For most organizations, human capital is often considered one of their biggest assets. With the rise of gig economy however, companies have been adopting a more flexible and fluid model and have begun to depend more on contingent workers and independent consultants. Now a functional dilemma arises before hiring this contingent workforce - considering the need is for a temporary resource, should it fall under procurement or does the human element make it the responsibility of the HR department?

Since the end of the 2001 recession, hiring contingent talent like freelancers, contract workers and consultants working under temporary agreements, has become an effective strategy for employers, especially during a period of sluggish recovery. Procurement is involved in obtaining quality goods and services for the company. It is the entity authorized to issue contracts, invitations to bid, requests for proposal and quotations in order to procure a certain commodity or service. It also specializes in contracting across the supply chain, managing vendor profiles by selecting them and then undertaking regular and frequent reviews using detailed evaluation methods. Companies usually invest in procurement to modernize the source-to-settle process. However, often the problem is that procurement has very little experience in managing and recruiting ‘people’ and tracking their activities, while HR is historically known to do this job more efficiently, utilizing tools designed for people management. HR professionals are responsible for hiring and administration of the overall workforce. There is a need for unidirectional efforts from both departments in order to make the entire contingent process more successful.

Collaborating and Creating Value

Creating value with temporary staffing is not as easy since it requires an effort in bringing both the Procurement & HR teams together to collaborate. The teams must set up a strong working relationship built with a foundation of mutual understanding that respects one another's capabilities. Procurement and HR teams must interact with one another without one trying to dominate the other. Procurement should understand the requirements of HR, directing them towards temp-to-permanent employee hires or may even support them through strategically sourcing staff members; while, the HR team should learn from procurement on how to properly manage, suppliers, vendors and market intelligence when it comes to temp resources.

An iCIMS study shows that temporary workers significantly contribute to the productivity of the company as they can provide a quick fix for sudden turnover, long-term leaves, and special projects. With the ever-changing business scenario, a flexible working approach may further boost the efficiency of temporary employees; however, it brings with itself more challenges for those concerned with the management of contingent staff, as companies move towards non-traditional styles of working.

Companies should build a collaborative team that is responsive and utilizes the best of what both departments have to offer. It should make sure that both procurement and HR teams are involved in setting parameters and processes which are beneficial for the company. Let them do what they do best, Procurement Team should handle the management of the Staffing vendors and MSPs, while HR team could assist with developing strong and productive relationships with the Contingent staff, utilizing Contingent Workforce Management (CWM) and other tools that are at their disposal. Clear division of responsibilities will ensure that the relationship with staffing vendors and the contingent staff is managed in a productive and workable way, adding value to the firm and enabling smooth running of its operations.

It is always a struggle to find that right contingent talent to join your team. Are you worried whether he/she would be a right fit? Would the employee leave before the contract ends or when something more permanent comes up? You are constantly worried that whether he would take his role seriously or not.

Looking for temporary staff who are committed, passionate and diligent can be a cumbersome task for any business, particularly in those busy seasons with peak demand and workload. Well, there are many ways that can help you scout the best talent you need and to keep them around. Adding a trustworthy and hardworking temp staff could add value to your business.

Identify What You Are Looking for & Make It Clear to Your Resources

Considering the fact that the temporary worker will possibly be engaged only for a short period of time on the project, there is a need for clear job requirements and pre-defined project deliverables. Finding great temporary talent is much more than just finding someone who can stick to the time frame. It is about finding someone who can contribute positively to your company. You should have a clear Idea of what skills your ideal temp talent must have and what needs to be accomplished within the timeframe given. Also, it is important that the temporary talent also understand what your expectation of them is. They need to know what that job is exactly and how much time they have, vague descriptions could be counterproductive and can lead to low productivity and ‘I didn’t sign up for this” attitude. Good candidates will be confident that they can do the job within the timeframe provided.

How well do they understand your business?

A candidate who is really interested in the project or the profile will, perhaps, do some research on it. It may be difficult for businesses that might not have enough information out there for the candidates. However, you should still be able to identify whether an applicant is indeed interested in the role/position.

While hiring the temporary talent you usually spend less time and resource on additional onboarding and training, similar to hiring a permanent employee. Finding the right talent depends on identifying individuals that have specific skills that enable them to quickly transition into their new roles and provide immediate assistance with little or no training. You have to make sure they have the skills and expertise that the job requires and the ability to quickly fit in and be productive in the team.

Do they have a passion for the industry?

How do you make sure that you are attracting the right people for temporary positions? One way is hosting your job advertisement on industry-specific portals, that will attract people with who have a genuine interest in the field. It is important that you discover someone with enthusiasm. Your candidate can be attracted to these temporary roles in order to grow in the respective field and you could be providing them with the perfect opportunity to grow. Pick up on verbal cues

An obvious warning sign of a candidate that isn't a right fit is a change in the willingness and confidence during the initial weeks on the job. You need to pay attention to the verbal cues that indicate whether they have started to feel that they have made a wrong decision.

Work with a Staffing Company

The process of finding the most suitable temporary candidate can get overwhelming at times. Staffing firms specializing in temporary contracts are one of the best solutions available for companies that are looking to hire temporary workers. Out of many advantages of working with a staffing firm, the most crucial is that they actively seek out the best candidates, pre-screen everyone who registers with them, and give access to the very best temporary talent available in the market. The best temporary workers are those who can bounce into the position quickly and ensure that the project is done in a timely manner. High turnover amongst temporary workers can slow down the process and add on to the amount of administrative work you will have to do—the exact opposite of what you need.

So, what we can do to make them stay?

It is important you keep your temporary talent engaged and motivated, to ensure overall productivity. There are several ways to motivate temporary employees to be more efficient on the job:

Treat them like you would treat any other employee

Keeping their short-term affiliation aside, they should be treated with the same degree of welcome and acceptance as any other employee joining the team. Introduce them to their new colleagues, orient them show them around, make them feel welcomed.

Make them a part of the team

Try to make them feel like they are a part of the team, whenever you can, include them in meetings and ongoing activities of the company without divulging sensitive or confidential information; encourage co-workers to socialize with them, invite them to office celebrations and events.

Provide reviews and feedback

Ignoring the fact that they are here for a short-term, you should provide them with honest feedback and performance review. Provide them with an open and honest assessment of how effectively they are completing tasks and ways to improve their performance; give positive and constructive feedback with about their performance and make sure you recognize any extra efforts were taken and outstanding achievements they have had.

An opportunity of converting to a full-time role

Various American companies use temporary staffing as a tool to find great talent and eventually bring them onboard in a full-time capacity. Benefits and perks of a good full-time role is a motivational factor that interests many temp workers encouraging them to perform better. Do not make promises you can’t keep, but whenever possible, give them an idea of what additional opportunities you can provide them with.

Temporary staff are a quintessential part of the American workplace fiber, they help pick up slack during peak times, cover for someone on leave, or provide expertise on projects and assignments. If you make an effort to maintain a positive relationship, they will appreciate and speak highly of your firm wherever they go and be willing to come back for future mutually beneficial opportunities.

May it be a single consultant or an entire team, we will find the perfect match to help meet your business goals.

Why work with vTech Solution?

We are committed in becoming your valued partner for all your workforce needs.

“Boomer” is a term used for a person who was born between 1946-1964 , i.e., at the end of World War II. They will be the first generation to truly gleam the trail through the landscape of retirement in the 21^st century.

“Gen X” is a term used for the generation of people born between the mid-1960s and the early-1980s. It is referred to as an "in-between" generation.

“Millennials” belong to the generation following Gen X, and were born between the early 1980’s to the mid-1990’s. They are the graduating class of early 2000s.

Boomers are often considered intellectual and work centric, Gen Xers are considered independent, self-sufficient and give greater emphasis to work-life balance, whereas, Millennials are considered tech-savvy and achievement-oriented. Each generation brings something different to the table, and they all expect something different in return. Boomers are believed to be driven with self-actualization and decent compensation needs; Gen Xers want flexibility and Millennials crave positive reinforcement from the management and to feel that their work actually matters. By understanding these diverse psychological needs we can create an all-inclusive employee strategy that works for all generations. Identifying how to appeal to each generation’s communication modes and preferences during talent recruitment can contribute to a more a fluid process and a meaningful outcome.

While Hiring Baby Boomers

Experience is one of the most important reasons for hiring Baby Boomers in the industry. Considering boomer were inducted to workforce in a different era and their early-career communications were often handled telephonically or in-person; they might not be the most tech-savvy group overall. However, they do have quite a few years of experience and acquired wisdom that a younger recruit simply cannot replace. They have seen ups and downs and survived the storms. They have worked hard, paid their dues and are known to be loyal and flexible individuals, who are willing to give their everything to an organization.

While appealing to Boomers, one must ensure that the message is conveyed with respect for their legacy, how significant the brand is and how they can seek more control of their work life and ways to secure their future.

While Hiring Gen Xers

The Gen X group has a solid footing in the technological and non-technological world, they have the best of both worlds. They began their career at the same time digital technology started to become prominent. For this generation, LinkedIn and email are often the preferred channels to communicate over Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter. Gen X understands and appreciates technology as a convenience that makes life better. They are likely the most independent people in any workplace but perhaps, aren’t the most loyal. They are believed to be the first ones to move if the job isn’t right. Instead of incentives such as, financial perks & job security that Boomers might respond to, Gen X needs to know that there is room for growth. They are, to some extent willing to learn and adapt to new technologies and work processes.

To appeal to Gen X, the message should clearly convey that the organization recognizes their value and understands how to incorporate it into their day-to-day productivity and growth, and how the organization values work-life balance.

While Hiring Millennials

Millennials are the first generation to be raised during the dawn of digital age. For them, it’s hard to imagine what life might have been without Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and text messages. Infact, they were the first to be called out on their vigorous attention to texting and Facebook selfies and generally prefer digital communication over face-to-face interactions. Millennials are experts in balancing multiple responsibilities at once. They also expect a more flexible work environment than the previous generations and want to be at an organization that appreciates their work and gives them real-time feedback.

‘Working hard’ to both Boomers and Gen X means staying focused on the vision regardless of the working hours, even if that means having to sacrifice their personal lives. On the other hand, many millennials value their personal freedom, social contribution and flexibility over salary, vying for top job spots and being first to the finish line, which in a way has led them to different definitions of success than their predecessors.

In order to appeal to millennials, it is important to ensure them that there will be regular communication and they will be provided with proper mentoring and support to grow their career.

The most important element in the hiring process is sourcing effectively. If you can’t find the right candidates and if they can’t find you, you are stuck with the same ratio of applicants to qualified hires. It is the company’s responsibility to create a culture that appeals to individual generational needs when hiring, whether it be methods of managing and development or measuring individual performance.

Today, ‘soft skills’ and ‘recognition’ in the workplace are weighted more than ever before. To attract cross-generational candidates, the company should have an employee-centric environment that respects and encourages cross-generational structures for mutual success and growth.

Whenever a new technology emerges, it becomes easy to see what jobs it might replace. The challenge may be to envision what kind of new jobs may be born in the future. A decade ago, artists used to work with copywriters in order to prepare advertisements, but today with the help of computer-aided graphics the same is done by graphic designers, which took the scope of print media and creativity to new heights. The idea is that when we pass off some of our workload to machines, it broadens the scope of what was possible. We come up with new ideas, new innovations, and new kinds of work. In fact, many industries that are around today, like electronics, health, medicine, finance, and insurance, barely existed or did not exist at all a century ago. By that notion, it is never wrong to think of upgrading one’s skills with time. A report titled “Towards a Reskilling Revolution: A Future of Jobs for All” was released on Monday, 22 January 2018 at the World Economic Forum’s 48th annual meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The conference was attended by more than 3,000 global leaders and industry experts. The report signifies a strong emphasis on job disruption and reskilling, it analyzed more than thousand job types that are in the crossfire of technology and pave the way to a major job disruption. According to the report, 1.4 million US jobs will be disrupted by the year 2026, due to technology and other factors, out of which 57% jobs will be women-oriented. However, the research also suggests that 95% of workers conjugated to the risk, would find quality jobs with higher pay if they have enough reskilling.

It is perceived that only 2% of workers would have a better opportunity to transition to new jobs whereas 16% would have no opportunities at all. However, at-risk workers who retrain for an average of two years could earn an annual salary increase of $15,000.The change is real and anxiety justified, however, new technologies often open up new frontiers of jobs that did not exist before. Imagine trying to explain what an ‘app developer’ does for someone in the 1960s. Focusing on machines that will replace jobs do not speak to how they might actually strengthen them. For example, when ATMs started rolling out in the '70s, they threatened to make human bank tellers extinct, however, banks quickly found that ATMs made it cheaper to open new branches, and the result was more branches and more tellers than ever. Since the arrival of ATMs, the number of bank tellers has doubled. Why? Well, once bank tellers were freed up from dispensing cash, they started forging relationships with customers, solving problems, and introducing them to new products like loans and investments. The net effect was that bank tellers became more valuable to banking.

What about the future?

Automation is accelerating and spreading to more industries faster than we've ever seen before. Machines are increasingly replicating skills that we once thought were unique to humans. AI algorithms are trading in the stock market, recommending products to us, and guiding airplanes through the sky. Robots are being developed that someday might be cooking your meals, running warehouses, or performing surgery, all by themselves. So, is this time different? Luminaries like Elon Musk seem to think so. He has predicted that soon, robots will be able to do everything better than us. And Stephen Hawking has warned that artificial intelligence will replace humans completely. Lots of people seem to think it's only a matter of time before these ever-smarter machines make most of today's workers obsolete. So, should we be worried? Well, yes, it is, just like it was different after the printing press was invented or the assembly line or tractors or computers or any other invention was made that changed the world.

All of these new technologies transformed the way we work and adjusting to them wasn’t simple, inexpensive, or immediate. But if the past is any indication, this radical leap forward in technology is at least as likely to create jobs as it is to destroy them, even if these new jobs might sound as strange to us, as an app developer does to someone who's never seen a cell phone before.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum stated that the only limiting factor considered in the world of ‘opportunities for individuals’, is that the disposition of leaders in creating investments in the process of re-skilling people, that has a direct impact on bridging worker onto new jobs. The importance of this investment will be massive for businesses, as well as, for workers who may find a new purpose in their lives. People with transferable skills like collaboration and critical thinking abilities will have the most beneficial transition in this period. As President John F. Kennedy once quoted, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”