Labor markets across the world are witnessing a massive shift. Rather than individuals choosing to be married to their work and dedicating their entire life to the same organization until retirement, we see individuals opt for shorter commitments. You must be wondering what the objective of this narrative might be? All we are suggesting is that you hedge your company’s bets with contingent staffing.
The need for flexibility on both the employer and employee side is bound to have an impact on the human resource architecture of companies.
Contingent staffing is fast emerging as a preferred recruitment choice. Contingent workers may include contractors, freelancers, independent consultants, on-call workers, or workers in any other type of alternative work arrangements. In this recruitment method, employees are recruited in an organization on a part-time basis for a short period of time. This method may not promise job security, but employees may get paid very well to supplement the organization’s workforce.
Benefits of Contingent Staffing
Contingent Staffing comes with its benefits and advantages that have made it a popular and preferred choice by organizations. These employees are a significant cost-saving factor for the organization as companies can stop worrying about employee benefits and just appoint them for a specific period. Here are the gains from this strategy that have made it so popular in the current times:
1. Right Skills, Right Time
A critical challenge for most companies is acquiring industry experts equipped with the requisite skill sets. These industry experts become your first choice with contingent staffing and not just another unattainable alternative is hidden under a pile of records. Instead of exorbitantly investing in training individuals in-house to be the best, contingent staffing empowers you to bridge skill shortage by handing you the best on a silver platter. All you need to do as a company is shift focus from prioritizing full-time employment to onboarding your ‘ideal employee’ on a contractual project-by-project basis.
2. Increased Flexibility
Flexibility plays a crucial role in determining a company’s ability to adapt and dynamically respond to changing market environments and their associated demands. Shorter commitments come with fewer obligations than commitments with full-time employees, where the risk of foreseeable instability is exceptionally high. Contingent staffing offers you the perfect opportunity to routinely assess your organizational needs and incorporate necessary amendments without the fear of hindering stability or integrity. With Contingent staffing, you can adapt your workforce to the ever-changing internal and external circumstances.
3. Cost-Effective
Since contingent staffing can be procured at short notice, you can engage with top performers for project-based transformations. Arguably, contingent staffing might work with higher salaries, but other legal issues such as onboarding, training, medical benefits, vacation compensation, and sick leave are nullified.
Contingent staffing provides financial benefits to the companies as well. The contingent employees do not get employee benefits, and so the employers can save on taxes. According to surveys, choosing contingent workers instead of a full-time employee saves organizations almost 30% in benefit costs alone.
4. A Breath of Fresh Air
An identifiable marker of torpor for most companies is failing to identify novel paths for development often stemming from a static, passive workforce, lacking creativity and ambition, and confined to an “inside the box thinking.” Undoubtedly, an internal workforce is paramount to the success of any company’s business. But sometimes, an outsider’s perspective is a silver lining. Instead of being in a state of inertia, engaging with contingent staffing helps you maintain momentum and stay challenged. It has the potential to keep you motivated, enabling you to maintain a competitive edge by continually learning the tricks of the trade. This guarantees exposure to new systems, thought processes, personality styles, and leadership capabilities for your company.
5. Try till you succeed
Contingent staffing allows you to be more adventurous without being tied down by the promise of long-term commitments. You will be in a position to go all-in and meet significant challenges, new market demands and address customer expectations without fear of the consequences. Between the questions of playing safe with no risk and playing risk with safety, contingent staffing allows you to explore the latter. You get to choose employees who align with your company’s goals and culture and support you in your leap of faith.
6. No need for training
Contingent workers are known to be highly specialized in their field of activity, eliminating any need to train them specifically. Organizations may need these specialized workers whenever a specific requirement arises for particular projects. They can utilize contingent staffing opportunities rather than spending money on training people in-house.
Additionally, contingent workers are more experienced as they have been working in their field of activity for several years. This means that organizations don’t need to train them extensively to get started. They can autonomously handle a project and can deliver results without much intervention.
Conclusion
Organizations can employ contingent workforce management in their HR cycle. This will help them create an engaging employee experience and at the same time lead to enhanced performance and improved business outcomes. Contingent staffing is all set to become more popular in the years to come. All in all, if you want to achieve growth, rapid scalability, and cost-effective key business goals, strategically boosting your contingent staffing is a step in the right direction. With contingent staffing, a return on investment is guaranteed.
