Understanding contingent workers: roles and benefits
Contingent workers are the flag bearers of skill-based talents, breaking the hypothesis of labor market saturation. They are the go-to for hiring leaders for major projects or specialized tasks. Not confined to locations, contingent workers define value addition in the corporate culture.
Many organizations are hiring to achieve SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals. It has brought changes in the traditional hiring metrics.
Several American organizations prefer skill-based hiring for specific tasks that require specialization, reflected in the rising number of contingent workers in the corporate ecosystem.
Approximately 53% growth of the contingent workforce is expected worldwide. Some may believe it’s a myopic view of putting excessive significance on technical skills, but most CEOs think otherwise. For them, it’s the new and better way to get the job done, giving opportunities to those with skills.
Now you know why skills are more valuable than experience! Let’s understand the critical hiring strategy based on talent and skills, resulting in massive business outcomes.
Contents
Who is a contingent worker?
The meaning of a contingent worker is simple. It is a person hired to work on a project basis by an employer. A contingent worker is not a part of the permanent workforce or even a part-time worker. They are independent workers, also known as “self-employed”. The market has many examples of contingent workers, such as freelancers, creatives, consultants, and more.
Today, many white-collar jobs are divided into small projects to attract a “human cloud” capable of doing the job efficiently. As a hiring manager, you can easily tackle skill shortage challenges by hiring contingent workers. 40% of hiring managers agree that hiring contingent workers is easier than training the existing workforce for specific tasks. It is all a part of the gig economy, which is finally in the limelight!
Also read: Understanding the gig economy
Role of contingent workers
A contingent worker completes the project or task within a defined timeline. Organizations hire them on a contractual basis or pay an hourly rate for their work. There is no obligation to add contingent workers to the payroll ecosystem. The role of the contingent worker varies per their expertise. A contingent worker example – a freelance copywriter who creates a social media campaign of an organization’s product launch. They get paid based on the project.
Organizations may onboard contingent workers to handle the large and complex workload, which requires specialized skill sets. It helps fill the skill gap and drive a huge success!
Benefits of hiring contingent workers
Top platforms like Workable help recruit high-performance contingent workers. The AI-powered recruiting features are excellent for candidate sourcing from the digital marketplace. So, you can quickly hire and manage contingent workers without any time delays. Here are some of the advantages of hiring contingent workers: –
Counter burnout impact
The rising number of voluntary turnovers in the U.S. is a major concern for talent managers. There may be a direct correlation between high turnovers and increased contingent workers. Individuals are willing to work as contingent workers for fair pay based on their skills, better work-life balance, and effective time management. They are no longer willing to trade their time for money working in sweatshops. Hiring managers identify this opportunity and give well-deserved opportunities to these workers.
Eliminate labor shortage
Talent scarcity is a real challenge in the U.S. business market with only 62.7% labor participation. Hiring contingent workers is a sure-shot win for employers who want to get the job done effectively. They leverage worker skills in exchange for better compensation and opportunity. It gives a more efficient and productive business outcome.
Build meritocracy
Gone are the days when employees needed to only pull the work quantum without focusing on work quality. It is the time of productivity, which is measured not only by the quantity but also by the quality of work. Most organizations are looking to build meritocracy in their business outcome. A major chunk of this is achieved by recruiting contingent workers capable of shouldering big projects.
Cost-efficiency
Hiring managers are always on the lookout for cost-effective ways of hiring. Recruiting skilled professionals for a short time per project is a good option. It is like an “on-demand workforce”, offering cost-efficiency and flexibility.
How to manage contingent workers?
When full-time workers spend their most productive hours sitting at their office desks doing their daily tasks, a freelancer will take their desk at a remote place to contribute to a significant project. As a hiring manager, you need both types of employees but managing them will be a task. Platforms like Workable will make your task easy.
Be it a payroll employee or a commission-based contingent worker, every resource can be managed through one central system. With mobile recruiting collaboration, easy onboarding/contractual work, and enhanced data protection standards, organizations can efficiently manage their human resource. You can start a 15-day free trial and see how it works for you.
Hiring managers are using innovative recruitment software to fetch contingent workers worldwide. Impact-based work is the future of employment, which means contingent workers are here to win. Talent acquisition and hiring teamwork bring the right contingent labor to fulfill short-term work requirements needing special expertise.
You can also read – What’s the difference? Remote, Freelance, Part-Time, Hybrid, and Flexible Job to learn more about different types of employees!