Speed matters when it comes to winning the war for talent. Even more so when you consider that some skills are more in-demand than others, think corporate strategy, finance and accounting, market research, and more. 

But when relying on traditional talent acquisition models, the need to move with speed is impacted. Think about it.

It can take about 42 days or more to fill a full-time role after the job has been posted. This number can increase significantly depending on the title, seniority, and role. You then have to account for onboarding and training time, which can take even more time to get that employee up and running. Take a look at the graphic below to compare both processes. 

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When it's all said and done, the traditional approach to talent acquisition is too inflexible and static at a time when speed and flexibility are crucial to thriving in today's uncertain environment. 

So what have business leaders been doing instead? 

Rather than look for full-time employees, particularly when completing mission-critical projects within a very short time frame, many have started exploring on-demand talent acquisition platforms instead. In doing so, business leaders like you can find, evaluate, and onboard talent in 13.5 days on average. 

So how exactly do on-demand talent acquisition platforms accelerate the talent acquisition process? In this blog, we provide you with an inside look.

‍3 Ways On-Demand Talent Acquisition Platforms Accelerate the Process of Finding Talent

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A Proven-Vetting Process That Takes the Guesswork Out of Vetting Candidates 

It all starts with the vetting process, or the process the on-demand talent platform uses to ensure that only the best experts can join their network. Without a pool of pre-vetted experts, getting matched to the right talent based on your needs would be more difficult. By having a curated talent pool in place, getting access to talent on demand is easier and quicker because you don't have to do the work of continuously vetting them. 

At Graphite, we have a proprietary and highly selective vetting process where only the best independent consultants are granted access to join our network. We believe that we are only as strong as our network and that our clients deserve the best of the best, so conducting a rigorous candidate review and credential verification process is central to our mission of providing the best talent on demand. 

We typically start by verifying the expert's information on their resume and follow it up with a personal interview, online assessment, and identification verification. Once we know the candidate meets all of our criteria that will benefit our clients, we invite them to join the platform. 

‍Prior Work History on the Platform Makes Finding Matches Easier

‍A proper on-demand talent acquisition platform should have the hiring manager's review and history of every project an expert has worked on. These data points are instrumental in helping you find the perfect match. Here’s how. 

At Graphite, the Account Executive (AE)assigned to your account can input your scope of work criteria into the platform. The platform then uses our proprietary AI model to source profiles of experts with the skills your project requires listed on their profiles and also looks for experts who've worked on similar projects like yours on the platform. 

When combined with reviews from prior employers, narrowing down the pool of qualified talent becomes much easier. And finally, there's a third way that on-demand talent acquisition is faster. 

Curated Human Recommendations Powered By Technology

Expert availability is key when it comes to onboarding independent talent. That’s because many of them work with multiple clients, so while someone may be a perfect match, they may not have the bandwidth to take on the job.

One way an on-demand talent acquisition platform works around this is by enabling experts to apply for roles based on their availability and level of experience and expertise. It also considers in-demand soft skills, such as client service orientation, communication skills, and promptness, to ensure a perfect client and expert match. 

Another way this works on Graphite is by giving our AEs and talent engagement manager the ability to use your project scope and requirements, along with their knowledge of the experts and capability to quickly curate a list of candidates for you to review within 24-48 hours. 

Together, both approaches expedite the time it takes to find talent. From there, vetting and interviewing each candidate is easy. Graphite facilitates this through the use of in-app chatting and video conferencing tools and a rating system that makes the process of onboarding and kick-off of the project a seamless process. 

Taking The Next Step with On-Demand Talent Acquisition

In today's uncertain socioeconomic environment, business leaders that move quickly to address capacity and subject matter expertise gaps are better positioned to win the war on talent. This is especially true when you consider that top talent has multiple opportunities to choose from — waiting to pull the trigger can backfire if you don't move quickly enough. 

On-demand talent acquisition platforms like Graphite help you accelerate the time to hire by removing the guesswork of finding, evaluating, and onboarding talent, especially when it comes to independent subject matter experts. If you're interested in learning more about this talent model and how to make it work best for you, download a copy of our guide — The Ultimate Workforce Optimization Guide — to get a closer look. 

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