Building A Resilient Organization with Contingent Workers to Mitigate Future Disruptions

When the world witnessed major disruptions in almost every aspect of businesses due to the unprecedented pandemic in the 2020s, the majority of employers switched to remote and hybrid working models. Such flexible work models not only enabled employees to attain a better work-life balance but also helped employers grapple with the vulnerabilities of the market and embrace technological innovations with efficiency. 

Though with the normalization of the pandemic situation, the conditions of the business market might have been somewhat restored, employers continue to embrace flexible employment models to develop workforce resilience. In other words, businesses are now increasingly engaging contingent workers, including temporary or contractual workers, to remain flexible, scalable, and agile in the face of potential disruptions.

This article demonstrates the ways in which contingent workers can help organizations build workforce resilience. But before that, let us get an understanding of what workforce resilience is.

What is workforce resilience?

Workforce resilience indicates the capability and efficiency of an organization to respond to and recover from an unforeseen business circumstance quickly. It demonstrates how well the employees of an organization can cope with the challenges and changes occurring in the business processes due to some internal or external market condition. Besides the vulnerabilities of the business market due to political or economic factors, the accelerated pace of innovation and digital transformation has made a huge impact on the ways of working. There has been a major shift in skill preferences, causing employers to undertake a more proactive approach while hiring and engaging workers. Such shifting preferences and pressing business challenges can be better addressed by organizations when they have workforce resilience.

Now, let’s discuss how contingent workers are forming the central components of workforce resilience.

How can contingent workers help build workforce resilience for organizations?

Here are the top four ways in which contingent workers prove to be the core factors driving workforce resilience.

1. Plenty of specialized skills to bridge the talent gap

With the increase in the aging population, talent gaps are found to impose a serious threat to organizations, especially when it comes to supporting change and innovation. While many employers attempt to train and upskill their internal teams, they often fail to address the resistance to change demonstrated by their existing workforce. 

In this regard, it is essential for employers to have a clear insight into the capabilities, skills, and competencies of their workforce and consider blending their existing teams with contingent workers. Contingent workers with niche expertise come with a wide spectrum of skills and thus, can efficiently contribute to time-bound projects or business needs. With a contingent workforce, businesses can effectively close their talent gaps.

2. Unmatched flexibility during economic uncertainties

Contingent workers come to the rescue of organizations when the economic landscape becomes turbulent or unpredictable. During such times, employers seek natural flexibility in their operations so that their business can thrive in the face of any circumstance. 

With contingent workers, employers do not face the need for long-term commitments, and thus, it becomes easier for them to release workers during critical periods. This also helps businesses avoid mass layoffs, thereby preventing the negative impact on employee morale, motivation, and brand reputation.

Related read: Multiple Ways to Utilize Contingent Workforce During an Economic Downturn

3. Foster a diverse, inclusive, and innovative work culture

A strategic alignment of contingent workers with business goals can help organizations set the right grounds for innovation. When employers strategize to hire contingent workers across the globe, they get hold of diverse skill sets and competencies, fresh perspectives, and unique ideas that can rightfully pave the way for innovation. 

With extensive work experience and exposure to different types of projects, experienced contingent workers not only enrich the existing workforce of an organization with elevated skills and knowledge but also remain open to learning new things and embracing change and innovation. Hence, by switching to a contingent workforce, employers can foster a diverse, inclusive, and innovative workplace culture.

4. Quick responsiveness to market changes

Besides being equipped with a wide range of skills and knowledge, contingent workers usually remain on the loose when it comes to traditional hierarchical practices and processes in an organization. Just like employers can efficiently release contingent workers during economic downturns, they can re-hire them to meet seasonal highs, market demands, or any other changes in the business market. By connecting with an array of contingent talent for a time-specific project or short-term business need, it becomes easier for employers to deal with market changes in a swift and efficient manner. 

5. Better motivation and engagement of full-time employees

Contingent workers often serve as the best means of reducing the workload from existing, full-time teams, especially during high market demands. When the duties and tasks for existing employees increase at times of seasonal peaks or internal business needs, the situation eventually leads to burnout along with a decline in employee morale and motivation. To bring such a situation under control, it is best to involve contingent workers who can work alongside the existing staff and fulfill the needs of the hour. This can enhance the motivation of the overall workforce, leading to better engagement among all employees.

Embracing a contingent workforce model with Denken Solutions

• At Denken Solutions, we start the process by getting an in-depth insight into your business needs, goals, and objectives.
• We follow a meticulous process to match candidates with the client’s requirements, thereby assessing the skills, competencies, and cultural fit of potential candidates.
• In addition to recruitment, we assist clients throughout the on boarding, training, and contingent workforce management processes.
• With access to a diverse range of contingent talents, we ensure that we bring you the best candidate with niche expertise who can perfectly meet your project needs.
• Our contingent workforce solutions are flexible, scalable, cost-efficient, and time-efficient.

Conclusion

To avoid future disruptions in business resulting from any internal or external market conditions, organizations must develop workforce resilience. One of the most effective ways to do so is hiring and engaging contingent workers during hours of need. With a contingent workforce, organizations can bridge their talent gap with plenty of specialized skills, get unparalleled flexibility during economic uncertainties, respond quickly to market changes, channel a diverse, inclusive, and innovative work culture, and enhance the motivation and engagement of full-time employees.
To discover more about how contingent workers can help you build workforce resilience, connect with us today!