In this ongoing digital disruption, businesses around the world are looking for new ways to ensure business continuity while increasing their profits. As a business owner, staying ahead of the curve requires that you must be able to identify and adopt new practices all the time. One such area that is gaining traction is the hiring of gig workers. 

Gig workers:

Gig workers or freelancers or temp workers are the workers who work on a contingent basis. They represent the economy called the ‘gig economy’. The term ‘Gig economy’ is not particularly new. It was coined in 2009 by a former New Yorker editor Tina Brown. Gig economy represents initiatives based on contingent work that is transacted on a digital marketplace.

Why is the gig economy gaining ground now?

The gig economy is rapidly gaining ground due to the current business and economic conditions. As the nature of work is changing, businesses across the world are trying to utilize this shift for implementing a greater workforce for their business.

Over the years the gig economy has grown large and is now quickly gaining traction as the new normal. According to Peter Miscovich, Managing Director, Strategy + Innovation, JLL Consulting in New York, by 2030 gig workers will comprise 80% of the workforce. According to a report by BMO(https://wealth.bmoharris.com/media/resource_pdf/180996_BMO_Wealth_Insight_Gig_Economy_US_Ev4.pdf), the reason why the current workforce also embraces this shift is that there is a chance for making extra money, they can better balance the career and family needs and they can have a better autonomy and control. According to the guild (https://guild.co/blog/help-wanted-how-businesses-can-benefit-from-the-gig-economy/), more than a third of the workforce identify as on-demand workers and by 2027, the majority of American workers will be flexible workers. 

Today, businesses that are recognizing the benefits of the gig economy are using it to their advantage and soaring ahead of their competitors. Businesses can further make this process of hiring gig workers easier by shifting this workload to a temp agency. Temp agencies offer flexible hiring solutions that can help any business develop and grow. Here are a few benefits of hiring gig workers through temp agencies.

Benefits of hiring gig workers through temp agencies:

Easier onboarding:

Nearly 72.8% of the recruiters (http://www.workonic.com/top-recruitment-statistics-of-2019/) are finding it difficult to find the right talent. Also, the process of selecting the right candidate is more daunting now more than ever. Staffing companies take care of the sourcing and hiring process for you, allowing you to focus on what’s next. According to HR Onboard (https://hronboard.me/blog/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-onboard-a-new-candidate-employee-onboarding/), the annual onboarding costs for a medium business that onboards 100 new employees each year can reach up to $40,000. These corporate onboarding programs may take as long as a month. Using a great temp agency like Intone for recruiting gig workers helps you save time and stress to find the right candidate right for your business. They have a pipeline of qualified candidates and they have a further reach into the community of passive candidates that makes it easier to select the right candidate. Their vast experience in staffing solutions means that they have an optimized recruitment process for maximum efficiency.

Cost savings:

According to a report by Kelly OCG (https://www.kellyocg.com/user_area/content_media/raw/FromWorkforceToWorkFit_GigEconomy.pdf), 43 % of the companies that employed gig workers save at least 20% in their labor costs. Using temp agencies for hiring gig workers can be advantageous in this case, since they do not have to spend extra money on employee recruitment and also for funding various processes like background testing, pre-employment testing, and also drug screening. They also provide extra cost savings by creating payroll databases and also added administration benefits. This is crucial for balancing the cost and also handling the training expenditure of the selected candidates. Since temp agencies have gig workers who are specifically trained for such recruitment, they get the job done faster than the HR, hence saving a lot of time and money. Moreover, temp agencies also reduce the likelihood of bad hire, which could cost your business in the long term.

Seasonal workload management:

Businesses often need seasonal workers to fill in during busy seasons. They need a flexible and talented workforce that can support them during those busy seasons. A survey by EY(https://www.ey.com/us/en/newsroom/news-releases/news-gig-workers-by-design-ey-survey-shows-businesses-need-to-catch-up-to-the-gig-economy) found that hiring gig workers help companies to respond adequately to seasonal workload increases. Businesses can make this process easier by shifting this workload to a temp agency. Temp agencies usually have a larger pool of candidates as compared to employees. This can help businesses find talented candidates according to their specific requirements.

Fresh business perspective:

Studies (http://www.workonic.com/top-recruitment-statistics-of-2019/) show that over 42% of the companies fear a lack of talent in the market. One of the major benefits of hiring gig workers through a temp agency is that they can bring the right talent who can give a fresh business perspective. Temp agencies like Intone have a database of excellent candidates perfect for the job. An EY survey (https://www.ey.com/us/en/newsroom/news-releases/news-gig-workers-by-design-ey-survey-shows-businesses-need-to-catch-up-to-the-gig-economy) found that 56% of companies prefer gig workers as they bring in expertise that is beyond the capability of the company’s workforce and they enjoy working with freelancers.

In times like these when the ways to conduct business are constantly evolving, successfully managing your business means adapting to these new business practices at the right time. Thus, from giving companies greater flexibility in operations to allowing them to tap into their niche markets, hiring gig workers through temp agencies can be valuable to a company in several ways.