Your business is in growth mode, and you need additional support to keep up with the workflow required on your team. Or perhaps, your company is going through a reorganization, and you are identifying the positions required to keep things running smoothly.
Whatever your situation may be, having access to flexible staffing solutions and how you hire and manage talent is an integral part of your operations. After all, without your staff, you would not have a company! Say hello to agility and versatility!
What Does Flexible Staffing Solutions Mean?
Flexible staffing, also known as contingent staffing, is a strategic approach that allows businesses to adapt their workforce according to changing needs and demands.
So, instead of being locked into a fixed number of employees, you can easily hire temporary talent for your team when you have an increase in workload, have a specialized skill required, or have an employee out for an extended period of time and need coverage. You have access to quality talent without a long-term commitment. Though some businesses prefer to contract for an extended period, even years. The benefit is allowing you the flexibility to staff based on needs at that time. It enables you to manage your workforce volume depending on your needs and seasonality.
Related Article: Hire Outside the Box: Why Nontraditional Candidates Can Be Game Changers
Top 8 Benefits of Using a Flexible Staffing Strategy
With a flexible approach to hiring, you don’t have to commit to providing employee benefits—while candidates prefer to partner with a firm that does provide benefits to their contractors, including:
1. Flexibility with a Capital “F”
The beauty of contingent staffing lies in its name—it’s all about flexibility! With this approach, you can scale your workforce up or down based on the ebbs and flows of your business.
No more being locked into rigid contracts that leave you strapped for resources or stuck with surplus staff during lulls. Flexibility empowers you to adapt effortlessly to changing market conditions, making your business resilient and agile.
2. Embracing the Gig Economy
Welcome to the era of the gig economy! Millennials and Gen Z professionals have embraced the concept of freelancing and gig work, and you should consider it too. By embracing contingent staffing, you’re tapping into a vast talent pool of skilled and motivated individuals who value autonomy and work-life balance. It’s a win-win scenario: your business gets the expertise it needs, and workers enjoy the freedom to choose their projects.
3. Cost-Effectiveness at Its Finest
Both traditional and contingent methods result in finding the right employee who can get the job done—but one is cost-effective. Your hiring effort should be strategic, but it doesn’t need to be as expensive. Embrace modern hiring practices that can benefit you and provide savings in the long run.
Traditional hiring involves overhead costs like sourcing and qualifying time, job posts, an appealing solution, training, and equipment. Still, with contingent staffing, you only pay for the hours or projects completed—who wouldn’t want that?
4. Happy Staff, Happy Business
In a recent study by UJET CX, a whopping 73% of 1,600 consumers revealed their intentions to part ways with providers that offer a less-than-stellar customer experience (CX).¹
As the saying goes, “Happy employees make happy customers.” By providing a work environment that accommodates personal preferences and commitments, you’ll foster a team of satisfied and engaged workers. This boost in morale directly impacts productivity, employee retention, and customer satisfaction—the trifecta of business success!
5. Expertise on Demand
Do you have a specialized project or task that requires niche skills? No problem! Flexible work arrangement allows you to access a wide range of talent and expertise across various industries.
Need a graphic designer for a one-time project or a social media guru to run a campaign? Just tap into the flexible firm and let a staffing agency like Portfolio Creative match you to the right candidate!
6. Seamless Onboarding
Worried about the hassle of integrating flexible staff into your existing team? A reputable staffing firm like Portfolio Creative offers seamless onboarding processes, ensuring that your temporary employees hit the ground running, allowing for smooth transitions, and giving you the freedom to allocate resources necessary for traditional recruitment methods.
7. Stay Ahead of the Competition
Staying ahead of the competition is crucial in today’s fast-paced business landscape. Contingent staffing provides you with the edge you need to respond quickly to market trends, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and outmaneuver your rivals.
Contingent staffing also guarantees that you get fresh perspectives every time you welcome new staff. This allows for innovative and creative insights from diverse backgrounds, expertise, and industries.
8. Future-Proofing Your Business
Statista’s crystal ball predicts that by June 2024, there’s a 67 percent chance of the United States taking a thrilling dip into another economic adventure.²
The truth is: The future of work is ever-evolving, and businesses that can adapt will most likely stand the test of time. By embracing contingent staffing, you’re future-proofing your business, making it resilient to disruptions and changes. Your ability to pivot and adjust your workforce needs based on new challenges will set you apart in the dynamic business landscape.
If you aren’t future-proofing your business, what is holding you back? It would be worth your time to discuss that with a team of staffing experts like Portfolio Creative.
Flexible Staffing Options
One name, different angles. These are the offers of contingent staffing, and it comes in various forms. Whatever your requirements, flexible staffing solutions can help you scale up or down quickly and effectively.
1. Temporary Staff
Contractors can seamlessly step in through a staffing agency when a company has sudden staffing needs. They swoop in for short stints, handling the work until the storm passes ,or it could be that your contractor was the ideal match, converting to your full-time employee.
While temporary workers have similar functions (filling up a position for a short period), there are some distinctions to what the current workforce offers today. Here are some of the types of temporary workers in today’s world of work.
Contract Employees
Imagine you have a crucial project coming up, and you need the best of the best to make it a smashing success. Contract workers are like elite mercenaries of the working world, swooping in with their specialized skills to complete the mission. Often, they are hired for a specific time that can last for a week, a month, or even a year. While they’re not as flexible as freelancers, contract workers enjoy some of the benefits a company offers.
Freelancers
Need some extra hands for a short gig? Similar to contract workers, freelancers offer short-term services. However, these are most associated with the concept of “gig work,” and they provide a unique set of skills for specific tasks or projects. These workers are flexible, often hired for a particular project and rehired if more projects are available. Most freelancers offer specific expertise giving them in-depth knowledge of certain functions or industries.
On-Demand Staff
What if you need extra hands for an even shorter gig? On-demand staff usually fill positions that require immediate assistance. It can be due to peak seasons, events, or to cover the absences of regular employees. These qualified workers are often pre-screened in case a company needs them.
2. Temp-to-Hire
Working together with your teammates and colleagues can be unpredictable. After all, we’re dealing with human beings. Each of us has our own unique perspectives, decisions, preferences, values, and practices. Having the chance to try out an employee to see if they fit within the organization and if the organization fits with them is a win-win for all.
Temp-to-hire setups allow you to know if an individual will fit well with the team or if his values align with the company, allowing you flexibility by testing the waters before jumping in!
3. Remote Worker
This is the new normal brought about by the recent pandemic and economic changes worldwide.
Remote staff is a team that gets the job done across other parts of the world. If you need someone at night, why not employ someone from a different time zone? Whether at home, at a cozy café, or on a tropical beach, as long as the internet still exists, they’re ready to contribute to the company’s success.
Employees have grown to expect some level of remote capabilities, and if your job can be done remotely, why would you risk missing out on the perfect candidate?
LOOKING FOR A RELIABLE AND FLEXIBLE STAFFING PROVIDER?
We’ve got the best content writers, project managers, and UX/UI designers just waiting to join your crew. Whether you need short-term or long-term support or even a full-time team member, Portfolio Creative can be your partner. We are not your typical vendor, our customer satisfaction score (NPS) has been at a consistent 100% this entire year.
No need to worry about finding the right fit. We’ve already handpicked a bunch of awesome candidates for you to choose from. Unlock the power of contingent staffing solutions and skyrocket your business to success by tapping into our impressive network access. Contact us right today to learn more about how we can help.
References
1. “Brands with Poor Customer Experience will be Cut First as ‘Skimpflation’ Rises.” UJET, Inc., 13 Sep. 2022, ujet.cxconsumers-cut-back-spend-amid-inflation.
2. “Projected monthly probability of a recession in the United States from January 2020 to June 2024.” Statista Research Department, 17 July 2023, www.statista.com/us-monthly-projected-recession-probability.
