Right now, there are a multitude of factors affecting how organisations shape their workforce. Economic uncertainty, the growth of the contingent workforce, the expansion of automation, AI and robotics into everyday tasks – to name just a few. This workforce evolution is happening on a global scale, driving fundamental change in the skills, roles and resource requirements.
The workforce is becoming more fluid, while the pace of change continues to accelerate. For many organisations, obtaining clear workforce data is a growing challenge:
Do you have the oversight you need to determine what your immediate and future workforce needs to look like?
Here’s the Big 5 saying you don’t.
1. You can’t accurately track contingent workforce spend
Contingent workers move in and out of organisations quickly and do not always follow a consistent hiring process. Siloed budgets, variable rates of pay and lack of consistent, clear definitions on roles, tasks and job titles often means that organisations can only build a partial data picture.
Without complete oversight of their contingent workforce spend, organisations become less able to identify cost saving opportunities and drive continuous improvement.
2. You don’t know which suppliers are delivering the best value
Complex hiring organisations often work with many different recruitment agencies and the talent supply chain can grow organically over time, especially if workforce requirements are evolving quickly. Visibility and consistency around supplier relationships and performance become vital. How do agencies source candidates? What rates are they charging? Are there hidden costs or mark-ups? Is there consistency of invoicing, onboarding and candidate management?
3. You’re relying on outdated and inconsistent data to make workforce decisions
The near-future workforce is likely to look very different to where we are today. Technology is driving change in every aspect, from our ability to work remotely and effectively to the way we use AI assistants and robotics to perform day-to-day tasks. If you are relying on direct feedback and insights from hiring managers on the cost, performance and quality of contingent workers, it is likely that the data you get is already past its sell-by-date.
4. You struggle to identify compliance gaps or worker risks
Misclassification of contingent workers is a common occurrence because workforce needs change and responsibilities are not always aligned to the role. This can lead to workers being liable for additional tax payments or for hiring organisations themselves being liable for fines. If you are not able to easily see that every contingent worker in your organisation is correctly classified and compliant with right-to-work legislation, you could be creating risk in several ways: to the quality of your operational delivery, to your reputation with clients, to the workers who are under your care.
5. You can’t easily forecast future contingent workforce demand
The evolving nature of the near-future workforce is a consistent theme. But knowing it is going to happen is not the same as being able to plan effectively for it. Visibility of current workforce data helps hiring organisations to understand trends, identity cost-savings, source talent more effectively and maintain the agility needed to respond quickly in an ever-changing economic market.
If you’d like to learn more about contingent workforce management and gaining greater workforce visibility, get in touch with us.