0. WORKPLACE PLANNING FOR FLEXIBILITY:
STAFFING WITH
TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES

1. WHAT IS CONTINGENT WORK?
Best understood by what it is not:
Not permanent
Not full time with single employer
One definition:
Any job in which an individual does not have an
explicit or implicit contract for long term employment
and where minimum hours worked can vary in an
unsystematic manner.
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2. WHAT ARE COMMON FORMS OF ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT?
Temporary Help Workers
Leased Employees
Independent Contractors
Self-employed/Consultants
Part-time workers
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3. Two Legal Issues Definition of Independent Contractor
Joint - Employer Status
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4. Tests for Independent Contractor
The Right to Control Test
The Economic Realities Test
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5. JOINT EMPLOYER STATUS
Client employer may be found to be “joint employer” along with temporary service provider or leasing company
Implication: Organization can be subject to all the rules, regulations, and liabilities that apply in the regular employment relationship.
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6. WHAT IS A JOINT EMPLOYER?
Basic criteria: When both temporary firm and client firm share determination of “matters governing essential terms and conditions of employment.”
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7. WHO WANTS TO BE PART OF THE CONTINGENT WORKFORCE?
People who want flexibility:
Working mothers
College students
People on periphery of labor market, such as newly retired
Short-term unemployed
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth looked at people age and found that birth of a child and going from unmarried to married or remarried or going from married to separated, widowed, or divorced increased chances of entering into a non-standard work arrangement.
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8. WHAT DO CONTINGENT WORKERS WORRY ABOUT?
Insecure economic future
Lack of insurance & pension benefits
Employer inaccuracy in describing & defining job assignments
Being treated like 2nd class citizens
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9. Occupational Distribution of Temporary Workers
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10. Temporary Help as a % of Total Employment
The 1995 BLS study found that 1.0% of total labor force were temporary help employees employed by temporary help agencies. I.e, People who said their job was temporary and answered Yes to “Are you paid by a temporary help agency?”
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth finds .9% of total labor force as supplied by temporary agency.
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11. MOVING FROM STRATEGIC DECISION TO IMPLEMENTATION

12. STRATEGIC QUESTIONS What are the Strategic Goals of our organization?
What are our Core Competencies?
What is our Organizational Culture?
1. Strategic goals here refer to HR goals which are predicated on overall org. goals: What are expected growth and product development goals of org? What sort of people are needed to staff these goals? What skills and capacity do we want in-house as core and what can be purchased on contingent basis? What fluctuations in labor demand do we need that contingent work might help with?
2. Core competencies: Important to distinguish between skills essential to org. productivity Vs. those that are not
What do we do best? What is our primary business?
Which functions support our organizational strategy?
What critical knowledge/skills do we need to maintain within our organization?
What are our current and future manpower needs?
What are the direct business reasons for using contingent work arrangements?
3. Key point re: culture is how core employees are seen and if use of contingent workers is seen as signal of devaluing workers or protecting them.
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13. Strategic Staffing Supporting Functions Auxiliary Skills Core Skills
Primary Business
Temp Staffing
Core Staffing
Future Needs
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14. 2 STEPS
Define what is core and what is contingent in your organization.
If a job is not core, determine if it should be performed under a regular or alternative work arrangement.
Evaluate the costs and benefits of using contingent workers relative to core workers.
1. Define what is core and what is contingent in your company.
What jobs require strong commitment to co. success. Those should be core.
Current status of contingent work in your org.? How many? What work?
2. If a job should be core, hire a core worker.
It is strategically sound to use contingent workers if have experimental project, but the project should be carefully monitored so you know when to convert contingent jobs into core jobs.
Are there any "permanent temporaries"? Why? Lower costs? Flexibility? Are you confident contingent work is best way to achieve these objectives?
Job sharing, flex-time, and/or cross-training may provide the needed flexibility.
3. Evaluate the costs and benefits of using contingent workers relative to core workers.
4. Set up a forecasting system
Develop a system to forecast when will need contingent workers. Should be part of a regular (quarterly) staffing forecasting system, where managers forecast and report both core and intermittent needs for the next few quarters
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15. EVALUATING USE OF CONTINGENT WORKERS
Need to consider direct costs, indirect costs, and productivity of both core & contingent workers
Decision rule:
The Ratio of Temporary Productivity to
Core Productivity
must be equal to or greater than
The Ratio of Temporary Costs to
Core Costs
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16. MAKING THIS WORK Communicate with core employees Orient temporaries
Think about: space, who answers questions, what training is needed
Be clear about likelihood of permanent hiring
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