How to Optimize your Global Contingent Workforce Management in 2021?
The global work environment is changing the way we manage international workers. Non-permanent labor and contingent workforce management have been transformed, not just because of the pandemic but also because companies are looking for more flexible working models. Besides, many qualified professionals are more and more interested in remote positions. Priorities and expectations are different today so, a lot of them turn to contract-based collaboration.
In such a context, businesses need to be quick in adapting their management tactics. If you’re stuck with old-school techniques of giving out projects only to let go of your best contingent workers without any effort on developing a bond between them and your company — then you risk losing these employees when an important project comes up because they’ll just leave for another business that offers more opportunities.
While the pandemic continues, employers are turning to contingent workers to keep their businesses afloat. In this article, XML International has put together tips on hiring and managing your global contingent workforce and retaining valuable temporary employees, so they don’t have to leave for greener pastures.
What is a Global Contingent Workforce?
A global contingent workforce is composed of people hired internationally for a fixed amount of time or on a project basis. Today, the term encompasses all workers across the globe that don’t fall under traditional working models. Contingent workers are, in fact, temporary employees who don’t work for your organization. They’re hired via a contingent workforce management services provider like XML International – or a temporary staffing agency – and are overseen by them as well, so you don’t have to worry about payroll or compliance, as it’s all handled on your behalf.
Contingent labor is a great way to reduce costs. The model’s flexibility allows recruiting experts on short notice without the burden of hiring permanent staff members who may not have the right qualifications. It gives employers more freedom with budget planning since contingent workers operate during fewer hours than full-time employees. It also saves costs related to healthcare coverage or benefits expenses like vacation payouts from unused leave days.
What does Global CWM mean in 2021?
Nowadays, a global contingent workforce management program requires its own approach. Many of the contingent workers available on the global marketplace are freelancers or consultants who see themselves as entrepreneurs and contractors. So in most cases, it would be wrong to talk to them like regular permanent employees and manage them all the same way. Instead, you should allow for their independence while still providing direction where necessary.
Global contingent labor managers must also take a slightly different approach to hiring, as candidates and recruits can be from anywhere around the world. Using vendor management systems – as XML International does – helps keep data centralized so that you know where your team member is at any given time or what projects or tasks he has been assigned. It makes effective management much easier than before. To optimize your global contingent labor program, there are several main things you need to focus on, like flexibility or diversity, among other elements.
7 Ways to Boost your Global CWM Approach
1/ Offer flexibility to candidates and be adaptable
The employment outsourcing industry’s transformation shall push managers to change global workforce management tactics as flexibility becomes paramount in the relationships with their temporary staff. Historically rigid practices must be avoided, and your HR managers should focus on adjusting to this new workforce’s needs instead of superimposing the strict rules of ancient working models. You need to implement new methods fully tailored to the latest contingent workforce standards.
Remote hiring is a significant hurdle for many companies. The lack of physical presence means it can be challenging to assess how someone performs in the workplace or their motivations. However, with tools like video interviewing becoming more common among businesses today — and less expensive! — we’re coming up with new ways to recruit talent remotely at an unprecedented level. Utilizing XML’s infrastructure in foreign countries can also help big time!
2/ Define your KPIs and expectations from day one
Creating a culture that revolves around mutual respect is essential for all parties involved. It’s necessary to communicate your needs, expectations, and rules to set the stage for your relationship and maintain it throughout its duration. By creating clear definitions of what success means on both sides (KPIs) and defining tangible metrics as early as possible, you can keep things moving smoothly without confusion – just make sure you’re listening carefully too!
With this methodology, you and your teams will know exactly what you need to do and how long it will take. You won’t have any of those pesky issues that cause delays or expenses — it’s all laid out for you! It also means better work/life balance because your workload is manageable and leaves room for leisure time with such clarity in communication. Work more efficiently: the benefits are endless!
3/ Establish robust location-specific onboarding processes
International contingent workers have different needs regarding remuneration, working hours, or benefits depending on where they come from or where they are based. You need to ensure that your strategy is matching the target labor market’s culture. If you’re looking for market-based talent, it’s only natural to research what local workers look for and compare their expectations with those of the competition to keep a competitive edge.
The global marketplace is vast and ever-growing, but if you want to keep up with the competition, it’s crucial to be an excellent employer and deploy a competitive onboarding strategy. That’s where XML International comes in; we offer your business all of the tools needed for localizing onboarding procedures. They help increase retention rates and facilitate seamless collaboration across borders without compromising quality while maintaining low costs.
4/ Rationalize communications within your workforce
Efficient and transparent communications are essential to a successful international collaboration, but the type of communication needed for each country varies. Your global contingent workforce strategy should include an approach tailored specifically to the target markets where you plan to hire temporary staff to increase productivity and avoid burnout among permanent staff members, both locally and abroad.
Despite the advent of new technologies and unstoppable business globalization in recent years, this is somehow still very difficult for some companies to handle that part of the management process. Luckily, XML International proposes bespoke workforce management solutions that can help you avoid issues by providing your HR managers with the necessary tools for your global teams’ interactions no matter where on earth they are located.
5/ Incentivize global job offers with educational benefits
In Western Europe, North America, or the Middle East, contingent workers constantly get unparalleled offers from companies, small or large. Why should they pay attention to yours? If their income is stable and you can’t offer them something valuable, they will ignore you. What will tip the scales in your favor is offering them incentives, like training opportunities or education schemes; otherwise, it’s unlikely for them to consider working with you.
As a global employer, you need to detail all of the perks you can provide for your international contingent workers when you publish a job offer, training included. By advertising all these benefits when hiring someone from abroad or proposing work opportunities overseas, you are more likely to attract high-quality talent. Besides, they will stay longer with you if you provide strong job security and advancement potentials in their field.
6/ Utilize direct referrals from people who know you
Whether you work only in one location or have offices around the globe, hiring remote contingent workers can be a stressful process for everyone involved. Why not save time and money by working with people who already know your company’s values? Referrals are great because they come from current employees or partners like XML International, who know your business inside-out.
If you’re looking to grow your business in a specific location, avoid the time-consuming process of selecting candidates by yourself for short-term projects or managing an ever-expanding contingent workforce with no support, we can help. We can reach out to our global network of professionals, and we offer referral programs so that people come straight to you based on recommendations from people who know what you are doing — and how.
7/ Promote diversity, equality & inclusion in your plan
Diverse teams are more creative, work better together, and can be a competitive asset to any company — but it doesn’t happen by accident. Both the workforce and the management must work hand in hand to achieve it. Diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I) is an everyday task and goal for organizations rather than just something they check off on their list of things to do when diversity quotas come up for review. Also, being performative about promoting DE&I won’t take you very far.
In the past, organizations were hesitant to extend their DE&I efforts into contingent labor due to co-employment concerns. Organizations typically only looked at budget and costs when it came down to measuring their talent pool’s diversity. Still, companies are now eager and motivated to build more inclusive pools by understanding how to track talents abroad. XML proposes support to help include DE&I more efficiently within your contingent workforce space
How XML can Help you Optimize your Global CWM
With the global workforce landscape changing, it’s a must for businesses to efficiently onboard, manage, and scale their contingent workers in 2021 and beyond. Flexibility is of utmost importance in this shift as leaders see contract-based work become more popular — but that doesn’t mean they should treat these strategies lightly. A dedicated approach coupled with a learning mindset and the expertise of XML International can help you succeed.
Partnering with XML International can help you manage your global contingent workforce in one place and improve your overall global talent management. You will have a much clearer insight into which vacancies have a high turnover, contingent workers get consistently positive or negative feedback, any red flags for vendors, suppliers, or workers. Another major benefit of bringing XML into the picture is the local knowledge that we provide.
Don’t worry if you’re not sure how to hire, oversee, and scale your global contingent workforce. There are ways to do it right. Keep adjusting, be mindful of your target candidates’ culture and ensure proper transparency across borders; this will help sustainably scale the management process for total talent workers.
Call +44 20 3949 8321 today and speak with one of our experts about what will work best for what you have in mind.
