The Contingent Workforce; Focusing on Talent Has Never Been More Important
2023 brought about a renewed focus on flexibility and scalability of the workforce. When there are abrupt changes to the economy, businesses need to be able to react quickly in scaling up or pulling back their resources, talent included. As such, contingent workforce forms a key part of any organisation’s total workforce strategy. However, in our 2023 Kelly Global Re:work Report highlights less than half (46%) of organisations in Australia says they are effective in recruiting the contingent talent required to meet business objectives.
Increasingly, organisations are having difficulty getting the talent they need, and workloads has creeped to unmanageable levels. 45% of talent reports doing only what is contractually obliged of them and the knock-on effect of this is that organisation’s feel unable to achieve the full potential of the talent within their workforce; just half the executives (47%) in our global survey believe their workforce is resilient enough to meet ever-changing business demands. This lack of agility can drive reduced customer satisfaction.
But there is a way forward for organisations and workforce resilience is key. The Re:work Report identifies 12% of the firms surveyed as Workforce Resilience Leaders – organisations reporting much stronger business performance than their peers with increased productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
The success of these firms lies in their approach to managing their workforce, focusing on workforce agility, the capability of the workforce, and building a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Having the ability to scale the workforce rapidly alongside business needs and ensuring that the right mix of talent is available when and where it is needed has enabled them to buck the trends and thrive in a volatile market. A strong contingent workforce strategy and solutions that support the inclusion and engagement of all talent within the organisation are key to achieving workforce resilience.
Responding to future workforce trends.
Your contingent workforce is no longer simply a part of your talent mix – it’s increasingly essential to respond to the changes we live through. This means your business must find easier and more efficient ways to access contingent talent while increasing visibility across the whole of their workforce to leverage flexible resources smartly.
61% of Workforce Resilience Leaders have a fully developed strategy for contingent talent. By harnessing this talent and recognising it as an integral part of the workforce, they can rapidly scale their capabilities. Talent management platforms and technology are also an important part of the conversation when it comes to levelling up your contingent strategy, but it’s vital to find a technology and services provider that understands and complements your goals and can provide support.
Contingent hiring solutions have to be simpler and more streamlined.
When you think about an external solution to enhance your contingent workforce and hiring strategy, an MSP (managed service provider) program is probably the first thing on your mind. But how simple or difficult is it to put an MSP program in place? Will there be a complicated build, change management, and implementation process? How long will it take to realise the benefits and will the challenges you face today look completely different in the future?
This is a frustrating situation for many HR and procurement leaders. Around the world, leaders and service providers are exploring innovative ways to simplify access to great contingent talent and improve the tools that help organisations to manage this vital workforce. We have to accelerate contingent talent solutions to ensure we are future-ready.
This very challenge has been tackled by KellyOCG globally. As the Inventor of MSP and with our years of experience, we have developed simple, powerful, easy to implement MSP solutions, designed to support organisations regardless how big or small is their contingent spend and headcount.
You may have identified contingent talent as an area of your workforce that you want to grow, but not sure where to start or the next steps to take. Unsure about the right technology, the right MSP provider, and the right suppliers (a critical part of our MSP solution) needed to unlock the access and management of contingent talent.
In 2023, you simply can’t sit around and to wait for answers. You have to be proactive and innovative in how you attract and engage contingent workers. Contingent workforce strategy can’t be an afterthought. Leaders must go further, faster, to ensure they can access the flexible workers their organisations need to thrive. We can help with that. Find out how our innovative MSP solutions can transform the way you engage and manage contingent workers across your business.
Kelly OCG have recently joined LGP’s Human Resources (HR) – Permanent and Temporary Placements and Associated Services (LGP808-4) panel, and are looking forward to building future relationships in this space. For more information, please reach out to [email protected]