The Great Resignation might be old news, but finding qualified, skilled talent is still a top priority for businesses. According to a recent Deloitte survey, CEOs expect the talent shortage to continue for the foreseeable future. 

There are multiple reasons why, but a few stand out. For one, most of the world’s largest economies are grappling with aging populations, meaning the workforce is shrinking year by year. Second, we’re still feeling the impact of the pandemic — an estimated 2 - 4 million Americans left the workforce due to long COVID.

Finally, the pace of change and the acceleration of technological advancements make it difficult to find talent with the skill sets needed to keep up. It has demonstrated that society is increasingly ill-equipped for the skills demands of tomorrow’s economy. 

While there’s no quick fix to addressing today’s talent shortage, it does illuminate the need for business leaders to get creative and strategic in finding and onboarding skilled talent. One solution that can help companies meet both immediate needs while attaining long-term gains is leveraging on-demand talent acquisition. 

How On-Demand Talent Acquisition Can Solve Talent Needs 

On-demand talent acquisition refers to the process of leveraging independent talent for short-term or project-based work. Businesses can leverage this model, along with traditional talent acquisition approaches, to build a hybrid workforce composed of both full-time and independent contractors, or experts as we call them on Graphite. 

In doing so, companies can gain access to the best subject matter experts on demand. This is an excellent alternative to traditional approaches, as on-demand talent acquisition enables faster access to talent and is more flexible and cost-effective. As a result, business leaders can scale their workforces as business and customer needs evolve without the overhead typically associated with a full-time hire. 

But outside of skill, cost, and speed, onboarding independent talent can also be used to upskill the existing workforce. That’s because independent experts are subject matter experts in their particular field and industry — giving business leaders the benefit of concurrently solving short-term and long-term needs. 

So how exactly does on-demand talent acquisition enable companies to find the best subject matter experts? 

4 Ways On-Demand Talent Acquisition Provides Access to Top-Tier Talent

On-demand talent acquisition platforms like Graphite emerged on the market to help companies solve the pressing need for finding skilled talent. And there are four ways these platforms provide companies with access to top-tier experts. 

1. Remove Geographic Barriers to Finding Top Talent 

Traditionally, companies have had a limited pool of talent to choose from. They predominantly searched for the best talent in their area. In other words, those who live near enough to drive into the office. But now, that’s all changed. 

The rise of remote work means companies are no longer limited to their geographic area. This is where an on-demand talent acquisition platform can help. Platforms like Graphite boast an ever-increasing selection of leading experts from all over the world.

As a result, business leaders can tap into a richer pool of talent than they’ve ever previously been able to access. By widening the talent pool, you’ll increase the odds of finding the perfect person for the role. You’ll also gain a significant competitive advantage by having a proven expert with prior MBB and Big Four training on teams. 

Consider this example. A multinational financial services company was looking to launch two of its latest products in new markets. But before it could do so, the company first needed to conduct market research. The caveat? It wanted the studies completed within three months.  

Rather than go through the process of finding a full-time employee, the company decided to leverage a remote independent expert with prior Big Four experience from the geographic area it was looking to launch the project to lead the initiative. 

This enabled the company to reach its goals within the specified time frame by bypassing the typical sourcing and onboarding process associated with traditional talent acquisition approaches. 

2. A Rigorous Vetting Process

Top talent is hard to come by, and time is scarce. So on-demand talent acquisition platforms like Graphite ensure there’s a ready pool of subject matter experts to be deployed as needed due to a rigorous vetting process. 

For example, Graphite has a two-tier vetting process that ensures that only top specialists are accepted onto the platform. Before a candidate is admitted, they first go through a rigorous candidate review and credential verification process. This often includes a review of their resumes, an online assessment, a personal interview, and an identification process. 

Once that’s complete, and the expert matches our standard, they’re admitted to the platform. But that’s not all. The second-tier process starts when a project need comes in. In this process, a Graphite Account Executive (AE) leverages the platform to first source all the candidates that match the client’s criteria. 

The AE then narrows down the list to present a curated list of the best candidates that match the project criteria. This process takes approximately 24-48 hours to complete and ensures that only the best subject matter experts are presented. So when companies come to Graphite looking to fill a role, they know they’re dealing with the top talent currently available. 

More importantly, it reduces the work you have to do to find and onboard an independent expert. There’s no wading through inappropriate candidates, no digging into their background to see if they’re really up to the job. You can rest assured of the quality of talent.

‍3. Leveraging AI to Power Curation

AI is here to stay. It’s currently reimagining countless industries, from copywriting to accounting to graphic design. Unsurprisingly, talent acquisition is no different.

Best-in-class on-demand talent acquisition platforms leverage AI to boost efficiency. AI models scour their talent database to identify the right candidates for each job opening before internal Account Executives (AEs) then encourage them to appl

Moreover, it also speeds up the independent expert assessment and onboarding processes, reducing manual effort to a bare minimum. Of course, AI models can’t work magic — they can only deal with the data provided.

Fortunately, on-demand talent acquisition platforms like Graphite only accept the best possible experts with highly in-demand skills and experience. Are recruitment firms and job posting sites also leveraging AI? You bet. Except, their dataset is nowhere near as selective or exclusive as Graphite’s — so you can’t expect them to produce the same caliber of results.  

4. A Bespoke, White Glove Service

Some companies might be discouraged by the idea of turning to a platform for their recruitment needs. If you’ve only ever dealt with recruitment agencies, the word “platform” might seem impersonal and unfriendly. Only, that’s not the case.

On-demand talent acquisition platforms like Graphite blend AI models with a human touch. AI handles the data-heavy work behind the scenes. It sifts through experts and identifies those most suitable for a particular opening before suggesting the best candidates. 

Except, this isn’t the end of the process.

An internal talent acquisition expert receives these recommendations before using their own experience and judgment to hand-select the most appropriate 2-4 experts. They assess each individual’s hard and soft skills, experience, and so on to determine their suitability for the role. 

This approach offers the best of both worlds. AI rapidly conducts a first assessment, filtering out unsuitable candidates. Human intuition then digs deeper into each candidate to further refine the list. 

On-Demand Talent Acquisition: A Proven Approach to Solving Your Talent Needs

The world of work looks radically different than it did just a decade ago. New ways of working, technologies, job roles, and entire industries have emerged in a short space of time. So, why not explore how these emerging technologies can help solve your needs?

On-demand talent acquisition (via platforms like Graphite) is the future of talent acquisition. These platforms boast a leading array of subject matter experts from all over the world. Every specialist undergoes a thorough vetting process — and only the best are accepted.

Graphite seamlessly combines technological prowess with human insight. Its AI model filters out unsuitable candidates before an AE uses their expertise to improve the quality of recommendations. 

Access the best talent, no matter where they’re located. Reduce the time and effort involved in looking for talent. And find the perfect candidates every single time. Get in touch to learn more about Graphite’s approach.