Fractional talent can help businesses improve diversity, sustainability and governance
From SeasonedPros.ca Content Lab
As the world and economy change, a new crop of job specialties is emerging on the landscape of business.
These specialties are captured by acronyms like DEI, ESG and CSR. These jobs focus on things like diversity, environmental sustainability, governance and community partnerships.
These are movement-driven jobs that reflect changing social values and demands from customers.
They are jobs in demand as businesses face talent shortages and pressure to adopt sustainability policies, diversity and improved governance models.
Fractional talent
Because these specialties are new, many businesses do not have the internal talent with the knowledge and experience to tackle the challenges. Some don’t have the resources to hire one of these specialties full-time.
As a result, many are turning to the outside talent market to source fractional specialists to develop and implement policies in these areas.
These job specialties are highly-focused and project-based. This is perfect for contract workers who work on an interim or part-time basis.
Here are 3 new job specialties in demand:
- Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) – It is no secret that companies are facing talent shortages, from executive leadership all the way through the organization to administration, skilled trades and unskilled roles. They are beginning to tap immigrants and Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) to fill roles. Racial justice movements like Black Lives Matter have also motivated companies to pay attention to DEI as employees and customers demand more diversity. DEI specialists can help an organization navigate the cultural shifts necessary to prepare for these changes. They create policies and plans to help the business achieve its goals to be more diverse.
- Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) – This is a company’s commitment to environmental sustainability and ethical performance. With the devastating impacts of climate change and warnings from scientists of worse to come, customers are demanding more attention to carbon footprints, energy efficiency, pollution control and the protection of natural resources. Companies are now being evaluated and scored for ESC by investors and capital markets. High-profile governance failures have resulted in lawsuits and bankruptcy. ESG is complicated and implementation requires fundamental shifts in the way business is done. Specialists with knowledge and experience are necessary to navigate these challenges.
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – Increasingly customers want to do business with brands that reflect contemporary social and moral values. They want organizations to be community partners who take responsibility for improving the social environment through philanthropy. This requires financial commitments that extend beyond the bottom line and shareholder return. Management of brand reputation is a key factor. CSR specialists understand these factors and help create and implement policies to this end.
These specialties are no longer “nice to haves.” They are “must-haves.”
If done properly they can build a brand’s reputation and create value for an organization. Finding the right talent to execute on these challenges will earn customer loyalty, attract and retain talent and improve the bottom line.
SeasonedPros.ca is an on-demand executive recruiter. Clients with an immediate need for experienced talent trust us to source professionals for project, interim and part-time roles. Each professional in our national database has 20 + years of business experience. We provide our clients 2-4 four vetted professionals in 10 business days or less.