It's clear that organizations have an urgent need for talented individuals, with the demand for specialized skills already exceeding current availability. Companies are struggling to keep up with anticipated growth, as the development of relevant skills is taking longer than expected.


Certain impressive skillsets may be hard to come by, and the people with them are often already engaged in meaningful work and are not actively seeking a new job. Organisations must figure out how to attract this talent to stay competitive.


McKinsey reports that 70% of executives expect to use more contractors and contingent workers than they did pre-pandemic. That 70% might be on to something...


Is the way you work your biggest barrier to top talent?

If you need the right people to improve customer satisfaction, launch new products or services, and make your organisation better, they probably haven't been given an incentive strong enough to join your team.


The solution is two-pronged:

  • A great employee value proposition (EVP) - the reasons employees are attracted to join you.
  • A great contingent value proposition (CVP) - the reasons contingent workers are attracted to work with you.


Not having a defined Customer Value Proposition (CVP) may be the main reason behind your difficulty in finding the personnel you need because it creates a disconnect between how they want to work, and how you expect them to. A CVP is becoming increasingly essential.


The question business leaders need to be asking is:

How can we make our organisation as attractive as possible to people who have the skills we need?

It's not enough to simply look at the question of "how do we bring people into our business?" We must instead ask ourselves, "how can we convince skilled professionals to help us make our organization more successful?"


This changing dynamic of what constitutes an organisation’s workforce is nicely defined by Markus Graf, VP HR and Global Head of Talent at Novartis, who is quoted in a recent MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte study. He says the Novartis workforce is made up of all “those people who contribute to executing work against our purpose and business strategy”.


To achieve your organisational goals, it is important to open yourself up to the different types of resources available. This will give you access to a wide range of skills and talent.


In order to attract skilled talent, there are a few things you can do:

  • Does your approach to remote or hybrid working adapt to the availability (or lack thereof) of skills and the type of work that is to be done?
  • Are you open to part-time contributions from proficient professionals instead of expecting them to follow your 'core' pattern of work?
  • Do you accept that your workforce may very well be working for multiple organisations at the same time?
  • Can you break down tasks into smaller outputs, making it easier for you to pinpoint and find the skills needed, instead of searching for someone who fulfils all the criteria?
  • Could a contingent skilled workforce help upskill your permanent team members?
  • How do you let skilled professionals know every way they can contribute their expertise, so they can easily find out about your opportunities?
  • Are you prepared to provide great experiences to everyone who comes in contact with your organisation, ensuring they will come back when needed?


It is essential for organisations to have access to skilled contingent talent in order to meet their goals and succeed. In order to unlock greater access to the best talent, you're going to need a competitive CVP.

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Asking the right questions about your talent strategy and taking meaningful action could represent a radical cultural shift for some parts of your organisation, but this is essential to securing the best talent in today's competitive market.