The Future of Contract Recruitment in a World of Great Resignation & Rising Contingent Workers

The recent years in the global job landscape have gone through revolutionary changes. The second half of 2021 witnessed a phenomenon called “Great Resignation’ that had its rippling effects in all sectors of the globe. Making its first appearance in May 2021, this buzz phrase had struck fear in the hearts of employers and recruiters alike.

What is “Great Resignation”?

Following the pandemic, there has been a massive surge of workers resigning from their job,s citing reasons like lack of flexibility in work, frustrations due to overwork, compensation, toxic work culture, no growth opportunities, concerns related to pandemic safety and others. Whilst there is a decreased supply of labour, there is also an increase in rise in new jobs due to worker dissatisfaction, early retirement of baby boomers, skill gaps in roles, and safety concerns pertaining to the pandemic.

The Impact of “Great Resignation” on Job Market

Here is some interesting trivia for you to know!

According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, more than 4.3 million people had quit their jobs voluntarily in December 2021. This has resulted in a huge labour shortage where current job openings exceed the number of hires. The UK labour market showcases a similar scenario, where new research reveals that about one-fifth of UK workers wish to leave their current jobs for a new employer in the next 12 months as they look for jobs with better pay and satisfaction.

Accounting giant PwC surveyed 2000+ workers and revealed that 18% of workers "are very or extremely likely" to change jobs in a year.

Another global study of 52,195 workers across 44 countries reveals that 32% of people are likely to change jobs in the next year. The study involving more than 2,000 respondents in the UK mentions that 27% of UK workers intend to ask employers for higher pay in the next 12 months.

All these pretty much talk about the fact that firms are facing candidate shortages, with more jobs being available than skilled labour.

Impact on the Labour Market

The traditional job marketplace is seeing a massive change with the recent rise in the number of jobs, but a shortage of skilled people. Higher compensation is no longer the deciding factor for candidates when choosing a job. Candidates tend to search for flexibility through remote or hybrid work, an inclusive workplace and a community where learning opportunities and scope of career growth are ample. With these parameters in mind, the contingent workforce is on the rise.

Candidates are preferring roles where there is flexibility, competitive compensation, loads of learning opportunities in each role, leading to professional development. According to Staffing Industry Analysts reports, the average share of contingent workers will continue to grow as well, reaching 24% in 2022 and 29% in 2030.

Who is a part of the contingent workforce?

Any individual not belonging to the company payroll but providing services to an organisation, like contractors, freelancers or advisors. With more job vacancies than labour, companies are looking for more of a contingent workforce, like contractors, due to flexibility, reduced costs, access to the right skills, and getting a fresh perspective on their key business decisions. As a recruitment agency, especially if you have just started out, it is imperative to understand the client needs and match the right contractors for the projects you acquire.

Choosing your niche market in recruitment, automating manual tasks, picking up the right CRM software or staying on top with the legal aspects are, of course some of the important aspects that must be taken careof on priority!

But to stay on top of the game, it is important for your recruitment brand to tactfully build a contingent workforce.

Certain techniques that would help to up your game are as follows:

Build your Contractor relationships wisely:

In the era of Great Resignation, where employers and recruiters are going at great lengths to retain employees, it is very important to for recruitment agencies to have a good relationship with their contractors and freelancers. This not only benefits in building your recruitment brand but also lets your brand grow as a contingent workforce!

Being realistic about the job role, understanding the expectations of the contractors from the job role is very important to begin a healthy relationship with your contractors. Creating the right candidate persona with clear expectations from the clients can ease up the process a lot and save you from expectation mismanagement from your clients.

Focusing on the well-being of contractors, meeting their family needs and offering an environment for career growth is very important to build a long lasting relationship. With ample job opportunities in the field, long lasting relationships can go a long way to have a long lasting relationship with skilled candidates in

Get rid of cash flow concerns!

Cash flow is a major concern for smaller recruitment agencies, especially those that have just began their journey toward growth. Often they are stuck between paying their contractors and freelancers timely and being paid late by their clients. This often results in dissatisfaction amongst contractors, leading to poor performance which eventually affects the clients. Often, pressuring a client for timely payment can lead to risk in business opportunities with them. To bridge the cash gap between contractors and clients, a secure finance is of utmost importance and that is where Sonovate can come to your rescue! The financial security is strengthened to a massive extent when invoice funding is upfront leading to scale up of your business.

Outsource back office work!

All that important admin work, managing timesheets and keeping a record of contracts involves a lot of effort, time and dedication. If your agency is looking forward to establish themselves as a brand it is very important for the company to focus on streamlining the operations, reducing manual workload related to invoicing to client, paying contractors on time, managing the timesheets and taking care of the entire administrative work. Sonovate offers real time metrics to have a better visibility of contractor base offering an array of flexible options for your to pick up. With no set up fees and available office support, Sonovate lets you focus on clients and your contractors.

Balancing the clients’ job expectations

It is important for recruitment agencies to define and clearly communicate the criteria to acquire the best talent. Unhappy client must be the last thing on your mind especially in your growth phase. It is important to highlight the challenges that your business faces in sourcing the right talent for the required job role. Being flexible about the defined job requirements and finding the right balance is something very important for you to convey to your clients.

To sum up, reducing the tension of your cashflow and back office admin work, can help your brand a lot in building your recruitment brand. Even in a competitive, saturated market, the right action of outsourcing a financier like Sonovate can aid to massive changes in scaling your business operations to the next level.