The gig economy has been thriving well before the pandemic, and the current health crisis is actually pushing more people towards non-permanent work and project-based employment. As more employers are unable to hire more people full-time due to financial constraints imposed by the pandemic, employees are rapidly setting up their own businesses to be self-employed, but they are also turning to contingent work to build more diversity in their work and establish financial stability.
This trend is changing the workplace to a great extent, and the elevated levels of competition are making it harder for companies to attract non-permanent workers without making a genuine effort. Many, on the other hand, are wondering if all that effort pays off in the end. Here are a few basic premises that show how beneficial it can be for your business to hire contingent workers and grow your relationships with your temporary workforce.
Greater flexibility in hiring the right people
For some industries, market shifts can happen virtually overnight, causing issues for companies doing their best to meet customer needs and retain their position in the industry. Scalability is not something inherently present in all companies, and it’s particularly difficult to embrace in large-scale corporations that are set in their ways to a great extent. This is where hiring temporary workers makes all the difference, especially if you have season-related ups and downs in workload.
When a market is unpredictable, hiring is close to impossible, which is why more companies are aiming to hire temporarily. This helps you provide the right service at the right time without overburdening your business with full-time employees you don’t realistically need.
Even more than that, gig-based work allows you to hire people from all over the world, and not just locally. Suddenly, the talent pool you can access is significantly larger than the one you’ve been limiting yourself to for a very long time. This has become a popular way of collaborating in the US and Australia alike, as more people are becoming freelancers as well as digital nomads.
Seamless onboarding and offboarding
The rise in freelancing and the concept of the gig economy has inspired businesses to craft specific, targeted HR strategies that make onboarding and offboarding low maintenance when working with contingent employees. A great example of this is in the rise of companies such as CXC Global in Australia that specialize in unique contingent worker management solutions. Since many organizations lack the in-house skills or experts to manage this process, specialized partners step in to save the day.
It ensures greater compliance, flexibility, but also increased safety and health for all workers under your wing. This trend has empowered so many Australia-based businesses to hire temporary staff, as it’s easier to find qualified experts who match their culture and who can deliver the level of quality that’s necessary.
Filling targeted skill gaps in your industry
In some markets more than others, there’s a prevailing challenge of finding skilled workers for certain positions and specific industries. For instance, US companies are struggling to find talented, qualified staff for certain technical jobs in recent years, although Finnish, Polish and many other European companies aren’t too far behind.
Gig-based employees help simplify this problem, and for many companies, resolve it entirely. When you have the freedom to hire freelancers online, find contingent workers with the help of the right selection process, and have a clear onboarding and offboarding strategy – the sky’s the limit. You can find niche workers much more easily, go through the right selection process, and do your best to retain those employees for future work, as well.
Cost-effective hiring and collaboration
Contingent workers are not just easy to come by, they are also much simpler to manage from a financial standpoint. If your business is going through a crisis and you need to manage your cash flow more effectively, hiring contingent workers is one of the best ways to accomplish smarter business savings.
When you don’t have to hire the full cost of bringing someone on board, not to mention the exorbitant costs of marketing and HR advertising, candidate selection and interviewing that can now be done by an external partner, your budget will be stronger and more stable than ever.
Hiring contingent workers is becoming a growing trend in many countries across the world, empowering individuals as well as companies to have more control of their workload and output. If you’re a business owner, opening your doors to contingent workers means more stability as well as financial growth, while as a worker in this category, you have the freedom to diversify your portfolio, expand your experience, and settle when and if it works for your lifestyle.
The many perks outweigh the potential risks, especially if you have a partner or in-house expert specializing in managing contingent workers properly. If you are ready to make some hires in this sector, first prepare yourself logistically, make sure your HR team is set with a strategy, and make the most of this increasingly popular trend in the world.
