A virtual round table, sponsored by Indeed Flex, brought together leaders in HR to debate and discover best practice in creating agile workforces and the value this workforce offers to businesses.
A virtual round table, hosted by The HR World and sponsored by Indeed Flex has further cemented the need for an agile workforce in today’s organisations. At the same time the discussion highlighted crucial aspects of how to manage such a workforce to maximise return. With the right approach, from recruitment to management, companies can maximise productivity and loyalty from their flexible workforce. Gaining loyalty from a contingent workforce may seem to be a difficult, almost contradictory idea, and yet the round table made clear how this could be achieved and would drive best value from the workforce at a time of change and challenge for businesses.
The round table, entitled Skills, speed, scale: achieving talent advantage through workforce agility was hosted by The HR World’s Managing Director, Tom Bright and sponsored by Indeed Flex, the contingent labour and workforce management technology provider backed by the job site, Indeed. The event brought together a number of leading HR directors from diverse sectors, each engaging a blend of permanent, flexible and contingent workers, in order to meet their ongoing needs.
In some cases the balance of contingent and permanent workforce has changed over the years according to internal strategy development and external market forces. Seasonal work and customer demand also influence the make-up of the workforce but at all times HR leaders were focussed on ensuring the right position is filled by the right talent in the right way.
Is the contingent approach ‘efficient’?
Indeed, while the companies involved were all using contingent workforces in one way or another, the question of whether the use of this workforce was ‘efficient’ was among the first challenges identified by one of the HR professionals in the discussion. To some extent, businesses with low numbers of external workers could be considered less agile or resilient than those with higher numbers, simply because they are less able to flex their workforce according to needs. However it was also recognised that how those workers are managed – with the subsequent impact on productivity and cost – was also crucial to getting the best from them.
Michael Farrier, Solutions Director at Indeed Flex put forward the point that one of the foundations of securing an effective contingent workforce was to create a clear partnership with the suppliers of talent rather than simply treating the relationship as transactional. The more the provision of talent occurred on the basis of understanding the business and their needs, the more the service could be tailored to offer the right talent for that business.
Farrier noted that Indeed Flex is a technology first business, maximising the solutions it uses to automate and hone the selection and provision of staff for its customers. In this way it can identify the right talent for a client while building an efficient pathway to bringing that talent into the organisation.
Working in partnership isn’t just good for the employer, however, it also provides benefits to the worker. A better understanding of the opportunities at an employer and the talent required means candidates can have a better experience whatever their employment model. With the right recruitment process, candidates can be swiftly placed while understanding both the company they’re working for and the opportunities they have.
From external flexibility to internal agility
The round table showed how effective external support can help organisations achieve better internal flexibility. With the right talent coming into an organisation HR can manage their people effectively, even transitioning individuals from contingent to flexible to permanent placement if such opportunities arose and employees wanted to make this move. Not only does this make the employer more agile and responsive it creates an environment where workers are given a range of opportunities that match their requirements as well as creating grounds for gaining their loyalty to the employer.
Companies need to be competitive in the recruitment process, as well as offering good rewards and an attractive workplace culture.
A culture where talent can move to the most appropriate position means the organisation gains internal agility in terms of where and how it positions its talent, making it more responsive and efficient in its use of its workforce. At the same time the individual worker may gain a sense of loyalty to the business – this is an employer who is interested in you, in offer more opportunities and in building a career for the future. One HR professional noted that this approach means however an individual comes to a business they have the potential to take more responsibility and higher positions according to their ability and desire.
Employees with the right values
HR professionals working in the care and retail sector were particularly keen to emphasise the importance of offering development opportunities to all staff since it supports the need to employ individuals who are motivated by and dedicated to their sectors. In these organisations it was felt that all employees – including contingent workers – need to have the right values to work there. They need to care about the work and provide the right level of service – the actual skills required can always be taught. For these businesses, securing a contingent workforce is never going to be just about finding the right number of people, it’s about finding the right people. With the right approach it is possible to secure such talent while also employing that talent in a flexible way.
Making recruitment work
Recruitment is certainly one area employers need to get right to maximise value from their workforce. While identifying the right person for the right job – including identifying the people with the right values as above – recruitment has to be simple and efficient. The HR professionals on the call agreed there is a need to be on top of the recruitment process at all times, ensuring there’s no unnecessary delay in bringing candidates through from initial application to job offer. For many employers, the reason for this is because the talent pool organisations are drawing from are often considering many different opportunities at once. Candidates can put in multiple applications for jobs and may take the first offer that works for them. Companies therefore need to be competitive in the process itself, as well as offering good rewards and an attractive workplace culture. As Farrier noted the technology currently exists to help support this, and indeed the technology is constantly evolving to make recruitment more efficient both time wise and in terms of identifying the right people.
Securing value from the contingent workforce also comes down to viewing and understanding the data. According to Michael Farrier, employers need to have visibility and control over the talent they’re sourcing. In this way they can understand the cost of the talent they’re using and ensure this makes sense to the business.
The role of management
Achieving this extends to the role of managers within the business. According to many HR professionals the line manager needs to be fully engaged in the process, determining what kind of talent should be brought into the business. As one HR professional said, they need to be listened to as they are the ones who know what talent they need and how long someone they should be employed for, based on the tasks that need to be done. If this part of the equation is handled correctly then organisations can be one step closer to ensuring their staffing strategy reflects their business needs.
Caring for people
Ultimately those attending the round table agreed that however talent might be employed by an organisation there had to be the recognition that all employees are treated as people and not just as a resource to be switched on and off. If employers want their workers to bring their whole selves to work, if they want them to bring the right values and commitment to a role, they need to show them commitment and care as well.
The contingent workforce is undoubtedly the gateway to a flexible and agile workforce, but it will only support your business effectively if it is given the right investment and support. Technology can undoubtedly provide better access and management of an agile workforce, and HR can take advantage of the efficiencies and savings offered by technology on the administrative side in order to provide better focus on managing people. In this way the effective management of an agile workforce, one which blends contingent, flexible and permanent roles, offers a win-win scenario for employers and talent alike.
