Contingent Staffing: A Future-proof Approach to Talent Management

The ever-evolving dynamics of talent management have resulted in an overhaul in the HR landscape of late. Hiring strategies in India are not the same as they were just a few years back. Today, as businesses encounter new challenges to make the dream of digital transformation come true, HR leaders struggle with novel challenges pertaining to acquiring the right talent in a short time while staying cost-efficient. At a time like this, the focus must be on roping in the right talent who has the skill sets demanded by the businesses quickly and sustainably. And we might have the right solution for the same.

Contingent staffing is also commonly referred to as contract staffing or temporary staffing. Hiring in this manner can play an instrumental role in maintaining the dynamism of businesses in a hyper-evolutionary business environment. These short-term employment agreements are different from permanent positions due to their seasonality, project-based nature, consulting engagements, event-based staffing, and so on.

As skill gaps plague industries and businesses alike, talent acquisition and management become increasingly tricky for organizations. HR divisions often have to go out of their way to spot, screen, and select the right talent at the cost of valuable time and financial resources only for the recruitment process to be successful. Contingent staffing, in such a case, can be a massive relief to employers from a Human Resource Management standpoint as it not only saves time but also cuts down recruitment costs dramatically.

Benefits of contingent staffing

Let us explore some of the key HR benefits of contingent staffing that enable businesses to keep thriving no matter how volatile the landscape becomes.

Workforce management made flexible

Monitoring the composition and size of the workforce is perennially on the task list of HR departments. The flexibility and adjustability that contingent staffing offers with respect to workforce management are undeniable. Through this approach, HR managers and leaders can adapt to the changing needs of the business by scaling up or down the workforce in a short span of time.

Specialized skills made accessible

The talent market today is turning extremely skill-dependent. As we make this move from experience to skill expertise, contingent workers help bring in the right set of proficiencies required for business success. This enables businesses to focus on the tasks where they experience certain skill gaps and drive their projects and initiatives more efficiently.

Low time and cost-to-hire

As mentioned above, hiring is becoming an expensive affair for businesses across the board. There may be various reasons why HR leaders do not always find the right talent within the stipulated duration and budget. Contingent staffing allows businesses to swiftly fill vacant positions, saving recruitment expenses and enabling businesses to maximize their capabilities seamlessly.

Training and skill development advantages

As we have seen, contingent workers are bankable resources when it comes to closing positions that demand niche skills. More often than not, they are fully prepared for the projects at hand and require minimum training and skilling. This helps HR leaders to move on to other priorities of theirs without spending time and resources on the skill development aspect.

Enhanced performance and productivity

Dealing with employee burnout, dropping retention rates, etc. has become common for HR departments with the rise in competition. Contingent staffing allows the leaders to rope in fresh talent when the requirement arises and thus keep workplace burnout at bay. The flexible distribution of workload offered by contingent staffing also makes it easier on the employees to prioritize their work and stay productive and motivated.

Contingent staffing: Is it for your organization?

Hiring remains one of the central tasks for HR departments. It can make or break it for business goals. Hence, if you’re on the fence about whether or not contingent staffing is good for your organization, we hope the section below will assist you to assess the situation and figure out the right strategy. Here are certain ways contract hiring or contingent staffing can play a pivotal role in the success of your HR division as well as the entire business during specific periods.

During a shortage of skills

The goal of digital transformation cannot be pursued without chasing the right skills. As a result, the talent market often undergoes a shortage of the required skills that business success demands. In the wake of the recent pandemic, we have witnessed that only through the right skill sets can we cater to the evolving market needs and leverage new technologies like AI, ML, cybersecurity, data science, cloud computing, and many others. Contingent workers can provide hiring managers and recruiters with the much-needed respite from hunting for the right talent which sometimes takes long periods of time and cost huge chunks of financial resources. It is quick and commitment-free, and it fuels new efficiency into the system by bringing in the right skills that a company is looking for.

During phases of business or economic uncertainty

The business landscape can both become stable or turn volatile in a blink. There are many factors that usher in phases of uncertainty for organizations, be it fears of an impending recession, geopolitical tensions, natural phenomena, or others. For work to continue smoothly amid all this, we need resources who come well-equipped with the requisite knowledge and expertise as well as minimum liabilities. Contingent staffing is a perfect way to tackle such situations as it offers the option to scale up and scale down the workforce based on the workflow.

When piloting a new project

Launching a new project comes with major responsibilities. New challenges are encountered, new solutions are required, new tests & retests are to be done and continuous effort and time need to be dedicated. In such a scenario, it absolutely makes sense to go for contingent workers who can drop in, take end-to-end care of the new project, and not need much training and skill development for the same. This not only keeps the costs under control but also allows business stakeholders to focus on other tasks which may be equally, if not more, important than the pilot.

Conclusion

The opportunities contingent staffing provides are endless. Therefore, it is being widely noticed and accepted by business leaders across the world. Known for its tremendous flexibility, contingent staffing may be just the solution your organization needs to keep up impeccable work while building resilience and long-term success through seamless, short-term commitments.

Harshal Goyal

Vice President, Talent Solutions- Staffing, RPO & Perm