What is Direct Sourcing?

Direct Sourcing gives a company access to a pool of pre-screened engaged, specialised contingent talent.  With a pool of engaged contingent talent to call upon, that a business knows is aligned with their brand and culture, employers can quickly, and more cost effectively attract and retain the right people for any given project or assignment.

Direct sourcing programmes are typically more cost effective than traditional supply chain approaches for large-scale, repeatable and seasonal hiring needs.

Often, Direct Sourcing recruitment is best done in partnership with an MSP, as part of a strategic CWM (Contingent Workforce Management) programme. By working in partnership with a specialist MSP, employers can leverage their own EVP (Employee Value Proposition) and employer brand to target and attract the best quality and most diverse talent for the most relevant role.

The MSP will use state-of-the-art technology including AI in recruitment, for matching skills to roles, and supporting DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion). They will also use benchmarking and forecasting tools, create automated talent community nurture and job alerts, and real time reporting and analysis.

The MSP will use its own talent delivery team to engage candidates and applicants in a meaningful way, ensuring thorough compliance and seamless onboarding. They will also manage contingent workforces, with redeployment keeping quality candidates and temporary workers engaged.

Long-term, a direct sourcing strategy with an MSP can have a significant impact on a business’s hiring capability - particularly when skills shortages and competition for top talent are rife - and, most importantly, can save considerable time and money.

Take a look at Guidant Global's Advanced Direct Sourcing solution page to see what a cutting-edge direct sourcing solution looks like. 

Direct Sourcing complements and accelerates your MSP programme with the support and infrastructure needed to source, contract and manage your extended workforce including temporary staff, seasonal workers, and independent workers/contractors. 

Direct Sourcing creates diverse talent pools to facilitate repeatable hiring, support the re-deployment of existing staff to suitable roles, and sourcing contingent workers to meet seasonal needs. Direct Sourcing is a managed service that boosts the power of your MSP in a time and cost-effective manner. 

In an increasingly volatile talent market, it is no surprise that more and more companies are exploring the possibility of implementing their own direct sourcing strategy. Direct sourcing can help businesses to:

1) Access a pool of engaged, talent
Direct sourcing gives a company access to a pool of pre-screened, specialised contingent talent. 
Direct sourcing also enables companies to forge and nurture long-term relationships with contingent workers — contributing to increased loyalty and buy-in from external employees and expanding the network of company advocates.

2) Improve cost savings
Third-party recruiting or consulting firms can often be expensive to work with. The cost markup of using an external recruiter can often range from 20% to 40%, particularly for hard-to-fill and technical roles.
Direct sourcing tools such as online marketplaces bring flexibility to talent acquisition, giving hiring managers the means to source and self-select the right contingent talent for specific projects. By cutting out the intermediary in the recruiting process, companies save time and money and free up valuable resources for other important business ventures.

Moreover, a properly implemented direct sourcing strategy will simplify the vetting process — minimising the risk of misclassifying workers and accruing costly legal fees or penalties.

3) Enhance other aspects of the organisation
Not only can direct sourcing save a company money when hiring contingent talent, but it also has a number of softer cost savings that frequently go overlooked.

Typically, direct sourcing reduces time-to-hire, encourages faster and more effective onboarding, and creates a more effective talent pooling of contingent candidates. Consequently, these soft savings can enhance a business’ employer brand and company culture, further strengthening its chance of hiring top talent in the future.

4) Become a “client of choice”
In recent years, gaining a reputation as an “Employer of Choice” has enabled companies to attract and retain the best talent based on the strength of their employer brand. By expanding this to become a “Client of Choice,” businesses stand to attract the best contingent and self-employed workers, even in highly competitive, skills-short industries. 

Guidant Global’s integrated approach – Advanced Direct Sourcing - activates your EVP and employer brand to attract, curate and engage exclusive talent communities to support repeatable hiring needs without the need for suppliers in a cost-effective way.

This approach uses cutting edge direct sourcing technology and automation, ensuring you source talent in a holistic, integrated way, that includes talent marketing and talent delivery expertise. For more information on Advanced Direct Sourcing page here.

For greater insight into how Advanced Direct Sourcing can be used successfully to take your acquisition of contingent talent to the next level, download The Complete Guide to Advanced Direct Sourcing.