What does the expanding Gig Economy mean for staffing companies?
Over the last few years, the gig economy has steadily been on the rise. Traditional 9-to-5 work is declining and being replaced by skilled contingent workers who prefer to work when and where they are most needed. Approximately one in every three workers is currently a contract or freelance employee.
Right now, companies spend nearly $800 billion a year on contingent workers and that number is growing. As the marketplace continues to shift, staffing companies have the opportunity to solve a great need for companies looking to hire these skilled, on-demand workers. However, staffing companies also face new challenges in figuring out how to find, on-board, schedule, manage and pay people that are always on the go. It is clear that labor processes need to be improved in order to achieve long-term success.
Electronic onboarding, shift scheduling, and time and attendance tracking allow staffing companies to optimize their existing processes, reduce costs, and better manage resources. Whereas shift scheduling once meant a hard-copy calendar taped to a whiteboard or an Excel spreadsheet with multiple tabs, now scheduling exists in apps and software. This keeps it personalized, but creates a fluid process that determines availability, invites for and confirms shifts, plus allows for real-time analytics that enable accurate labor budgeting prior to the client proposal.
As this niche in our workforce grows, labor workflows must change or be built to accommodate the rise of gigging. Automation tools that improve internal and external communication, manage documentation, schedule, track and pay their workforce and gain access to powerful labor analytics will advance the business growth and make for happier clients. As market competition rises, engaging in workflow automation is the only way to keep pace and map success long-term.
The bottom line is that labor workflow automation tools enable staffing companies to harness the growing power of the gig economy and leverage it to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.
