5 Ways to Drive Better Engagement Within Your Talent Marketplace

In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that an employee's average tenure in a job position was only 4.1 years. The Great Resignation has highlighted just how many employees need opportunities for growth and engagement at work.

This is why it's time for businesses to embrace talented marketplaces. These marketplaces are quickly becoming essential parts of an effective retention strategy, but it’s common for organizations to struggle with initial engagement numbers when they launch internal talent marketplaces.

Here are five ways to build engagement for your talent marketplace.

Cultivate a Culture of Learning

A McKinsey poll found that 43% of respondents believe that a substantial skills gap already exists in the workforce. What's more, 78% of leaders now believe that skill-building is integral to long-term growth.

As you build a talented marketplace, it's essential to also build a corporate culture that is primed to take advantage of it. If your workplace clearly values learning, sharing, and team growth, your people will be much more likely to explore all that your marketplace has to offer.

A talented marketplace allows employees to seize opportunities to grow and learn in their current role or decide to "level up" by upskilling to take on a new role within the company.

Make Sure Everything is Primed Before Launch

Remember that you only get one chance to make a lasting first impression. This means that if everything isn't smooth, intuitive, or enticing when users first log in, your retention rates plummet.

A talented marketplace should be simple and streamlined. There should be a clear path forward, and everything should be convenient to access and use. For example, with RIFGO, our marketplace is easily searchable, and clients can quickly showcase the most important aspects of what they have to offer.

Our referral process is also highly intuitive. Coach profiles are thorough, referral methods are clearly marked, and the rewards for successful referrals are easy to understand.

Don't be Afraid to Incentivize Early Participation

Some organizations think that offering incentives is disingenuous, but it's a fact of life that humans operate better when we have tangible rewards on the horizon. Establishing a talented marketplace is no different, except you need to create interest on both sides.

Your talent marketplace can only thrive if your team takes full advantage of it, so offering rewards like early registration bonuses and referral gifts will encourage better user engagement in the beginning.

Empower Your Entire Workforce for Internal Growth

Companies are often surprised by the depth of the talent pool they've already curated with current staff. People often have a broader skillset and more varied interests than companies realize, so an active talent marketplace can be the key to unlocking this potential and improving employee engagement.

With roughly 66% of U.S. workers now seeking to reevaluate their purpose at home and work, it's in your company's best interests to help your team find their purpose. Recent research by McKinsey noted that 70% of employees said their sense of purpose is defined by their work.

When building a talented marketplace, it's important to keep these needs in mind, especially in today's job economy. With RIFGO, we intentionally designed our platform to empower both coaches and customers for better engagement.

On the coaching side, we employ tools to give coaches maximum exposure and plenty of avenues for growth. On the client’s side, our platform allows for easy matching and quick access to resources, merchandise, and other incentives for personal development.

Remember that AI is on Your Side

No talented marketplace can truly be successful without plenty of data to support its growth and engagement. Research shows that it's easy for companies to reach profitability with a new talent marketplace, as long as the data is there to back it up.

An AI-driven talent marketplace also helps empower users and improve the employee experience as well. AI helps transform a talented marketplace from a dry, static job board to a dynamic, flexible, and interest-driven tool that employees can use to diversify their competencies.

A Strong Talent Marketplace Starts With You

BetterUp conducted a study that found job satisfaction and engagement dramatically increase when workers feel like their jobs are meaningful to their growth and development. The same survey found that empowerment and fulfillment directly correlated to a productivity increase of $9,000 annually per employee, which indicates the worth of a talent marketplace.

Investing resources into developing a solid talent marketplace will open up your organization's ability to facilitate reskilling, upskilling, mentorship, and coaching opportunities, all of which increase retention and engagement in the short- and long-term.

A dynamic talent marketplace can completely transform your company, and these five tips can help you get started on the path to success.