best practices

Aligning Talent Acquisition and Procurement for Direct Sourcing Success

Building Direct Sourcing Programs Through Cross-Functional Partnership

To be truly successful, Direct Sourcing requires a cross-organizational steering committee and collaboration across various teams, including Talent Acquisition (TA), Procurement, Compliance, and IT. Your Direct Sourcing partner should facilitate input from all parties to design an agile, scalable program aligned with business needs.

combining TA & procurement expertise strengthens contingent workforce programs

A successful Direct Sourcing program relies on collaboration between TA and Procurement to create an efficient and strategic extended workforce. While it’s less common for TA and Procurement to partner on many projects, Direct Sourcing presents a valuable opportunity for both teams to leverage organizational knowledge and subject-matter expertise. A hybrid ownership model, where Talent Acquisition and Procurement share responsibility, yields optimal results for Direct Sourcing programs. Together, these teams can develop a balanced and strategic approach to talent management.

Each function brings distinct expertise that, when combined, creates a solid foundation for a Direct Sourcing program.

talent Acquisition

– Talent attraction strategies through brand collaboration– Employer branding and candidate engagement– Workforce planning and strategic alignment 

Procurement

– Cost control and budget optimization– Risk mitigation and compliance oversight– Vendor and contract management 

While Procurement typically manages the contractual, financial, and compliance aspects of the program, TA focuses on workforce quality, candidate experience, and broader talent strategy.

Building on this distinction in responsibilities, the most successful programs often place Direct Sourcing under TA’s leadership, enabling a more holistic approach to organizational talent management. TA’s close integration with overall workforce strategies ensures seamless alignment. At the same time, Procurement maintains best practices across key vendor relationships supporting Direct Sourcing, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Vendor Management Systems (VMS), and Direct Sourcing technologies. Procurement’s contract oversight and process management expertise enables smooth program design, deployment, and scaling.

For Direct Sourcing programs to achieve lasting success, these two functions must operate in tandem.

Defining Success Together

TA and Procurement play a central role in driving process optimization. The following focus areas can help both teams partner effectively and build a strong foundation for success:

– Align on Talent Seed Populations: Ensure Direct Sourcing partner has access to existing talent pools.

– Set KPIs and SLAs: Establish shared goals and accountability.

– Evaluate Staffing Providers, Labor Categories, and Requisitions: Review provider similarities and differences, and assess which labor categories and requisitions are best aligned with traditional supplier sourcing versus those better suited for Direct Sourcing.

Effective Change Management

With a solid framework in place, TA and Procurement can lead meaningful change by reinforcing alignment and enabling strategic decision-making. Key elements to keep in mind during this process include:

– Ensure Consistent Communication: Deliver unified messaging to stakeholders and MSP provider(s) to maintain understanding and reinforce incentives.

– Prioritize the TA and Procurement Partnership: Trust and collaboration are essential to support faster, more informed decisions.

– Involve Hiring Managers Early: Secure buy-in from managers to encourage timely and informed decisions, including leveraging referrals and engaging silver medalist candidates already in the pipeline.

Atrium Can Help

Direct Sourcing: Position Your Brand to Win with Talent

Atrium is one of the only globally scalable, WBENC-certified workforce solution firms in the world. Offering one of the industry’s most mature and innovative Direct Sourcing solutions in the extended workforce market, our consultative, tech-enabled programs blend top-tier talent curation, engagement, and segmentation services.

This approach creates a true, total talent ecosystem focused on Talent Experience and powered by robust pipelines and algorithms. Through novel design methodology and concierge customer service, we enable you to leverage a previously untapped talent pool to meet your immediate labor demands, fill niche positions, and maximize recruiting dollars.

Direct Sourcing by Atrium Offers:

– Industry-leading application and fulfillment rates from a private, custom Talent Community

– Higher-quality candidate placement

– Faster time-to-fill

– Increased cost savings

– Impressive conversion rates & value-add Talent Community growth

– High-touch, technology-enabled service

– Tier-0 Approach

“Atrium is a pioneer and market leader in the direct sourcing solutions market, with capabilities that lean into company brand power, diversity, and organic talent community growth; the provider’s direct sourcing programs push ‘cultivation,’ managed direct sourcing, and ‘curation-as-a-service’ capabilities that enable deep talent channels and on-demand talent acquisition.”

Ardent Partners 2024 MSP Solution Advisor Report

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​*The information provided on this best practices sheet does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available here are for general informational purposes only.

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