A recent survey by Workforce Management showed that companies are hiring contingent workers mainly to get access to specialized skills and to be more flexible in the uncertain economy.
More than one quarter of those surveyed also said they used contingent workers to save on labor costs. Another reason given was that using contingent workers allowed the company to shift business strategy more quickly.
Workforce surveyed more than 1,100 corporate staffers about the state of contingent labor in the workforce today. The survey also found that work quality is also of significant importance to companies, and that companies are working to become places where contingent workers want to work.
More than 40 percent of the companies said they are using more or significantly more contingent workers than they did 10 years ago. While about 30 percent said the number remains about the same. And about 25 percent said they were using fewer.
For about half the companies, contingent workers made up five percent or less of their workforce. For about 20 percent of the companies, contingent workers comprised between six and 10 percent of the workforce. For another 20 percent of the companies, contingent workers made up between 10 and 25 percent of the workforce. While about 10 percent of the companies had a workforce that was more than one-quarter contingent workers.
The most prominent concerns that companies have in using contingent workers are the quality of work these individuals will deliver and their ability to fit in with the culture of the company. Other concerns were legal liabilities and the cost of the labor
About 70 percent of the companies reported being satisfied with the work of their contingent workers, reporting that it was as good as the work of their full-time and part-time employees. Only about 16 percent said the results of contingent work was worse than that of their regular workers. About 40 percent said they base their assessment on informal reports from managers about contingent work quality.
More than two-thirds of the companies said they believe their contingent workers deliver a good value. In order to make their organization a welcoming place to work for contingent workers, the companies reported that they try to include contingents in social functions, give them ongoing feedback, involve them in discussions about company strategy, and give them other kinds of recognition.
If you’re looking for reliable and skilled contingent/temporary workers for your Anchorage, Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Lake Oswego, or Chicago company, call the Opti Staffing Group. We can find workers for all your temporary and direct-hire needs. We look forward to hearing from you!