Businesses aren’t fully reaping the rewards of total talent acquisitions (TTA) and fluid workforces due to siloed hiring activity, according to a new study commissioned by global talent acquisition and management firm, Alexander Mann Solutions.

Around 75% of businesses claimed that organisational silos were one of the main barriers to adopting total talent acquisition, revealed the research, carried out by Staffing Industry Analysts. A lack of data and no compelling business case were also flagged as significant inhibitors by 46% and 39% respectively.

Talent trendsetters

Firms identified as Talent Trendsetters (those leading the way with total talent programmes) were twice as likely to report that they had the skills required to meet business objectives than those falling behind the curve – suggesting that addressing the barriers to successful total talent acquition now is critical.

Helen Houghton, Director of Contingent Workforce Solutions at Alexander Mann Solutions, explains: “The on-going overlap between HR and procurement when it comes to non-employed talent and the fluid workforce is clearly having an impact on total talent acquisition strategies. Solving this challenge isn’t easy, but in order to address the problem of organisational siloes, all sides must see clear benefits.

“With the top drivers of TTA ranging from controlling labour costs (cited by 69% of respondents), skills shortages (61%) and the need to collect workforce data (61%), the evidence is there to support the need for strategic total talent acquisition. We just need to ensure the conversation is happening.”

Commenting on the impact of siloed hiring, a procurement analyst for a Government services organisation who participated in the survey said: “When one type of talent is overseen by HR and one by procurement, you can never get a full picture; you need to understand the bottlenecks in both the employee and contingent journey to appreciate how.”