me cover the basics then discuss the one fundamental issue they have.
What is an Internal Talent Marketplace?
An Internal Talent Marketplace (ITM) is a platform where organisations can match their employees’ skills, knowledge, and interests with short-term, project-based, or part-time work within the same company. This initiative effectively opens up a marketplace for talent within an organisation, encouraging fluidity of roles and providing employees with the opportunity to work on diverse projects beyond their traditional job descriptions.
The Benefits of Internal Talent Marketplaces
Skill Utilisation and Employee Development: ITMs allow employees to apply their unique skills and talents to a broader range of tasks within the organisation. This not only leads to better skill utilisation but also provides opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Agility and Resilience: ITMs can equip organisations with the ability to be more agile in response to changing business needs. They can redeploy talent swiftly to meet project requirements or fill gaps in expertise, thereby increasing the company’s resilience.
Employee Engagement and Satisfaction: By providing more varied work experiences and opportunities for professional growth, ITMs can contribute to increased employee engagement and satisfaction, which can ultimately reduce turnover and attract new talent.
Cost Efficiency: Instead of outsourcing work or hiring new staff, companies can leverage their existing talent pool to meet business needs. This can lead to significant cost savings.
The Drawbacks of Internal Talent Marketplaces
Implementation Challenges: Setting up an effective ITM requires significant organisational change, including the integration of new technologies, shifts in management and HR practices, and cultural adjustments. These changes can be challenging to implement and can create friction if not handled carefully.
Risk of Overwork and Burnout: While the opportunity to engage in diverse projects can be exciting for employees, there is a risk of overwork and burnout if workloads are not managed effectively. Ensuring a healthy work-life balance is crucial in an ITM.
Potential Disruption of Teams: Fluid work arrangements could potentially disrupt stable team dynamics, impacting long-term productivity and causing possible tensions among employees.
Skill Gap Identification and Training: If certain skills are consistently in high demand but low supply, it might be challenging for an organisation to meet its needs quickly. Proactively identifying and addressing these skill gaps is essential.
However, with a strong product and effective leadership the benefits can massively outweigh the drawbacks.
The One Big Problem
Fill rates, as simple as that.
Gloat is the market leader in Internal Talent Marketplaces and recently reported a 33% fill rate of posted gigs on a large pilot in Europe. On the surface this is a great statistic and well above the average of an ITM which is usually circa 20%.
However, what happens to the 67% of gigs that are posted? They usually go unfilled which creates more stress on leaders and impacts project delivery in a negative way. The answer is to integrate an on-demand element or use an ITM which also has on-demand functionality. Gigged.AI has a 45% fill rate for on-demand gigs. Combined with Gloats 33% that is a 78% fill rate which is much more palatable to most leaders.
Conclusion
Internal Talent Marketplaces hold immense promise for organisations looking to maximise their human capital. However, their implementation needs to be carefully managed to mitigate potential risks and downsides.
As we move into the era of the ‘dynamic work environment,’ companies must leverage such innovation to stay competitive. It will be fascinating to track the progress of ITMs and their impact on how we perceive work and talent management in the years to come.
However, ensuring you have both an internal and on-demand element is key to overall success. A bit like Ant and Dec, always better as a duo…