Total talent management (TTM) is an innovative answer to the complex challenges organizations face in acquiring, retaining, and optimizing their workforce. It is a comprehensive approach to managing the entire talent lifecycle of employees, from acquisition to offboarding.
As organizations increasingly see the benefits of having a blended workforce and embracing remote work options, implementing total talent management strategies has become more useful than ever.
This article will provide a detailed overview of total talent management, including what it is, why it is essential, and how organizations can implement it effectively. We will explore the benefits of TTM and uncover insights into how organizations can develop reliable talent solutions and implement an effective total talent management strategy.
What Is Total Talent Management?
TTM is a well-established framework that enables organizations to efficiently oversee and improve their HR activities, particularly by using a more holistic strategy for managing a “blended workforce” of both non-permanent workers (e.g., contractors, freelancers, temporary workers) and full-time employees.
TTM involves creating an integrated strategy for managing talent that aligns with the organization’s goals and values and incorporates elements such as talent acquisition strategy, performance management, career development, and long-term succession planning.
Why Should Your Company Use Total Talent Management?
There are several reasons why you should consider implementing total talent management—from helping your company attract and retain top talent to better managing your labor costs.
Below we’ll explore the main benefits of TTM.
Integration and optimization
Integration and optimization are essential parts of any successful talent management strategy. This recruitment and workforce management approach integrates permanent and contingent workforce solutions to give organizations a holistic view of their entire workforce ecosystem and optimize the deployment of talent. It enables you to link all your HR processes to enhance efficiency.
In other words, the integration and optimization aspects of TTM enable your organization to hire the right people for the right positions at the right time—whether that’s internal or external talent—leading to increased productivity and cost savings in the long run.
Flexibility and adaptability
Companies need to be flexible and adaptable to stay competitive—and this is true for hiring processes as well. Embracing a combined model of full-time and contingent workers can enable companies to be more flexible and adaptable to nontraditional talent sources, which can lead to increased innovation and improved business outcomes.
Brand control
Employer branding is a critical component of talent management. It’s a must when it comes to finding the best candidates for your company. This is where TTM comes into play: a successful talent management strategy ensures that organizations have control over their employer branding, which is essential for attracting and retaining top talent.
By implementing TTM or working with a TTM partner, you’ll be able to put in place talent sourcing strategies to hire the right fit for each job opening, all while projecting a positive employer brand to all types of workers (contingent and direct hires).
Enhanced productivity
Remote and hybrid work models have become increasingly popular, and there are no signs of this trend stopping. However, managing remote contractors is no walk in the park.
To ensure that remote contractors exceed expectations in their jobs, organizations need to have the right tools and processes in place.
TTM helps identify and engage remote talent effectively, ensuring that remote workers are productive contributors to the organization.
Cost savings
Following on from the previous benefit, by making working with remote workers easier, TTM helps open up the possibilities of reducing overhead costs by engaging the services of workers in regions with lower living costs, like Latin America.
TTM can also lead to cost savings by streamlining the hiring process. By centralizing talent management and recruitment efforts, organizations can eliminate duplication of efforts, reduce administrative overhead, and cut down on job advertising fees.
This efficiency translates into cost savings while still ensuring that positions are filled with the best-fit candidates.
Access to talent
Working with TTM firms can give you access to a wider pool of talented workers, which is essential for organizations that want to gain a competitive edge and overcome the challenges of a tight labor market.
By partnering with a TTM service provider, you can tap into a range of skills and expertise to meet your needs and expectations.
Holistic approach
Undoubtedly, companies must take a holistic approach to talent management to align HR practices with overall business objectives and goals.
This all-encompassing approach typically covers areas such as recruitment, hiring, staffing, onboarding, employee development, organizational development, recognition, and retention.
By implementing such a strategy, organizations can successfully attract and keep their best employees happy with their workplace environment and career choices.
What Are the Challenges of Implementing Total Talent Management?
As is often the case, there are several challenges that need to be overcome to implement a TTM strategy successfully.
Below, we’ll explore the main challenges to putting in place TTM and how you can effectively overcome them.
Silos within businesses
Most often, silos in businesses hinder talent acquisition and management processes. Each department having its own isolated processes leads to inefficiencies and missed growth opportunities.
In order for TTM to succeed, silos need to be broken down to help everyone work toward the same goals, enabling clear communication and cross-functional collaboration.
Lack of data
TTM requires a comprehensive view of the entire workforce ecosystem, which can be difficult to achieve without accurate and up-to-date data. Without it, strategic talent acquisition decisions about hiring, retention, and development are generally baseless and may become damaging to the entire organization in the long run.
Fortunately, investing in data management and analytics tools can provide real-time insights into the workforce ecosystem, including skills, performance, and engagement.
Lack of buy-in
TTM requires buy-in from all organizational stakeholders, including executives, managers, and employees, to be fully embraced and implemented successfully.
However, getting everyone on board with TTM is not always a piece of cake, but involving stakeholders in the development and implementation process can help ensure their commitment to making necessary changes.
Culture
A positive and engaging work culture is vital for successful TTM implementation, and organizations may struggle to adopt TTM if their company culture is not ready for it yet. Resistance to change and lack of trust can interfere with adopting this model.
To overcome this, organizations can invest in employee training, promote collaboration and innovation, and foster transparency to build a culture that supports TTM.
Technology
Implementing TTM may require a new set of skills and knowledge as it involves new technologies and tools. Rest assured, you can get the help of industry experts to identify and implement the best solutions for your needs.
This way, you can prevent your organization from wasting precious resources and missing opportunities for talent acquisition and management improvement.
How To Implement Total Talent Management?
Implementing a TTM strategy is easier than it sounds. Although it involves assessing your current processes, creating a strategy (often from scratch), and measuring effectiveness long-term, it ultimately helps optimize your workplace and boost the overall performance of your business.
Here are the main steps we recommend taking in order to successfully put your TTM strategy into practice:
Assess your current talent management processes
Analyze your current talent management processes to identify any areas for improvement. Be as transparent and clear as possible to uncover what has been working so far and what’s lacking in your existing strategy. By doing so, you can refine your recruitment and retention processes while enhancing the development of your workforce.
Define your talent strategy
Once you’ve assessed your initial talent strategy, you can take talent management to the next level. Identify key talent needs, define organizational goals, and outline steps to attract, develop, and retain the right candidates, including permanent and contingent talent. This step also involves integrating TTM into the overall talent management approach.
Collect and analyze data
Collecting and analyzing workforce data for both permanent and contingent talent is crucial for making informed talent management decisions. Establish a clear and intuitive system for data collection and analysis to identify trends, forecast future talent needs, and make data-driven decisions.
Educate and train stakeholders
One of the final steps in successfully implementing TTM is to educate and train stakeholders, managers, and HR professionals within your organization. Providing information and training materials on best practices and effective TTM strategies can help create a sense of unity and collaboration and achieve overall better results.
Develop a total talent acquisition strategy
To ensure that the process of acquiring talented individuals is smooth and efficient, consider working closely with a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) agency and a managed service provider (MSP) specializing in this area. These partnerships enable you to integrate all aspects of the talent acquisition process, ensuring that it runs seamlessly from start to finish.
Need help? Near offers TTM solutions that include sourcing, hiring, onboarding, paying, and retaining top Latin American talent. By collaborating with us, you can fill open positions in under 21 days and work toward achieving your TTM goals.
Continuously monitor and optimize
Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to talent acquisition, retention, productivity, and cost savings to ensure the ongoing success of your workforce planning efforts. Keeping track of these metrics will act as your compass, ensuring the organization is on the right path at all times. Some of the KPIs you should take into account are the following:
- Time to hire
- Cost to hire
- Offer acceptance rate
- Employee turnover rate
- Employee satisfaction
- Training and development metrics
Final Thoughts
Total talent management is a transformative approach to workforce management. It represents a holistic strategy encompassing the entire talent lifecycle and bridges the gap between permanent and contingent workers.
Its benefits are numerous, ranging from integrated talent optimization to building an agile workforce and gaining access to a wider talent pool of skilled professionals.
TTM empowers organizations to align HR practices with broader goals, fostering a positive workplace culture that attracts and retains top talent.
To optimize your talent acquisition within your overall TTM strategy, Near can help you efficiently scale your blended workforce. We help US companies hire highly skilled remote contractors or permanent employees from Latin America—so you can grow your team while saving 30–70% on salary costs compared to hiring US-based workers.
If you want to learn more about how we can help you succeed with your total talent management strategy, schedule a zero-commitment consultation with our recruitment experts.
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