Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/182340
Contingent Labor Workforce Redefined The benefits, challenges, and best practices of a blended staffing model. By Jennifer Berry IBM's recent announcement of trimming between 6,000 and 8,000 jobs globally was described by a June article on Bloomberg.com as part of an ongoing "workforce remix." The latest step in that "remix" process will apparently cost the global computing giant around $1 billion. Keep in mind this is on top of more than $1.2 billion the company has already spent on workforce restructuring over the past two years. The eye-popping price tag is due largely to the size of IBM. But the logistical wrangling and expense involved in making structural staffing changes to full-time employees also stands in stark contrast to a small passage later in the piece. It explained that "IBM also has been cutting hours of its contract employees" and that "…the company relies on contractors to manage labor costs on informationtechnology projects for clients." a structural and cultural shift, with contract and part-time workers becoming more prominent in the professional landscape. Businesses operating in tech-heavy industries and other specialized fields have been particularly active in embracing this model. The Harvard Business Review reported last year that, according to workforce solutions provider Pontoon (then Adecco), "the rate of growth in contingent workers will be three to four times the growth rate among traditional workforces," and that up to 25 percent of the global workforce will soon be comprised of contract workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reinforces the momentum of that trend, concluding the average worker today stays at each job for less than four and a half years. The relative ease with which IBM was able to throttle back on contract staffing—and the lack of any significant expense associated with doing so—supports in large part why blended staffing has become an increasingly popular option for businesses in recent years. Blended staffing relies on both full-time salaried employees and a roster of proven outside consultants to make up an entire organization's workforce. The expected tenure for younger workers is shorter still. Multiple Generations @ Work by Future Workplace, a recent study of nearly 1,200 employees and 150 managers, found that 91 percent of millennials expect to stay in their current job for less than three years. The BLS also reported that, as of January 2012, more than one in five wage and salary workers have had one year or less of tenure with their current employer. The employment landscape is changing, and today's workforce is moving toward a more independent and flexible professional structure. One reason why the blended staffing model has been getting more attention recently is simple: professional demographics. An evolving workforce has been undergoing The internal flexibility and favorable cost-benefit associated with blended staffing is an attractive value add. Combine that with the ability to leverage the expertise of highly SEPTEMBER 2013 | www.hrotoday.com [65]