So many of the businesses we talk to at Open Assembly express how slow-moving corporate structures, inadequate access to talent, and outdated mindsets can be big barriers to progress. There’s just no way around it: Open models are a great solution but sometimes it’s hard to get company members onboard. Here are answers to three of the most common questions to help understand the benefits.
Why adopt an open talent strategy?
Businesses with more fixed structures, such as traditional retail, are suffering while those that have embraced adaptability and flexibility are gaining. Businesses poised to gain in the next decade are becoming increasingly permeable, interconnected, collaborative. They change quickly in shape and size. In the emerging open and flexible models, work is distilled into specialized tasks that can be executed through many work channels that include in-house (traditional employees) and freelance or contract workforces.
How can HR help?
We see that as pressure to adapt and innovate increases HR leaders are working more closely with CEOs to ensure that their talent strategy aligns with future needs of company. HR is undergoing a profound philosophical shift, moving toward relational (networked) talent strategies and away from more limited and transactional models of the past. HR is beginning to view talent differently—as networked and open talent ecosystems rather than self-contained talent pools that operate within the business’s boundaries.
Can open models be used to develop in-house talent?
Yes. Many businesses are still structured with clear hierarchies and siloed business functions—a model in which workers are expected to start at entry level, slowly acquiring skills and expertise and advancing into new roles over many years. Open talent models offer a radical departure to the slow pace of worker development. Integrating freelance or contract workers, utilizing talent communities and platforms, and encouraging internal open innovation and problem-solving through cross-departmental collaboration or organization-wide “crowdsourcing” contests or challenges can all create momentum for organizations.
