The tightness around the labor market is easing slightly, the growth in the number of self-employed workers is declining, the number of responses to assignments is rising slightly again, and rates of interim workers are rising less rapidly than wages.

These are relevant and interesting figures, but it does not mean that the labor market is turning around. The shortage remains, the situation remains that workers have the choice. So employers will not be able to sit still, according to Simone Groeneveld (HeadFirst Group) and Geert-Jan Waasdorp (Intelligence Group) in an episode of ZiPtalk on the occasion of the tenth Talent Monitor that both companies publish every quarter.

Waasdorp speaks of a "normalization" of labor market. "All data points are at the historical, highest or lowest level. Take, for example, the number of responses to an assignment. That was at the lowest point ever measured. Now there are some more responses again." Still, tightness remains, according to Waasdorp: "We are going from an extremely tight market to a very tight market."

Groeneveld does see important differences in sector. "In the corner of energy transition, of course, an awful lot is happening. There the demand for talent is enormous. And that will only increase in the coming years." In governments, demand is decreasing somewhat. In healthcare, she sees organizations struggling to balance 'permanent and flex' more.

Total talent

That also brings the conversation right to the different forms of work and contract types. The tight labor market is forcing employers to look beyond traditional permanent jobs. Now that the very sharpest edges of the shortage are off, employers may be able to regain a little more control.

Waasdorp and Groeneveld do think it is a must to develop a "total talent strategy. Waasdorp: "An integral, holistic view of organizing human resources, I still see much, much too little of that." The extreme shortage meant that recruiters (permanent) and hiring (flex) did have to work together. Waasdorp does not hope that the slightly decreasing tightness will cause everyone to go back to "their own island."

• Also read: Talent Intelligence, a new profession within recruitment?

Data

No strategy without understanding data. Both agreed on that as well. In practice, Groeneveld sees a number of organizations taking steps to have an integrated view of their "talent intelligence.

According to Waasdorp, it can be done. There is more than enough data. But you have to work with it. He advises making someone in the organization responsible for that talent intelligence who does not come from the 'silos' of HR or hiring, but is just outside them. And who understands data analysis.

Listen or watch

Listen/view the episode of ZiPtalk for more tips on 'talent data' and how to use it for a total talent strategy. And catch this week's news as well: