Employers are now finding better ways to match gig workers to the tasks at hand, according to Ardent Partners' report, “The 2017-2018 State of Contingent Workforce Management: The Convergence of Talent, Technology, and the Future of Work,” sponsored by Shiftgig.
The report covers many facets of successfully deploying gig workers, including how to best find the gig worker that has the requisite skills needed for a particular project. More than half (56 percent) of organizations are now leveraging labor automation and online talent platforms “as a keystone act” when addressing the talent requirements of a new business project.
“Online and talent platforms, which serve as real-time networks in which flexible/non-employee workers and businesses can connect, have quickly become a primary means of addressing talent-based needs,” writes Christopher Dwyer, Ardent Partners' vice president of research. “Most of these platforms specialize in specific areas or verticals — such as field service, industrial, and blue-collar work, and many utilize unique algorithms to help enterprises determine the best alignment between a project and potential freelancer or non-employee worker.”
“Best-in-Class” organizations are more actively using online talent platforms than other organizations (70 percent compared to 55 percent), as well as mobile talent engagement apps (23 percent compared to 9 percent) and gamification modules (21 percent compared to 7 percent), as part of vendor-management system platforms, to “add an additional layer of innovation to talent networks.”
Some VMS systems also now also align freelancer skillsets to the enterprise projects at hand, to enable direct-or self-sourcing.
“This feature allows VMS users to directly integrate data from this self -sourcing functionality into greater VMS reporting structures while also gaining enhanced visibility and control over non-employee talent,” Dwyer writes.
The vast majority (76 percent) of businesses also leverage social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn, to find, engage, and source talent. However, a majority (73 percent) of Best-in-Class companies still rely on managed service providers as a steady means of outsourced contingent workforce management, while just over half (55 percent) of other organizations do so.
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Katie Kuehner-Hebert
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.
