[gdwl]
The importance of temporary and contract employees on the American work force can’t be denied. In fact, hourly employees make up about 60 percent of the U.S. work force.
How companies manage the contract labor process, however, is open for debate. According to a recent survey, 93 percent of respondents said their firms use temporary employees in at least one of their departments. But of the 162 professionals spanning 138 companies and 18 industries, fewer than one in four (23 percent) said they have considered or would consider outsourcing their contract labor management process.
What’s more, 82 percent cited the need for a structured plan in managing third-party agencies and the contract labor management process.
“There seems to be a disconnect between the importance companies place on recruiting this important component of their work force and their willingness to seek out expert help in attracting top talent,” said Matt Aprahamian, principal and co-founder of Monument Consulting, a leader in vendor management solutions and recruitment process outsourcing. “The talent management process is not unlike other critical company functions – such as accounting, advertising or legal – in that it can be advantageous to retain outside experts in a particular field.”
Respondents to the survey included C-level executives and human resources professionals alike who cited several challenges their companies face relating to talent acquisition. Chief among them were the supply of qualified candidates (85%), timeliness to fill positions (62%) and cost associated with talent acquisition (45%).
They overwhelmingly chose quality placement (93%) over timely placement and low cost as the most important result of a sound recruitment process. Information technology (56%), operations (43%), accounting/finance (36%), customer service (24%) and manufacturing (22%) were the departments most likely to hire temporary/contract employees, according to the survey.
“July’s unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent, and 1.6 million more people are out of work than this time last year,” Aprahamian said. “Our survey respondents have told us that the quality of a hire is the most important outcome of the recruiting process, but landing on the best person for the job is challenging when job seekers may be applying for any work, regardless of their qualifications.
“Using an outside vendor can help employers weed through the ‘B’ and ‘C’ candidates, so that the ‘A’ applicants are the ones who make it in the door.”
[/gdwl]