Artificial intelligence, changing sourcing models and the slowdown in temp use were among topics covered during the “Collaboration in the Talent Supply Chain” executive panel on Sept. 19 at the Collaboration in the Gig Economy conference in Dallas.

Weighing in on a variety of topics, the panel comprised top executives from several large firms:

• Tim Dupree, president, Kelly Professional & Industrial, Kelly Services
• Doug Leeby, CEO, Beeline
• Sue Marcus, managing director, North America, Randstad Sourceright
• Tim Sanders, fellow, Harvard Business School and VP research insights, G2

SIA President Ursula Williams moderated the panel.

Here is a brief sample of comments from the panel:

Sourcing

• “Master vendor was a huge product back in the ’80s and ’90s and early 2000s,” Dupree said. “What we’re seeing actually over the last two years is companies moving back to a master vendor model.”
• US organizations are looking to source talent around the world, including offshore and nearshore, Marcus said. Randstad recently acquired a platform with digital talent in Latin America to serve companies in the US.
• “The tolerance for global workforce has changed radically,” Sanders said. “Covid did usher in an era of thinking more globally about talent.”

Technology Tools

• “One of the things that I am starting to see with the tech stacks is looking at how do we simplify, how do we drive speed with also mind to quality — making certain that the fit is there, the cultural fit, the skills fit,” Dupree said.

Direct Sourcing

• “The way that we would describe direct sourcing — and the way that we operate direct sourcing — is almost a contingent RPO,” Marcus said. “It’s working with the customer to leverage their brand [to] allow talent that wants to work [for the enterprise buyer] to know how to come into that organization on a contingent basis.”

The Economy

• “I started out in this business in a branch running a desk. And so, 24 years in this business, the last three years is the first time I’ve ever seen when GDP is stable and increasing that our industry is not growing,” Dupree said. “I think there are some interesting reasons behind it. Kelly recently released a white paper that was [written] by my colleague Hugo Milan. It’s a great, great read [on the reasons], but there’s not one or two things that I think we can point this to.”

Artificial Intelligence

• “I do think, though, that right now what we’re seeing is AI can interview, it can certainly search and match, it can actually do interviews and it allows our recruiters to spend the time really on the higher order work,” Marcus said.

MSPs

• “I’ve heard MSP is going away, [but] we’ve seen a rise in MSPs — and I will just say publicly, thank God, because our programs are so much more efficient and better run, frankly,” Leeby said.

A full recording of the panel is available to attendees of the Collaboration in the Gig Economy conference.