Impact sourcing is revolutionizing recruitment by diverging significantly from traditional methods. This approach plays a crucial role in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), offering employment opportunities to individuals from disadvantaged communities while providing companies with high-quality customer service. By accessing untapped talent pools, companies can enhance workplace diversity and social responsibility.
According to Lizelle Strydom, Managing Director at CareerBox Africa, unlike traditional recruitment, which often prioritizes formal qualifications, impact sourcing emphasizes diversity, fresh perspectives, and the candidate’s background, personal growth, and resilience. This method extends beyond conventional channels by partnering with community organizations, refugee support networks, and educational institutions.
Impact sourcing transcends social good, demonstrating tangible business value through competitive performance. BPO service providers must deliver high-quality services at attractive rates, and integrating impact sourcing into their strategies often results in a loyal workforce dedicated to positive brand outcomes. For many individuals recruited through impact sourcing, an entry-level BPO position represents their first formal job opportunity, significantly impacting their income and their families’ well-being. This strong desire to work leads to higher retention rates, competitive performance, and various positive social and financial outcomes.
The Challenge of Measuring ESG Impact
Despite its benefits, measuring the social and economic impact of impact sourcing can be complex. Developing clear, quantifiable metrics to evaluate the success of these initiatives is challenging, making it difficult to justify ongoing programs. However, with a strategic approach, businesses can harness the full potential of impact sourcing and positively influence consumer perceptions of their brand. The diversity brought about by impact sourcing offers a business upside that extends beyond ESG reporting.
Building a Skilled Workforce
In a competitive market, skills are invaluable. By creating jobs in communities or emerging markets with scarce employment opportunities, organizations can build skilled workforces for the future. Engaging in labor wars is costly and detrimental, whereas meaningful impact sourcing, combined with support structures, training, and skills development, ensures employee retention and the growth of a diverse, performance-focused labor pool.
Workplace readiness programs are crucial in the impact sourcing process, providing not only technical and digital skills but also the soft skills necessary for equal competition. The CareerBox work readiness program exemplifies this, with more than 80% of recruits being promoted after their initial placement.
Finding the Right Partners
Many individuals entering impact sourcing have lacked opportunities for further education. In regions like Africa, secondary education may not provide all the necessary skills to thrive in the workplace. Thus, placing individuals in positions is insufficient; there must be a focus on providing workplace skills for success. Workplace readiness programs, offering technical, digital, and soft skills such as emotional intelligence, social skills, and communication, are essential.
Choosing the right partner for an impact sourcing program is critical for long-term success. Moving beyond the perception of impact sourcing as merely an ESG tool or philanthropic exercise, there is a solid business rationale for investing in impact sourcing, which can deliver value for many years.
Overall, impact sourcing not only helps companies achieve their business objectives but also contributes to positive social change, creating a win-win situation for businesses and communities alike.
Main Image: AIHR