The Gig Economy Is Here To Stay: Tips for Transitioning To a Scalable Workforce

Organizations today must be more agile than ever, and a large part of a company’s flexibility lies heavily with its HCM efforts. To remain competitive, business leaders must be able to scale their workforce. David Karandish, CEO of Capacity, offers advice for making an effective transition to a scalable workforce. 

It’s no secret that companies operate in a highly competitive environment. To survive, business leaders must transform their strategies, adopting those that provide flexibility in innovation, product offering, and workforce. For that reason, organizations should focus on creating a scalable workforce to quickly adapt to market changes and shifts in customer expectations.

A scalable workforce is an HR strategy that offers flexibility for managers and business leaders, allowing them to adjust the number of workers within the organization based on need. Scalable workforcesOpens a new window include a healthy combination of full-time and part-time employees, freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors, and contingent workers. Instead of always having a set number of employees, businesses can employ workers based on the amount of workload available at any given time.

The Benefits of a Scalable Workforce

The scalable workforce approach comes with several benefits for modern organizations. From cost optimization to better talent management and productivity, businesses can capitalize on the benefits of implementing a scalable workforce to thrive in today’s volatile marketplace.

• Decreased operational costs: Empowering your in-house workforce with flexible talent helps you reduce your fixed labor costs. A scalable workforce allows you to eliminate overhead costs on salaries, insurance coverage and various employee benefits that full-time employees need. With short-term freelancers, contractors, and gig workers, you can cut costs around overtime, office space, and workplace tools.

• Faster turnaround times: Technological advances in the last few years have created staffing challenges for HR teams. Modern customers expect immediate resolutions to their issues. When timeliness, quality control, and scalability are the goal, a scalable workforce allows you to quickly increase or decrease staffing depending on the project. This adaptability is a vital benefit for organizations looking to make customer serviceOpens a new window a main priority.

• Improved productivity: As your organization scales, the demand for your workforce will increase. Without the additional help of a flexible workforce, your team will be over inundated with tasks and their productivity will take a hit. Hiring short-term employees to tackle projects and help alleviate your team’s workload will significantly improve retention, morale, and employee loyalty.

How to Transition to a Scalable Workforce

While assessing the benefits of a scalable workforce, it’s important to remember that incorporating scalability into your talent management strategy requires more thought than just hiring a freelancer or two. It is important to create a functional, flexible strategy with the tools needed to measure its success.

• Set goals: The first step in transitioning from a fully traditional to a scalable workforce is to establish the specific goals you want to achieve with your strategy. Build a long-term plan inclusive of every detail of your efforts: benefits to your company, positions you need to hire, skills required to perform in each role. Goal-setting software provides businesses and teams the support of an automated reinforcement to meet and exceed your intentions for each project and initiative. These goals then become the foundation of what to do next.

• Establish workforce requirements: After you have determined your goals, identify both the immediate and long-term requirements of said goals. To get a better understanding of the gaps within your organization, assess the shortfalls your team has faced in the previous year. This will uncover the roles you need to fill with flexible workers. There are many tools available for this step, including HR software focused on helping you streamline your long-term requirements and hiring details for open roles.

• Enable employees with technology: Innovative software solutions are making it easier for employees to do their best work. As technology like AI and machine learning become more ubiquitous with modern work, teams will be empowered to fill their days with more engaging projects. Providing your workforce with the tools and technology they need to successfully perform in their roles will improve efficiency and employee experienceOpens a new window while also ensuring your team is armed with everything they need to thrive in today’s ever-evolving workplace.

As organizations aim to compete in the current landscape, employees are overwhelmed, overloaded, and unengaged. Pairing your in-house workforce with a team of remote, flexible employees will help your organization successfully navigate the competitive business environment and come out ahead of the competition. With decreased operational costs, faster turnaround times and improved productivity, the benefits of a scalable workforce are poignant in today’s professional landscape. By transitioning to a scalable workforce, you’re empowering your team members to exceed their goals and adapt to a wider view of different businesses and industries.