How Open Talent Platforms Win Enterprise Clients
Let’s keep it simple. The landscape has shifted—open talent platforms are no longer outliers; they are the norm. The potential of tapping into a global pool of innovation and expertise is immense, yet larger corporations approach it with caution. To attract enterprise clients, open talent platforms need to rethink their approach. Here are five steps platforms must take to become indispensable allies to the modern enterprise.
Offer Robust Compliance and Security In the intricate web of regulations and stakeholder expectations, compliance and security reign supreme for enterprises. To earn their trust, open talent platforms must fortify their systems to meet global standards, safeguarding data privacy and intellectual property while inviting comprehensive audits.
"Building the Torc community is a key part of our business model --- we are intentional about the countries we attract to engage talent and take into account cultural alignment, language, timezone, and of course academic and skill set strength. Many of our enterprise customers (particularly in regulated industries) have unique policies and procedures around compliance and security that Torc does its best to align with, which speeds the onboarding and integration of talent directly into their teams.”
Michael P. Morris, CEO and Co-founder, Torc
Seamlessly Integrate The backbone of agility lies in integration. Open platforms should harmonize seamlessly with existing enterprise systems, ensuring a frictionless connection via an API-first approach that speaks the language of the enterprise.
"There needs to be more adoption of these innovative tools and part of that is that the people who are providing solutions to reduce onboarding friction actually embracing compliance, as well as the technology that can make it happen.”
Jason Posel, CEO and Founder, Greenlight.ai
Champion Quality Assurance For enterprises, the quality of talent outweighs quantity. Open talent platforms need to sift their talent pool meticulously, possibly partnering with credentialing agencies, conducting thorough background checks, or introducing platform-specific certification processes.
"Spot on. To meet the expectations of enterprise leaders, it’s crucial for us to meticulously assess not just the hard skills that independent experts bring to the table, but also the soft skills they possess to seamlessly integrate into the company’s culture and processes.”
Vikram Ashok, CEO and Founder, Graphite
Craft Bespoke Solutions One-size-fits-all doesn't work in the realm of enterprise needs. Open platforms must offer bespoke solutions, tailoring recruitment strategies, payment structures, and talent development programs to match the specific demands of each enterprise.
"MBO’s platform is engineered for consistency, but allows for customization, enabling to align precisely with each enterprise's recruitment strategies, payment structures, and talent development needs."
Miles Everson, CEO, MBO Partners
Build a Story Around Collaboration Enterprises want to envision their journey with you, not just the destination. This isn’t just a service, it’s a partnership. Open talent platforms must highlight narratives of collaboration, co-innovation, and shared growth. Through success stories, case studies, and testimonials, they can offer concrete evidence of the partnership journey.
“Gone are the days of Enterprises looking for 'service providers' to remain competitive. Innovation, integration, and adaptation now require collaboration, shared success models, and most importantly, co-owned strategy and solutions. Additionally, transparency is critical when it comes to sharing data and co-managing outcomes. All of this needs to be implemented not only within leadership relationships but also at the team deployment level—something that Talent Clouds are rapidly becoming the market leader in providing as evidenced in their rapid adoption of Distributed here in the UK.”
Callum Adamson, Founder, Distributed
In the future of work, open talent platforms stand as bridges, ready to connect enterprises with a world of potential. Through a commitment to compliance, seamless integration, quality assurance, custom solutions, and an attitude of relentless collaboration and innovation–enterprises will come knocking.
John Winsor is a thought leader and global authority on open talent and the future of work. John's ideas, expressed through his writing and speaking, and the companies he has built, have placed him at the intersection of innovation, disruption, and storytelling. He is a leading entrepreneur and adviser in the open-talent space, having launched and sold several companies. John is currently an executive-in-residence at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) and the founder and Chair of Open Assembly, the world's first digital aggregation platform to help organizations reduce friction in the adoption of open talent and freelancing.
John’s new book, Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges is available for pre-order here.
To learn more about John’s speaking and advisory services visit johnwinsor.com