The Expected State of the Contingent Workforce in 2014

According to this report by Accenture released last year, the biggest change coming to human resources over the next 12 months will be the rise of an increasingly more temporary workforce. However, their research suggests that it may take on a significantly different form than it has in the past. Accenture posits that the new workforce will be more flexible and even highly skilled individuals will have a more freelance role in big business. 

There are a growing number of people who temporarily lend companies their skills and knowledge in an ever-expanding network of freelancers, consultants, outsourcing partners, vendors and other types of nontraditional talent. Many of these individuals are jobless, but not work-less.

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So what does this mean for business and the role of companies who do provide continent workers for businesses? 

Current estimates indicate that up to 33% of the US workforce today is comprised of non-traditional workers including contractors, temporary employees, or freelancers. It is expected that companies who provide this type of service to other businesses will add over 600,000 jobs in the next decade which is expected to be twice the growth rate for the rest of the economy during the same time frame.

Online talent platforms are also on the rise. Services such as NextCrew, as well as some popular Freelance websites, allow companies to access contingent workers through the cloud making it easy to connect these flexible employees with short or long term projects. 

Also from the Accenture report: 

The rise of new online contractor exchanges has also fueled the growth of the extended workforce. Just as “cloud computing” has recently emerged as a way for organizations to get on-demand, affordable access to a dynamically scalable, shared pool of computing resources over the Internet paid for on a transactional basis, so too has “cloud talent sourcing” emerged as a new model whereby organizations can get on-demand, affordable and global access to a dynamically scalable, shared pool of skilled workers over the Internet paid for on a transactional basis. With cloud computing, companies pay only for the transactions they want handled.

Leaders in the temporary staffing, hospitality and event staffing, and other industries which rely on contingent employees have long understood the need to stay at the top of employment trends. Temporary staffing is one indicator of a growing economy. With the significant changes in the way business works, the contingent workforce may soon become the backbone of business in our country. 

Be at the leading edge of contract and temporary workforce management. Contact NextCrew to learn more about our systems and how they can help you manage your staff online.