What Is Flexible Staffing?
Jan 30, 2023 • 9 min read
The term “flexible staffing” refers to the practice of hiring contingent workers, such as freelancers, and agency-provided workers. This type of workforce flexibility helps employers meet changing demands, such as increased customer demand or seasonal fluctuations. In addition, flexible staffing can help businesses avoid having to lay off existing employees during times of economic downturn.
Flexible staffing practices can take many forms, including part-time employment, temporary assignments, contract work, and freelance arrangements. These types of arrangements allow companies to recruit individuals who might otherwise be overlooked because they don’t match up perfectly with traditional job descriptions.
Business leaders often use flexible staffing and contingent roles to fill specific needs. For example, a retailer could outsource some of its production tasks to contractors rather than laying off current employees. A restaurant chain could assign a hostess to a table while it waits for a regular server to arrive. An insurance agency could hire a claims adjuster to handle certain types of cases while retaining experienced accountants to handle others.
In addition to filling immediate needs, flexible staffing can be used as a long-term solution to reduce turnover costs. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they tend to remain with the company longer. Employers can encourage loyalty by offering competitive compensation packages and providing opportunities for advancement.
Companies use flexible staffing for a variety of reasons, including filling temporary talent gaps or meeting temporary surges in labor demands. Contingent workers include freelance professionals, independent contractors, temp agents, and part-time employees.
You’ll learn:
- Why do you need a flexible staffing strategy?
- Embracing remote work
- Tips for building your flexible staffing strategy
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Use the DigiWorks platform to hire, manage, and pay remote talent from all over the world.
Why do you need a flexible staffing strategy?
Flexible staffing strategies are becoming increasingly popular among companies looking to reduce costs and increase productivity. They offer employees the freedom to work where and when they want, and employers gain access to a pool of talented workers that they might otherwise miss out on.
The world of work is changing rapidly, and companies are scrambling to adapt. Flexible staffing is often thought of as a solution to hiring challenges but it is actually a strategy for managing workforce needs.
Flexible staffing is an important component of any firm’s long-term growth plan. And while there are many benefits to having a diverse team, including increased creativity and innovation, flexible staffing can also help address short-term challenges like employee turnover and talent shortages.
Here are three ways that flexible staffing can benefit your organization.
1. Fill Skill Gaps During Crises
When you’re facing a major challenge — such as a shortage of skilled labor — flexible staffing can be a key tool in helping you overcome obstacles. For example, if you suddenly find yourself without enough qualified candidates to handle a project, it might make sense to hire someone temporarily to help out. Or perhaps you want to bring in a specialist to train existing employees on a new technology.
2. Hire Talent Where You Need Them
If you’ve been struggling to attract talented people, flexible staffing could be just what you need to keep up with demand. If you’re looking to add expertise in areas where you lack experience, consider bringing in temporary staff members who can provide training and mentoring.
3. The business opportunities of flexible staffing
Flexible staffing allows companies to recruit people with specialized skillsets who are able to work remotely. This type of workforce flexibility helps businesses reduce costs while increasing productivity. However, many organizations struggle to find qualified candidates with the necessary skills. One way to address this problem is to use temporary and contract workers. These types of employees can fill gaps in the organization and provide additional support during times of change.
Temporary and contract workers can help you save money because they don’t require benefits such as health insurance, vacation days, sick pay, etc. They also cost less than full-time employees since they’re paid per project rather than salary. In addition, temporary and contract workers often receive better training and mentoring than permanent hires.
Contingent work is here, and businesses should embrace it
Flexible staffing strategies build resilience and longevity for companies. Contingent workers are often referred to as “on call” employees. When an organization adopts a flexible staffing policy, they can easily scale up or down their investment in contractors.
Businesses can benefit from partnering with HR firms to manage their people.
Companies who want to keep their workforce fresh and engaged will have to find ways of engaging them outside of the office.
Embracing remote work
Remote work is becoming increasingly popular among companies across industries following the Covid-19 crisis. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by FlexJobs, over half of employers are now offering some form of flexible working arrangement. While it might seem like a luxury for many smaller companies, there are several benefits to embracing remote work.
Benefits of Remote Work
Flexibility – As mentioned above, remote workers enjoy greater freedom and flexibility than those who must commute to an office every day. This can allow employees to better balance their personal lives with their professional ones. Additionally, remote workers often report feeling less stressed because they don’t have to rush out of the house in the morning.
One of the biggest advantages of having a part-time remote team member or VA is having more time to work on core company goals and personal goals.
Cost Savings – Many companies offer perks such as free food and drinks, gym memberships, and even childcare. These expenses add up quickly for employees who spend hours commuting each way to an office. By eliminating these costs, companies can save money and provide additional resources to their teams.
Hiring remote team members gives you access to expertise around the world and a global talent pool.
Team Building – Employees who work remotely often feel more engaged with their colleagues and managers. They also tend to bond more easily with one another due to increased face-to-face contact.
Skills Development – If you want to learn something new, why not try teaching yourself something new? With remote work, you can take advantage of online courses and tutorials without having to worry about missing deadlines. You could also use this opportunity to hone your skills in areas where you lack experience.
Technology Integration – Technology plays a large role in today’s workplace. Whether it’s email, social media, or collaboration tools, technology continues to evolve and improve. However, most people aren’t familiar with how to effectively integrate new technologies into their daily workflow. By providing remote workers with access to training materials, companies can help ensure that everyone is comfortable with the latest tech trends.your flexible staffing strategy
Flexible staffing is an important component of any organization’s workforce planning strategy. Whether you’re looking to hire full-time employees or contract out work, there are many different options for how to use flexible staffing.
Business leaders see compelling benefits of hiring a flexible workforce with temporary employees and permanent employees working remotely on flexible work schedules/ adjustable work schedules. These flexible workers or contingent workforce are separate from your core workforce and internal team. They can help out with day-to-day tasks, leaving you with more time and resources for core roles and critical roles. Having these additional workers and talented professionals helping you run things when needed gives your business a competitive advantage.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, having flexible staffing solutions in place and a flexible workforce in a remote work environment is seen as a holistic talent solution by modern business.
Here are some tips for building your flexible staffing strategy.
1. Hire Contractors and Freelancers
Hiring contractors and freelancers allow organizations to quickly scale up and down their operations without having to invest in expensive infrastructure. For example, a contractor could help build a new product feature while another contractor handles support issues. This type of flexibility helps organizations avoid the risk associated with long-term contracts.
2. Utilize Temporary Staffing Services
Temporary staffing services allow businesses to quickly ramp up or down their labor needs. These services often provide workers on demand, allowing companies to respond to seasonal fluctuations or unexpected events.
3. Leverage Independent Consultants
Independent consultants offer specialized expertise that can’t always be found within an organization. They can add value by helping solve complex problems, providing training, or developing new products to get started with flexible staffing
Flexible staffing helps companies meet short-term business needs without committing to a single employee. Companies benefit from flexibility by outsourcing work that would otherwise be performed by employees. This type of arrangement provides organizations with greater control over costs while still maintaining access to high quality candidates.
A flexible staffing strategy provides protection against talent shortages that could disrupt or devastate the company. In addition, it ensures the continued success of the organization in challenging business environments.
Companies prioritize permanent hires, but flexible staffing enables them to avoid hiring someone just because they are available. Instead, they focus on finding individuals who fit well within the culture of the organization. and retaining contingent talent.
Research has indicated that companies should understand why people choose contingency roles. They should know about the specific skills and qualifications required for their role, recognize that there are many recruitment methods, and understand how contingent work differs from traditional employment.
Contingent talent is different because it requires flexibility, adaptability, and willingness to take risks. These traits are often valued differently within organizations, and companies must consider how they value contingent workers. Their brands can affect contingent workers too, making it important to be mindful of what you say and do around contingent workers.
The research recommends that employers learn more about the reasons behind contingent worker decisions, including the following:
• What motivates contingent workers to seek jobs outside of their normal career path?
• How does contingent work fit into the lives of those seeking it?
• Why do some people prefer contingent work over full-time positions?
• What is unique about contingent work compared to traditional employment?
Ready to build your remote team?
Use the DigiWorks platform to hire, manage, and pay remote talent from all over the world.
Hiring flexible remote staff
Incorporating flexible workforce models into your workforce strategy might be a great idea to build a constructive work environment.
A staffing agency or remote staffing platform like DigiWorks helps companies find quality candidates and onboard employees. Companies use talent marketplaces and platforms because it saves them money and time. Recruiting and screening employees is expensive and time-consuming. A platform like DigiWorks does both tasks for you, saving you money and time.
Companies rely because they want to save money and time. Hiring someone through an agent gives you access to a wide variety of skills. You don’t know what you’ll need until you start working. Choosing a staffing platform ensures success as you would have access to completely vetted remote flexible employees from a global pool of candidates.
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About DigiWorks
DigiWorks is an easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and start ups hire amazing remote talent from around the world. DigiWorks offers a way for you to hire, manage and pay people from all countries. If you find an amazing virtual assistant from Philippines, a content writer from Nigeria, or operations manager from South Africa – manage and pay your entire team from one platform with no hassle.
If you’re looking for a more affordable and sustainable option you might consider making use of a hiring platform like DigiWorks. Virtual assistant companies or platforms like DigiWorks are amazing as they not only match you with pre-vetted and assessed remote workers that can take care of all your business needs but they will also handle all onboarding and payroll needs as well.