History has taught us that when the economy starts to climb back after a downturn, companies look toward the contingent labor landscape to get work done and optimize labor spend. We saw this after the 2008 recession, where the share of contingent labor in an organization’s workforce went up.
In ‘Rise of the Contingent Workforce’, author Christiane Soto states that more than 25% of the 1.17 million private sector jobs added in 2010 after the Great Recession were temp jobs.
Yet again, in 2020, history repeats itself. But this time it is a forced temporary shutdown of the economy due to the coronavirus pandemic. Once again employers will follow suit to engage contingent workers as the economy starts to rebound.
You might also like: ‘How COVID-19 Is Changing the Rules for the Gig Economy’
Rebuilding the Economy With a Contingent Workforce
Before COVID-19, in a highly competitive labor market where the role of contingent labor has become more critical than ever, employers had devised strategies to attract and engage contract workers.
Post-pandemic, the scenario will remain even more competitive and employers should be prepared with efficient strategies to onboard their furloughed or laid-off contract workers (many of whom have potentially been laid off to protect the workforce from bearing the brunt of the economic crisis).
To keep the furloughed employees and laid-off contract workers engaged, it is high time that employers look beyond traditional sourcing models using VMS technology and actively weigh up the opportunities to deploy technology-enabled strategies, like direct sourcing.
Related reading: ‘3 Ways Contingent Labor Can Help Reskill the Workforce’
Direct Sourcing and a VMS
In the recent webinar ‘The Future of Sourcing: Combining Direct Sourcing With Your VMS Strategy’, VectorVMS Product Manager, Taylor Ramchandani, and Praneeth Patlola from WillHire presented the case for integrating direct sourcing with a VMS strategy as the future of sourcing in the post-pandemic world of work.
WillHire and VectorVMS have partnered to deliver direct sourcing solutions integrated within the VMS with zero disruption to existing programs and at no additional cost.
The webinar discusses how direct sourcing, as an additional layer within the VMS tool, augments the sourcing exercise, helps employers create a vetted talent pool of contract workers, and improves the quality of hire while saving costs, without any disruption to the existing program.
As the economy rebounds, it will be imperative to reach talent in the ways they prefer to be reached and through a variety of different ways outside of the traditional staffing model.
Want to know more? Watch the recorded webinar here.
Meet the Expert
Taylor Ramchandani – VP of Strategy
Taylor Ramchandani is responsible for the management and strategic planning of the VectorVMS vendor management system. Taylor is committed to client satisfaction and to ensuring VectorVMS technology meets the current and future needs of clients and managed service providers (MSPs). She uses market research and in-depth industry experience to create products and services that make extended workforce management efficient and intuitive. Taylor oversees product development, marketing, and business partnerships for VectorVMS and is responsible for driving innovation for contingent workforce management. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
