Shifts in corporate supply and demand as a result of the global health event, and the halt of business travel have led to an increase in contingent workers for many companies. Independent workers give businesses more flexibility to staff up and down as the market environment changes, and to access the precise skills, expertise, and experience where and when they need it.
Know more: what does contingent mean?
The need for the resiliency and flexibility that contingent workers provide is only increasing. There is still much uncertainty around the pace and stability of re-opening in this new normal. Companies that plan to "level up" and grow their contingent workforce as the economy re-opens can benefit from taking the following steps:
Concentrate Contingent Workforce Management
I was working with the senior management team of a Fortune 1000 company to implement better management practices for their independent workers. One problem they had was the "rogue" hiring of contingent workers across the company. Individual managers were hiring independent contractors for projects and tasks that fell within the budget limits they could manage without additional oversight. As a result, the senior management team had no visibility – and no way to manage, track, or control – the number of independent workers, or how much the company was spending on them.
A better approach is to concentrate oversight and management of contingent workers within your talent group. Creating a "one stop shop" for managers to access preferred workers, standard contracts and onboarding materials, and process invoices and payments makes it more efficient for hiring managers to bring on and manage contingent workers. It also allows the company to exercise control over cost and quality as well as how and where they are being deployed.what does contingent mean?