Talent Marketplace

In many organizations, the easiest way to get a new job is to leave. Internal opportunities are hard to find, managers hold on to their best people and employees do not know which teams need their skills. Meanwhile, the same organization pays recruiters to find outside candidates for roles that current employees could fill. A talent marketplace addresses this mismatch. It is an internal platform where open roles, short projects, gigs and mentoring opportunities are posted, and where employees can create skills profiles and get matched to opportunities that fit them.

Talent marketplaces have grown rapidly since the late 2010s, supported by AI-driven matching in platforms from vendors such as Gloat, Fuel50 and Eightfold, as well as modules in major HR systems. Organizations use them to improve internal mobility, staff projects quickly, retain people who want to grow and deploy skills where they are most needed. For HR leaders, managers, workforce planners and employees, a talent marketplace makes the internal labor market visible and easier to use.

Definition of Talent Marketplace

A talent marketplace is a technology-enabled internal system that uses skills profiles and matching algorithms to connect employees with full-time roles, part-time projects, short assignments, mentoring and learning, allowing work and people to be matched across organizational boundaries.

It puts the principles of a skills-based organization into practice, relies on a skills taxonomy for matching and can include contingent workforce options alongside employees.

What a Talent Marketplace Offers

Open roles. Full-time internal positions that employees can discover and apply for.

Projects and gigs. Short-term or part-time assignments that let people contribute to other teams while keeping their current role.

Mentoring. Connections with mentors who have skills or experience employees want to build.

Learning recommendations. Suggested courses and experiences based on skills gaps for roles people are interested in.

Skills profiles. Employee profiles listing skills, interests and career goals, which drive matching. Some marketplaces also include contingent workers and alumni, giving managers a wider pool for short-term needs.

How Matching Works

Employees build profiles from their job history, skills and interests, often with suggestions inferred by the platform.

Managers post opportunities with the skills required, time commitment and duration. Opportunities can be open to everyone or targeted to people with specific skills or in certain locations.

The platform recommends opportunities to employees and candidates to managers based on skills fit and interests.

Both sides can then connect, with manager approval rules governing how much time people can spend on projects outside their main role. Many organizations allow employees to spend around 10% to 20% of their time on marketplace projects, with their manager's agreement.

Importance of Talent Marketplaces in Workforce and Operations

Talent marketplaces improve internal mobility. Employees can see and move into opportunities that would otherwise be filled externally.

They increase agility. Projects can be staffed quickly with people who have the right skills, wherever they sit in the organization.

They also support retention and development. People who can grow internally through new roles and projects are less likely to leave. They give leaders better data on skills supply and demand, showing which skills are most requested and which are scarce.

Talent Marketplaces and Financial Management

Filling roles internally reduces recruiting costs and often shortens time to productivity, since internal hires already know the organization.

Using internal talent for projects can reduce spending on contractors and consultants.

Lower attrition among people who move internally reduces replacement costs. Faster staffing of projects can also speed up delivery of revenue-generating or cost-saving initiatives.

Organizations should track hours of project work completed internally, internal fill rates and savings to measure the return on the platform.

Common Challenges

Managers may block employees from taking on projects or moving to other teams, limiting participation. Some managers fear losing their best people and the time needed to backfill them.

Profiles may be incomplete or out of date, reducing matching quality. Employees may also hesitate to apply if they worry their current manager will see it as disloyalty.

Without enough posted opportunities, employees lose interest in the platform.

Rules on time allocation, performance reviews and pay for project work are often unclear. Matching algorithms can reflect biases in historical data unless they are monitored and adjusted.