Contingent Worker Attraction: do you even think about it?
Contingent worker attraction: it’s not something that’s been top of mind for you lately. Right? Yet it’s a crucial play if you’re utilising contingent workers in your business, or if you plan to.
Conversely think about this: the way we work, holiday, travel, date and even eat has undergone significant change in recent years. Here are a few examples:
Why are these brands so prolifically successful, whilst industry stalwarts lag?
There’s a really simple answer to that question. They provide human experiences.
They stay in touch with their users, in ways that are useful, memorable; sometimes even funny or cute.
They’re real-time. Available anywhere, anytime, no matter where you happen to be across the globe.
They’re personalised.
And they deliver experiences that are, for the most part, memorable.
Now let’s look at this innovative side of technology and see how it applies to contingent worker attraction.
Oh, that’s right. There’s nothing to see here.
Recently we hosted a fascinating conference in Sydney, The Emerging Workforce Summit. This one-day event brought global industry leaders together to discuss the big issues surrounding the emerging workforce: the future of work, technology, risk, total talent management, contingent working and much, much more.
One of our speakers, Dr Mike Haywood founder of LiveHire, shared insights on the candidate experience in today’s employment market. Look at the predictive text in this Google search …
Given the dramatic shift that’s already happened in the workplace, where contingent talent make up up to 40% of the total workforce (in the US), it’s remarkable that the way in which these workers are engaged hasn’t modernised. Or humanised. What’s happened to contingent worker attraction?
To think that job boards and agencies still take up nearly 70%* of organisational recruitment budgets in Australia, to deliver – wait for it – around 25%* of hires, is madness. It no longer adds up.
And the data is already out – candidates are over it. Most have bad experiences in applying for roles in Australian companies (60%)*, and the vast majority (80%)* say they would never reapply to a company.
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Dr Heywood’s perspective is to place the candidate at the centre of the recruitment process (sound crazy right?). Placing THEM the driving seat. And LiveHire facilitates this.
The rise of independent workers places a different onus on the candidate, to some extent. There’s an expectation that self-marketing needs to play a role. And fair play. Look at platforms like Expert360, Commtract, UpWork, Guru and the like… they’re providing contingent workers with a real-time opportunity to get their personal brand to market, and to engage with the smart organisations that are tapping into what these digital marketplaces offer.
But more importantly, organisations need to take strategic responsibility for the attraction, engagement and management of their workers, and perhaps more so, their contingent workers. Why more for contingents? Because the very nature of contingent working means, if you land a quality hire, you’re likely to want to rehire that talent in the future. Right?
There are a number of winning ways to achieve this today. Think company careers pages, employer branding, talent communities and talent pools. Oh – and the old human touch – referrals. These strategies, coupled with a platform like LiveHire, and there’s the point of recruitment transformation.
But it takes time.
Yes, there’s no Airbnb for hiring contingent talent – not yet. But in our view, new technology like LiveHire coupled with a long-term vision for strategically getting your brand to market, will make your business an absolute market stand-out.
What’s your organisation doing in respect of contingent worker attraction? Are you shifting away from the old school approach? Let us know in the comments…
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*Source: LiveHire, Emerging Workforce Summit[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
