market shifts leaves companies in need of external solutions
Temporary workers, contractors, freelancers, consultants, interim managers... Often there are more people supporting your business than you think. Do you have them all in sight?
To increase flexibility, many companies rely on external, temporary employees. The group of flexible workers is growing not only in absolute numbers in the labor market but also as a percentage of the total workforce. Some studies claim up to 20% of the total workforce in large enterprises are temp. They have become a permanent feature, and that is a good thing because they provide labor flexibility to help companies remain competitive.
who is hiring?
But let 's be honest: hiring temporary workers can be complex. An in-house recruitment department or a master vendor program runs everything smoothly. But what about the freelancers, service workers, project workers, contractors, and consultants occasionally spotted in the workplace? These flex workers often are hired remotely. They enter through the front or the back door hired by HR, procurement, line managers, or senior management. To know who is working for you can be very unclear. Except for the doorman, who else has an overview?
grip on costs and quality
Mismanagement of temporary labor has many implications; the lack of transparency is not the only one. There is also the cost. Given their volume, flex workers represent significant costs – for which you have little control. Nor do you have a view of the worker quality. Who are they? What do they do? How many external professionals do I need to improve my operational efficiency in the first place? Do they work in accordance with legal requirements? What about security? How do I rate their performance? What is the appropriate compensation? What about compensation for overtime? And is this consistent with my internal policy?
Companies need to ask questions about the effect of hiring temporary workers and to look for ways to get a grip on costs and quality. Does this mean less flexibility for managers? On the contrary.
the solution: a managed services provider
Since flexibility and agility are key to establishing a competitive advantage, companies must find a way to manage the flexible workforce efficiently. A Managed Services Provider can deliver the right solution. This is a third party that manages and optimizes the entire hiring process of temporary professionals. The MSP maps jobs and suppliers, monitors the quality of the employed temporary workers and the budget, and realizes cost savings for the customer. This model is often supported by a Vendor Management System, which is a web application for managing temporary labor.
business impact
Like all other departments, HR and procurement are becoming more organized to maximize efficiency and productivity. The scarcity of qualified labor makes the need for reliable specialized partners even more urgent. In many companies, procurement and HR are working together to manage the suppliers of permanent and temporary professionals. But the line between permanent and flexible is blurring. That’s another reason why managing external professionals should be as important as managing permanent employees. Your legal department would also love having an MSP because it reduces the number of compliance issues and helps drive efficiency and cost reduction. The benefits of a well-managed MSP program can be vast: workforce flexibility and scalability of talent when you need it; increase of transparency offering increased compliance and reduction of risk; and last but not least: highly productive blended workforce of temporary, freelance and permanent talent.
