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4 questions to find success with a contingent workforce

Posted on October 20, 2021 by

Supporting the contingent workforce in the new normal

Our previous blog series, the 7 Pillars of HR Leadership, described the seven most pressing HR challenges, trends, and opportunities in front of organizations as they adjust to the ‘new normal.’ In this series, we describe how the right enterprise software can help you make the most of these opportunities. It’s clear that the new normal brought about by COVID-19 and its aftermath will change workforce norms even more — in this blog we discuss how to best support your contingent workforce so they can help your company achieve its goals.

Why a contingent workforce?

Staffing agencies, consulting companies, freelancers, and others have long been part of the modern talent pool. According to the 2018 External Workforce Insights Report, created in part by Oxford Economics:

42 percent of workforce spend is used to hire and support contingent workers and service providers.
Almost 60 percent of executives said the external workforce helped them compete in a digital world.
74 percent of executives reported that the external workforce was critical to operating at full capacity.

How has the new normal changed how the contingent workforce is managed?

COVID-19 caused disruptions in staffing supply and demand just about everywhere, at all levels of the company hierarchy. The following are the main shifts HR teams need to plan for.

Network support

With the requirement that workers conduct their activities from home, there is increased demand for network connectivity, more IT, and supporting equipment — and, in addition, set-up help and ongoing support are required.

Reacting to new limitations in movement

For some industries, mobility of workers is an additional challenge for organizations trying to maintain staffing levels. Travel restrictions, for example, require HR departments to consider hiring from local populations rather than recruiting globally. Beyond travel restrictions, companies must also consider worker health and wellbeing, regardless of whether they hire an employee or a contingent worker.

Working from home presents unique challenges for employees and employers alike, but regardless of the reality, communication is key if a company is to remain successful and its team committed. Effective communication includes the ability to collaborate — sharing documents, sending messages, and accessing information. With more visibility into the external workforce, employers must be able to remain connected with all their workers as health and safety concerns rise.

How can SAP Fieldglass External Talent Management help?

SAP Fieldglass External Talent Marketplace is a solution designed to help you find, recruit, and hire the workers you need to keep your business running. You can post jobs for which candidates can apply, and you can search the pool of available workers to find a match best suited for your company’s needs.

Workforce management in a post-pandemic world

While it is too early to predict exactly what will happen as COVID-19 recedes, more organizations will likely realize the strategic value of external workers. As SAP Fieldglass general manager Arun Srinivasan has put it, a solid external-workforce strategy that complements your broader workforce approach is what helps companies thrive in the best of cases and survive in challenging ones. In this fast-evolving market, companies are finding strategic ways to differentiate, and eventually organizations will look at their entire talent pool to find the best people for the job. One thing is certain: the way work gets done has forever changed.

The 7 Pillars of HR Leadership — Part 2: Contingent Workforce

Posted on September 3, 2020 by

A greater mix of full-time and contingent workforce

One of the unfortunate results of the first wave of lockdown and shelter-in-place orders was the massive decline in labor demand; even with the measures being lifted, companies are still reluctant to hire full-time employees. However, companies are now looking at a contingent-workforce strategy as a viable middle ground.

Many organizations have successfully used contingent workers for project-based work in the past, and the experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Adding the uncertainty surrounding the probability of additional “waves” of COVID-19 infections, hiring contingent workers is an attractive alternative to traditional employment models. In addition, the increasing number of available contingent resources in the marketplace is fueling this trend further.

What can HR do?

While gig workers offer employers greater workforce management flexibility, HR leaders will need to evaluate how performance management systems apply to these workers. Here are some considerations to keep in mind.

Critical skills and competencies

HR will need to create unique work-developing plans to onboard and upskill contingent workers.

Future of work

HR will need to formalize administrative and management processes for nontraditional employment models.

Performance management

HR will need to design systems that evaluate gig workers and include them in team processes.

Compensation and rewards

To avoid a potential culture where employees see themselves as “haves” or “have-nots,” HR will need to determine to what degree contingent workers will be eligible for the same benefits as full-time peers.

Diversity and inclusion

The changing nature of the workforce will bring new opportunities and challenges when it comes to honoring the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Blog series — the 7 Pillars of HR Leadership

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

The 7 Pillars of HR Leadership

North America has lived through a number of infectious diseases and public health outbreaks in the past few decades, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and influenza virus H1N1 (swine flu). However, what makes COVID-19 different from all other public health crises is the speed and ease at which it can spread, leaving behind a path of uncertainty — medically, socially, and financially.

Some organizations have had to cease operations for good; others had to make tough choices to survive. But almost every business has made adjustments in how they conduct their day-to-day.

New research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) sheds light on just how significantly employers and workers have been impacted by COVID-19. According to their survey of more than 2,200 human resource professionals:

40 percent of employers have had to shut down certain parts of their business.
83 percent of employers have adjusted their business practices.
71 percent of employers said they are struggling to adjust to remote work.
65 percent of employers said that maintaining employee morale has been a challenge.

Given the nature of this crisis, it should come as no surprise that HR will need to play an important role when it comes to redefining the new normal at the workplace. Not only will they need to redefine policies and processes, but they also need to lead on fostering a new employee culture and maintain employee spirits that reflect the post-COVID-19 reality. HR will also need to factor in other realities of living, such as monetary stress, childcare, quarantine, and other domestic situations that can blur the objectivity of the standard 9-to-5.

How the HR leadership role has changed due to COVID-19

HR leadership teams at many organizations have already taken the lead at communicating information about how to manage all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, and have also aspired to maintain employee morale. They have also been required to carry out other organizational tasks, such as organizing mandatory vacations, furloughs, layoffs, and other labor force reductions, sick pay policies, travel constraints, and work-from-home procedures.

They have acted as the liaison between individuals and government agencies, helping employees with state and legal programs such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), organization closure guidelines, and public security for stay-at-home orders. Finally, they now have the additional task of accurately capturing and securely managing employee-related COVID-19 data.

On top of all these changes, HR still must uphold the organizational policies and procedures to keep employees safe and healthy. As much as maintaining the CDC guidelines is essential, it is equally necessary to help the business maintain its operations as smoothly as possible.

How the HR leadership role will change post-COVID-19

In this blog series, we describe the seven most pressing challenges, trends, and possible opportunities in front of HR organizations as the enterprises they support come out of this pandemic and adjust to the “new normal.” Across the series we look at work from home, the contingent workforce, talent acquisition, learning, talent management and succession, the employee experience, and people analytics — the seven pillars on which post-pandemic HR leadership will rest.

The 7 Pillars of HR Leadership — Part 5: Learning Management Systems

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

The modern-day learning management system has come of age

With a significant proportion of employees working from home, there is an increased need to leverage learning management systems and mobile learning platforms more than ever before:

A learning management system (LMS) helps continuous learning to increase productivity, builds employee loyalty, helps in the development of new products and services, and helps the company keep up with the changing workplace.
In addition, new skill gaps have been identified as a result of the work-from-home reality — namely on topics related to COVID-19 compliance training, work-life balance, time management, and active listening.
Finally, for those teams that have reduced workloads, now is an opportunity to increase the knowledge base of the employees and the entire organization as a whole.

What can HR do?

An LMS is a great way to offer standardized training programs explicitly developed with your company’s mission and goals in mind.

Immediate, on-demand access to training

With all your training and knowledge-base material converted into an accessible, consumable format, employees will be able to stay informed and qualified no matter where they are working. In addition, they can better organize their schedules to learn at times that work best for them.

Integration with talent management

Learning management systems can help you track your employees’ learning outcomes — either as-is or through integration with talent management processes like Performance, Goals, and Career Development.

Integration with analytics

Learning management systems can provide in-depth data about employees’ learning outcomes, allowing organizations to make better decisions surrounding learning subjects and methodology. Each organization can decide the technology best suited for them and understand how their employees can learn better in the future. As a result, they can achieve better outcomes with better-positioned investments.

The 7 Pillars of HR Leadership — Part 7: Employee Experience

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

What is employee experience?

Employee experience is mostly a misunderstood term, as it is still in its infancy. Broadly, employee experience refers to everything an employee experiences at work — for example, their interactions with their managers, the tools available for them to complete their work, and the teams they work with. It’s a holistic view of an employee’s experiences as they work at an organization.

A positive employee experience is motivating and leads to increased productivity. With COVID-19 forcing many employees and managers to adapt to how they work, organizations need to revisit the employee experience so that employees continue to feel motivated and supported during these uncertain times.

How the HR role will change post-COVID-19

When thinking about the employee experience, HR professionals should keep the following considerations in mind.

Happy employees bring more value to the company

A positive employee experience makes employees happy and engaged, and happy employees are more productive. No wonder that in a recent study by Deloitte, almost 80% of executives worldwide rated employee experience as important or very important.

Great employee experiences need to be holistic; the experience starts during an individual’s candidacy for employment (i.e. “candidate experience”). Valuable insight can be obtained at this step about how the organization can provide a positive experience to all its employees.

Use the right technology and processes

The right technology will collect and leverage feedback from every employee experience to take the right actions to impact engagement. It empowers your organization to take actions that put your people first.

Listen

Whether in the office, on job sites, or remote, hear every voice in your organization with a listening engine that makes sure you can take action when and where it matters most. From relational census and pulse to multi-rater and always-on feedback, you’ll have the listening tools to understand and design the unique employee experiences your diverse workforce requires.

The 7 Pillars of HR Leadership — Part 4: Talent Acquisition

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

Talent acquisition in a changed market

One of the unfortunate results of the first wave of lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders was the massive decline in labor demand; even with the measures being lifted, companies are still reluctant to hire full-time employees.

The world changed from a situation where organizations were fighting for resources amidst one of the lowest unemployment rates in recent history, to an abundance of resources post-COVID-19 — it is expected that for the same role, there could be more than 4 to 5 times more candidates available for consideration.

What can HR do?

For HR organizations at companies that are hiring, the talent acquisition process will need to change and adapt to accommodate the expected volume increase of applications as well as the safe-engagement requirements caused by the pandemic. At the same time, these same resources could be hard to get when the market stabilizes. Many smart companies are looking way beyond the COVID-19 situation, planning for the future and hiring the talent they know they will need post-COVID-19.

Virtual working

It is here to stay, so be a prepared offer and be ready to manage remote-working situations. Talent acquisition teams along with hiring managers should revamp job descriptions and job roles so they more accurately reflect your organization’s needs.

Use of technology

Consider how next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence can help you with the recruiting and onboarding process. Leaving the repetitive, administrative work to the software can reduce discrepancies and free up your HR resources to focus on more value-adding endeavors.

Social recruiting

In the absence of office visits and facility tours, revisit social media to share information about your organization. Leverage video and visual content to describe your company’s work culture, future plans, career development activities, teamwork, and training. In the virtual world, social media is the best communication channel to show candidates your human side. Leverage it to proactively identify, attract, and hire high-potential candidates — reach out to your talent pool, tell them who you are as a company and about future opportunities post-COVID-19, and give them a glimpse of your corporate culture and values.

Virtual hiring

Virtual hiring is here to stay. Video interviewing is not new, but organizations now realize the power of connecting with candidates without the need for travel or the challenges caused by scheduling. This has made interviews digital — not only transparent and cost-effective but also often with a positive impact on fill times and the overall candidate experience to boot.

The 7 Pillars of HR Leadership — Part 3: Talent Management

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

Talent management in the new normal

Both employees and employers would agree that there are a lot of opportunities to improve talent management processes — in particular, those related to talent development and performance management.

But the COVID-19 crisis has made it necessary to take action sooner, with traditional goals and KPIs having little applicability in the post-pandemic world. Almost all goal-setting processes are hugely affected by the crisis, more so because organizations now need to deal with a large number of remote workers.

What can HR do?

HR should relook at enhancing their organization design for resiliency, so it is better able to quickly respond and adapt in a decisive manner in unexpected situations. Here are some considerations to keep in mind.

Next-generation models

HR will need to formalize administrative and management processes for nontraditional employment models. In the past, organization redesigns were focused on streamlining roles, supply chains, and workflows to increase efficiency. However, this makes organizations fragile and incapable of reacting quickly to changing situations.

Continuous feedback culture

This is by no means a new trend; however, as COVID-19 disrupts all forms of employee engagement, it becomes even more important to continuously engage with employees and recognize the work they are doing. Recognition in the form of monetary rewards, public acknowledgment, tokens of appreciation, development opportunities, or other low-cost perks can motivate those employees directly involved and creates objectives that employees will be motivated to attain.

It has always been recommended that HR and senior management be transparent with employees; however, in the post-pandemic era, transparency becomes vital. With all the uncertainty surrounding the potential fallout from the pandemic, HR leaders and professionals need to be proactive and consistent with the truth, so that employees are informed, reassured, and prepared. Transparency builds trust, and trust is the foundation for productivity.

The 7 Pillars of HR Leadership — Part 1: Work from Home

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

Virtual work or work from home

Global Workplace Analytics believes that 25–30% of the workforce will work from home on a regular basis by the end of 2021. Employees and investors alike are demanding it. Managers and executives are becoming more trusting, as the feared “decrease in productivity” hasn’t materialized. Companies see opportunities for cost savings, and reduced travel and commuting has a positive impact on sustainability and social distancing alike.

What can HR do?

Working from home, however, is more than just having secure access to the company’s systems and servers. For many employees and employers, it can be a fundamental shift in the working experience. HR can help with the transition and transformation to remote working. Here are some considerations to keep in mind.

Flexible policies, procedures, and compliance requirements

HR needs to adapt the organization’s policies and procedures so they consider remote-working realities — from acknowledging employees’ domestic situations to securing company data and assets.

Corporate communication

The pandemic exposed challenges and opportunities for improvements in communication. Going forward, HR needs to work alongside the corporate communications team to determine the tone, frequency, and communication channels or platforms to reach both employees working from home and frontline employees.

Critical skills and competencies

Work from home requires a unique set of skills, which can be difficult for some employees to gain proficiency in. HR needs to create opportunities for all employees to learn the tools and techniques required to work effectively from home.

Management styles

HR will need to develop and implement best practices for leaders and supervisors to properly manage and inspire employees while taking into consideration the realities presented by working from home. As an example, employee evaluations and goals likely need to change for remote setups.

Faster technology adaptation

HR needs robust technology infrastructure to manage both onsite and virtual employees. The technology needs to facilitate collaboration regardless of where employees are, and of course must minimize business disruption. In addition, companies that have not adopted cloud computing solutions might benefit from a revisit, considering the new reality of disparately located employees.

Employee experience

Employees are the fuel that keeps the company thriving, and it’s important to consider the personal challenges each one of them might be facing in these times. HR can demonstrate empathy and leadership by reworking its “employee journey maps” for this new reality, providing flexible work options and rethinking the employee experience for a remote/mixed workforce. It also remains crucial that HR maintains a personal touch with employees, even in this new, virtual world — for example, unconventional approaches such as social media and virtual happy hours can keep employees engaged and in tune with the corporate culture.