With so much volatility present in the business world, forecasting and business needs projection have become increasingly difficult. This explains the rising popularity of a contingent IT workforce. It offers companies a quick, easy, and financially savvy way to fill skills gaps, manage labor costs, and tap into high-quality IT talent while providing you maximum staffing flexibility.
Here’s why everyone is talking about it:
1. Cost-reduction and agility
Agility is very alluring for businesses at this stage. 77% of executives see freelancers, independent contractors, and consultants playing a pivotal role for companies moving forward.
As we saw during the height of the pandemic, 32% of today’s businesses have either already replaced, or will be replacing, full-time employees with a contingent workforce to fulfill shifting needs in capacity, capability, and affordability in a hybrid or remote working world.
Cost savings can come in multiple ways – for one, with a contingent workforce, you get better cost control and visibility over the individual projects they work on.
For large projects, it’s more efficient to bring in a big contingent workforce all at once rather than staff one position at a time. This means your organization can finish projects faster, too.
If the scope of work is on a smaller scale, paying an hourly or set rate for a short duration to a contracted worker would be more cost-effective than hiring extra team members to take the task on.
Our seasoned recruiters at Wavestone can provide fully contracted IT teams to “drop into place” to help you accomplish a specific goal or bring projects to completion. Once done, you get the option to hire them on a permanent basis at no additional cost.
2. There is a lot of talent… and a lot of competition
The current unemployment rate is about 3.6%, with more than 11 million job openings. However, zooming in on IT professionals, the unemployment rate is just 1.3%, a third of the national unemployment rates.
What does this mean for employers? The already tight job market to hire new IT talent has become even more competitive, and organizations must move strategically to stay ahead in the talent war.
Rather than join the bloody battle for full-time employees, this is another factor as to why more organizations are dipping (and should dip) into the pool of contract and part-time IT workers to build capable teams of experts.
You may also find yourself in need for interim C-Suite leadership to keep things operating while you develop your business and IT strategy. Wavestone will partner with you to understand what you need, fill the gap with interim talent, and help you find the best candidate to fit the role in the long term.
3. Employee expectations have shifted, and employee experience has become a high priority
The events of the past few years brought a new truth to light for many C-suite executives: employees don’t need to be in a specific office at a specific time to be productive.
In today’s new normal, prospective employees know this and now crave the flexibility and seamless work experience they were able to create at home.
Key actions for employers to take:
#1
To ensure this continues, companies need reliable remote technology that allows them to monitor productivity with virtual clocking-in and -out and a way to track employee emails, internal communications, and work achieved.
#2
Second, to create a seamless experience, organizations need to prioritize positive telework and in-office experiences, ensuring that employees always feel connected and heard.
#2
Finally, hiring managers need to be educated about how to better engage with and take care of their contingent workforce, facilitate change management, and assess productivity.
At the end of the day, both employees and employers have had to adjust to new ways of working. Gaining an efficient contingent workforce will be more successful with the help of qualified staffing firms like Wavestone, who are trained to:
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Help companies right-size their IT teams
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Determine what you should — and should not — invest in new labor
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Create a work environment that attracts top IT talent
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Establish short- and long-term goals for health, safety, engagement suspensions, recall opportunities, and demand in the workplace
We can help fill critical vacancies within your organization by sourcing and placing skilled IT professionals to meet your niche, technical needs.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WAVESTONE’S IT TALENT SOLUTIONS
Kerry Marker
Vice President, Talent
Kerry is responsible for talent acquisition and management at Wavestone US, where she blends her skills in recruiting, marketing, selling, and operational leadership to fulfill client demands. Prior to Wavestone, she served in marketing-management positions at leading technology companies such as Apptio, Qlik, Siemens Enterprise Communications (now Unify), and SAP.
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