During times of economic difficulty, like the current global Covid-19 crisis, businesses will want to look for ways to navigate the situation and find a solution for an economic recovery as fast as possible. One way to do this is by making use of a flexible workforce, such as contingent workers or contractors.
What are contractors or contingent workers?
Contingent workers can be defined as freelancers, independent contractors, consultants, or other outsourced and non-permanent workers who are hired for a multitude of reasons, usually on a medium-long term basis. Contingent workers are generally highly skilled experts in their respective fields. When not engaging directly with the End User Client, contract workers are usually employed or contracted by a 3rd party in the supply chain to ensure local rules and regulations are met.
Advantages of working with Contractors and Flexible Workforces
Flexibility
Hiring becomes much more flexible when working with contract workers. You can bring on new staff quickly, and often with less red tape than if you were hiring a permanent employee. At the same time, this flexibility in hiring also protects your core staff’s positions. By only bringing on contract workers during peak times, you maintain your employee headcount year-round. Also, in structuring your hiring this way, your employees can feel more secure in their positions.
Cost
Many of the costs associated with hiring permanent staff can be reduced by engaging with contract workers. Something that will be invaluable as we move to recover and grow after an economic crises. While contract workers often have higher salaries than permanent staff, they usually don’t qualify for other benefits, vacation time, and sick pay etc. Additionally, when you are hiring contract workers with a specific skill set, there will be fewer costs associated with on-boarding and training.
Experience
Contract workers tend to have more years of experience than any other employee group. Their experience can be varied as they’ve worked on various contracts within a mix of companies and could propose and introduce more efficient, tried and tested working methods to your company to benefit from. This is highly valued as it means that they can jump right in and get started in a role. This will be key in the post COVID-19 business world, as companies seek to rapidly regain momentum in their markets. Contract workers can be used to ‘hit the ground running’ and expedite the recovery and growth process. You can specifically hire for the skills you need for the work that needs to be done, without the risk of hiring a permanent employee who doesn’t have the full range of experience necessary for a role. This is particularly beneficial if you are hiring for a short-term position where the company has no current staff with those skills.
Points to consider when hiring Contractor/Flexible Workforces
Compliance with local laws
Whether the End User company directly engages with the worker or not, the liability to ensure compliance is being met will always fall with them, as that is where the work is being done. Compliance can therefore be a theoretical minefield for businesses.
Using a 3rd party employment and compliance specialist can help remove this risk. One watertight way of ensuring compliance is to properly employ the worker. Whenever a contract worker is employed, as opposed to self-employed, the party acting as employer can absorb the burden of liability on behalf of the End User company.
Motivation
Contractors, by their very nature, are often highly motivated individuals. When working for a business on a temporary basis however, remaining motivated can prove tricky. The culture of teamwork within the workplace can play an important role in a motivational strategy. Companies that recruit staff on a temporary or contract basis often use teambuilding exercises and regular social events as one way of sustaining motivation. Without the distraction of office life, staff members can get to know each other on a personal level, which in turn creates a positive dynamic within respective teams. Effectively motivating the temporary employee to work collaboratively with their colleagues and understand team dynamics will help to embed them within the larger team and keep this vital demographic working within organisations.
All by all we like to see there is light at the end of the tunnel and we’re all looking for ways to improve on the current economic situation. Contractors are one way to add to a speedy recovery, it’s worth looking into and we love to help you with this.
Would you like further information about how we could assist you and your company regarding working with contractors, then please contact us via info@tcpsolutions.com com or send us a message via our contact page. We would be delighted to speak to you regarding the possibilities.
