Contingent workforce management - what is it and how can you manage it?
Many businesses benefit from hiring and working with a skilled contingent workforce, either to work on specific projects or to fill gaps within a business.
We explore what a contingent workforce is and the benefits of planning projects with the view to hiring a contingent workforce.
Contingent workforce definition
A contingent workforce are most commonly known as freelancers or contractors. Companies often lean on a contingent workforce to help on fixed term projects or work that internal teams need extra support on.
Freelance workforces have been a staple for many companies over the years but since the pandemic in 2020, reliance on a contingent workforce has increased. All kinds of industries are turning to hiring a temporary contingent workforce due to a number of benefits such as a quick hiring process and expertise skill sets.
Benefits of hiring a contingent workforce
Many more companies are now finding their businesses can benefit from a bigger team of expert freelancers working alongside their internal teams.
Some of the other key benefits of hiring a contingent workforce include:
- Builds capacity quickly - If you’ve got a project timescale that’s quickly escaping, hiring a contingent workforce will build up the capacity you need to get it finished. Your internal teams will be able to share the workload and freelancers are adept at hitting the ground running.
- Brings expertise onboard - Hiring freelance experts will bring a new level of experience and skills to your internal workforce as they’re dedicated to their own fields.
- Speeds up delivery - Again, more hands make light work so by hiring extra help, your internal teams will be able to share the workload and reach the timescales set. Adding more expertise to any project will always speed up delivery.
- Saves time and money on hiring processes - Hiring employees takes up time and money with lengthy recruitment processes and interviews. Using a dedicated freelance management system to find and quickly hire freelancers saves a lot of time and money so your teams can focus on the work in hand.
- Avoids all the extra paperwork for compliance - Bringing on a contingent workforce via a dedicated platform like YunoJuno will mean all the extra paperwork and legal compliance is automated. This also saves time and guarantees. compliance.
How to manage your contingent workforce
Working with a contingent workforce can come with its own challenges, mainly around time to hire, costs, and ensuring you are compliant with local legal laws.
By using a freelance management system like YunoJuno to manage your entire contingent workforce, businesses reduce their time and cost to hire, whilst ensuring compliance.
Meaning if you are the hirer and just need to get the work done and that’s all you care about, then you can source and book a freelancer quickly, whilst your HR, Finance, and Legal teams can rest assured that the business is fully compliant at the same time. Keeping everyone happy.
Why not arrange a free demo today and find out how your business could benefit.
| Old rule (2021 Independent Contractor Rule) | New Rule (Effective March 11, 2024) | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis of classification | Relied on a simpler, more straightforward approach that may not fully capture the complexity of modern work relationships. | Restores a multifactor "economic reality" test that considers a wider range of factors to determine employment status. |
| Legal consistency | Criticised for deviating from established legal precedent and potentially leading to more misclassifications. | Aims to align closely with longstanding legal precedent, offering more clarity and consistency in classification decisions. |
| Impact on workers | Concerns were raised that it might make it easier to classify workers as independent contractors, potentially denying them employment benefits. | Seeks to reduce the risk of misclassification, ensuring workers who should be classified as employees receive the benefits and protections that they're entitled to receive. |
| Guidance for employers | Provide a simpler framework for employers to classify workers, which could lead to broader interpretations and confusion. | Offers detailed guidance through the economic reality test, aiming to provide a clearer path for proper classification and reduce misclassifications. |
