2025 December- TLIX Deep Dive

Our recent TLIX: Talent Leader Information Exchange Deep Dive focused on external talent and RPOs. All agreed that companies are or should be far more strategic with their contingent/contract/temp talent, shifting from viewing it as a “stopgap” to being a core part of workforce strategy. One member shared that in addition to providing greater agility and flexibility, contractors and freelancers can bolster innovation, buffer demand spikes, and provide solutions for both lower and highly specialized skillsets. Another member shared that her company has adopted eight categories for this talent. The taxonomy captures why the talent is needed and the type of employment the company allows. It was hard to create a system that worked across the company and global regions, but it’s increasing their visibility and decreasing risk. Meanwhile, members anticipate specialized AI solutions will provide future support for forecasting demand, optimizing the staffing mix, and anticipating compliance risk. In the meantime, a member has found that automating their processes has helped since hiring managers don’t want to spend time learning new processes and policies. As we wrapped up this topic, several members recommended having external staffing vendors use the same background check companies since it helps to avoid unexpected issues if the talent is later hired into a company position. Regarding RPOs, there was consensus that in-house TA teams are far more efficient and less expensive than RPO models based on the participants’ past or current experiences. We are hearing that RPOs are shifting from the traditional ‘all-or-nothing’ approach to increasingly offering flexible models. However, one member cautioned that it is very important to ensure you have very detailed contracts or you’ll find yourself facing unexpected costs.