How prepared is your organization for the future of work?
This may feel like an odd question, but as the way we work continues to change rapidly, traditional talent management practices are becoming increasingly obsolete.The ability to quickly adapt and align your workforce with emerging market demands is more crucial than ever.
Enter the talent marketplace, a revolutionary approach transforming how organizations leverage their most valuable asset: their people.
What is a Talent Marketplace?
So, what is a talent marketplace?
A talent marketplace is a dynamic, AI-powered platform that matches employees' skills and career aspirations with your organization's needs.
Note that I'm not discussing open marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork: this article focuses on marketplaces companies can use internally, aptly named internal talent marketplaces.
So, what is a talent marketplace?
A talent marketplace is a dynamic, AI-powered platform that matches employees' skills and career aspirations with your organization's needs.
Note that I'm not discussing open marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork: this article focuses on marketplaces companies can use internally, aptly named internal talent marketplaces.
Unlike traditional models with rigid career paths, an internal talent marketplace offers a flexible, two-sided platform where employees can explore roles, from full-time positions to short-term projects, based on their skill sets and interests.
This approach supports individual career growth and enables organizations to rapidly redeploy talent where it's most needed, ensuring adaptability. Given the high cost of turnover, this makes a lot of sense for virtually any company.
They support significant shifts in how companies look at talent, according to recent research:
- According to a Deloitte study, 72% of executives believe that "building the workforce of the future" is a critical priority.
- Emily Field, a Senior Partner at McKinsey, highlighted how 80% of talent is now looking for new opportunities and asked why not find those people inside your company before recruiting externally.
This data underscores the growing recognition of the need for agile and flexible talent strategies that attract top talent and foster employee development and retention.
Which Features Does a Talent Marketplace Usually Have?
Now that we've defined what is a talent marketplace, let's take a look at what features they typically possess.
Most major talent marketplaces (more about some options to consider below) have at least the following features:
- User Profiles: Detailed profiles for employees to showcase their skills, expertise, experience, and accomplishments within the company.
- Search and Filtering: Allowing managers or project leads to search for and filter employees based on criteria such as skills, expertise, availability, location, and job roles.
- Project/Role Postings: A place for managers or team leads to post new project roles or job opportunities, specifying details like responsibilities, required skills, and project timelines.
- Skills Tracking and Development: Capabilities for employees to track their skills, certifications, and training and for the organization to identify skill gaps and provide relevant learning and development opportunities.
- Internal Mobility and Career Pathing: Features that enable employees to explore internal job opportunities, lateral moves, or career advancement paths within the organization based on their skills and interests.
Because of these features, talent marketplaces usually offer several benefits, including increased agility, boosted engagement and retention, skill development, enhanced cost efficiency, and data-driven decision-making for strategic alignment.
What Talent Marketplaces Exist?
In 2024, many compelling options exist if you want to embrace a talent marketplace in your company.If you're in the market for one, consider:
- Gloat uses AI-driven talent matching to break down organizational silos within large enterprises. Its InnerMobility platform optimizes talent utilization for major corporations like HSBC and Mastercard by connecting employees with suitable internal roles and opportunities.
- Fuel50 emphasizes highly personalized and adaptive career paths powered by personalized AI. It incorporates interactive elements like gamification and reward features to engage employees in their career development journey. Fuel50 also provides a proprietary, customizable skill ontology framework.
- Eightfold.ai leverages deep learning AI to dynamically identify skills and job requirements at scale. It has Equal Opportunity Algorithms designed to mitigate bias in talent processes and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Eightfold.ai also offers automated career pathing that surfaces non-traditional career move options.
- Workday has a talent marketplace designed for large enterprises and is tightly integrated with its comprehensive HCM suite. The Workday Talent Marketplace offers AI-powered skills ontology and intelligence, enabling comprehensive workforce planning and skills-based opportunity matching utilizing existing rich employee data.
- GoFIGR stands out with its rapid deployment, providing an accessible and cost-effective solution that appeals to companies of all sizes, especially smaller businesses. I know we're biased, but I believe we offer the most user-friendly, straightforward experience designed to minimize learning curves and implementation costs. GoFIGR can get your companies up and running quickly and takes a highly customer-friendly approach.
See here for our full guide to talent marketplace platforms.
Talent Marketplace: Actionable Steps for Leaders
If you want to get started with any of these talent marketplace platforms so you can harness their power and future-proof your workforce, take the following steps:
- Assess your organization's readiness: Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your existing talent management practices, identifying areas for improvement and opportunities to leverage the talent marketplace model.
- Implement the right technology: Select a talent marketplace platform that aligns with your needs, integrating AI-driven matchmaking and comprehensive skill assessments to ensure efficient talent allocation. (Feel free to speak to us for advice.)
- Foster a culture of continuous learning: Encourage employees to actively engage in the talent marketplace, exploring new roles and projects that align with their interests and enhance their skill sets. Provide opportunities for upskilling and reskilling to ensure your workforce remains agile and adaptable.
- Promote internal mobility: Embrace the concept of internal mobility, enabling employees to navigate various career paths within your organization. This not only supports employee development but also fosters knowledge-sharing and cross-functional collaboration.
Leverage data and analytics: Use the data and analytics provided by the talent marketplace platform to gain insights into employee preferences, skill gaps, and organizational needs.
What is a Talent Marketplace: Conclusion
In summary, a talent marketplace is a dynamic, AI-powered platform that matches employees' skills and career aspirations with an organization's needs.
This 'internal' talent marketplace enables your organization to quickly redeploy talent where it's most needed, ensuring adaptability and alignment with emerging market demands.
Unlike traditional models with rigid career paths, a talent marketplace offers a flexible, two-sided platform where employees can explore roles. This approach supports individual career growth, attracts top talent, and fosters employee development and retention.
Companies using these internal mobility platforms see benefits including increased agility, boosted engagement and retention, skill development, enhanced cost efficiency, and data-driven decision-making for strategic workforce alignment.
Sounds like something you need? Then, talk to us for tangible ways to future-proof your organization.
Helena Turpin spent 20 years in talent and HR innovation where she solved people-related problems using data and technology. She left corporate life to create GoFIGR where she helps mid-sized organizations to develop and retain their people by connecting employee skills and aspirations to internal opportunities like projects, mentorship and learning.
