As our first in-person conference since the start of the pandemic, it was wonderful to be around so many HR industry experts. VectorVMS thoroughly enjoyed our first HR Tech exhibition in Las Vegas. Finally getting to meet clients and partners in person was a real treat!
Great discussions and debates happened during the show. However, it comes as no surprise that the prevailing message at the conference was about how to adjust to the new post-pandemic world of work. It’s safe to say the world has changed drastically, making HR professionals or staffing technology providers re-evaluate workplace priorities.
All the HR professionals we met had the same underlying mission: build effective strategies to find and retain top talent by being employers of choice. While the full-time workforce was top of mind for many of the attendees, it was great to spark the conversation at VectorVMS’s booth about incorporating the contingent workforce into that strategy and how a vendor management system (VMS) can help.
Here are three main takeaways from talking to some of the HR professionals and other technology providers.
1. Everything Has a Technology
There’s a technology for every pain point imaginable. We saw many creative solutions that solve any kind of HR problem—from finding the right talent to making sure that you have reward management in place.
A lot of our ecosystem partners that manage direct sourcing, artificial intelligence, or assessment management systems also attended the event. Likewise, software vendors like Learning Technologies Group (which we’re part of!) were present showcasing the many solutions to build a full plug-and-play workforce management program.
Although most technologies aimed to support the full-time marketplace, it was exciting to see an increase in the number of extended workforce-specific technologies in attendance this year.
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2. There’s a Need for Alternative Staffing Strategies to Face Today’s Tight Labor Market
One of the biggest pain points that we heard about is the availability of talent (or lack thereof!). While some argued about the legitimacy of talent shortages, everyone agreed that filling roles is becoming increasingly difficult.
While talking to healthcare organizations during the event, we heard testimonies of the current inability to find nurses—the lack of talent has made it difficult for them to provide the needed care and meet their required nurse-to-patient ratios.
Experts agree that the way we staff has to change. One common theme among the attendees was the openness to try alternative sourcing methods to reach a broader audience of candidates. The most mentioned strategies included:
- Using contingent workforce to fill full-time roles
- Deploying referral management programs that incentivize workers to refer talent and stay in the organization while reaping higher hourly/salary rewards
- Leveraging talent pooling platforms to create pipelines of talent and hire faster and more effectively
LEARN MORE | ‘6 Key Factors Creating Labor Shortages’
3. We’re Adapting to the Way the World Likes to Work Now
In the span of two years, we’ve seen a drastic shift—from being tied to an office desk to a “work from anywhere” mentality. However, some organizations are considering moving their employees back on site, but worry they would lose valuable talent with any form of office mandate.
The industry is shifting toward utilizing technology so that organizations can continue to leverage remote work—and even improve it. We saw big efforts to improve work culture in virtual environments through technologies such as referral management, employee recognition, and reward management. Technology to track productivity in a remote setting was also of significant interest for the attendees.
Finally, organizations were also looking for technologies that could help them determine if they’re paying market rates with the ongoing changes in today’s economy.
Overall, we can say that the industry has a clear idea about what the post-pandemic HR world looks like, and what technology we need to make it work. The measures that were merely temporary during the pandemic are now an intrinsic part of staffing and total talent management strategies. We’re all looking for management solutions that allow us to improve processes and maintain a positive environment for both managers and employees in this new world of work.
Want to talk about any of these trends? Send us a message—we would love to hear from you.
Meet the Expert
Taylor Ramchandani – VP of Strategy
Taylor Ramchandani is responsible for the management and strategic planning of the VectorVMS vendor management system. Taylor is committed to client satisfaction and to ensuring VectorVMS technology meets the current and future needs of clients and managed service providers (MSPs). She uses market research and in-depth industry experience to create products and services that make extended workforce management efficient and intuitive. Taylor oversees product development, marketing, and business partnerships for VectorVMS and is responsible for driving innovation for contingent workforce management. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
