Outsized launches Virtual Bench for future-ready talent deployment
The innovative Virtual Bench tool revolutionises workforce planning, enabling companies to anticipate and seamlessly meet future talent needs with precision and speed
July 2024 – Sherpa Communications has supported Outsized, the leading on-demand talent platform in the Middle East, in announcing the launch of its Virtual Bench product. Organisations often grapple with the complexities of access to skills, particularly in anticipating project needs and rapid talent deployment. In 2023, about 1 in 5 global financial services firms achieved less than half of their project goals, largely (40%) due to a lack of skilled talent, which has become increasingly evident over the last three years. Addressing this challenge, Outsized, the leading on-demand talent platform in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Australia has announced the launch of its Virtual Bench product.
With the rise of hybrid workforces and the growing number of highly skilled independent professionals, Virtual Bench aims to revolutionise how companies approach and manage their talent resources. Through it, employers have an always-on access to the skills areas they need, without the fixed costs associated with a corresponding pool of employees.
A pioneering initiative in its regions, the Virtual Bench allows consulting firms and businesses to easily create, request, and share pools of pre-vetted, high-quality, enterprise-grade on-demand, independent talent. Virtual Bench aligns skills with specific project needs, ensuring the expertise matches and ultimately optimising hiring budgets. It simplifies decision-making by evaluating talent based on their skills and experiences. By encouraging bench members to continuously update and enhance their skill sets, it ensures a workforce that’s future-ready, competitive, and in tune with evolving industry trends. This approach aids businesses in staying flexible and responsive to changing market dynamics. Outsized, keeps the bench engaged, ensuring that there are always enough professionals available with the skill in demand.
The Virtual Bench model’s flexibility allows project leaders to curate capabilities that perfectly fit any capacity gaps in their projects, ensuring well-aligned teams that deliver superior results, leading to project extensions and more work. This agile model supports strategic workforce planning in a dynamic business environment, combining permanent workers and independent talent.
Virtual Bench is prevalent not only in consulting firms but has also been effectively applied in various enterprises to meet fluctuating demands the rise of virtual benches marks a significant departure from the traditional staffing model. They offer a solution that aligns closely with organisational needs, providing curated, always-on capabilities with low fixed costs, and strategic adaptability in a rapidly changing business landscape. Firms can build increasingly diverse and broader pools of talent and build out their bench as an enterprise.
As Outsized continues to lead the way in enabling the on-demand talent market to thrive, Virtual Bench is set to become a cornerstone of the strategic workforce for forward-looking organisations.
