This article is written by Jack Unroe (Onshore Advisor- IMS People Possible) and was first published on Staffing Industry Analysts’ Staffing Industry Review.
Like you, every day, I see an announcement for “The Next Big Thing” — a new technology, investment opportunity or innovation promising to maximize profits by increasing productivity and reducing labor costs.
The nature of “The Next Big Thing” varies widely, such as: utilizing offshore resources to reduce labor costs; increasing sourcing effectiveness; maximizing big data to better control costs and predict success; or increasing the use of artificial intelligence in the candidate and employee selection process.
No head in the sand. As a responsible business leader, you can’t ignore the possible positive impact that any of these changes could have on how your business is conducted. And you can’t dismiss them out of hand, assuming they’ll never gain traction.
I remember the days when loyal clients pledged never to transition their business to the “new,” untested VMS solutions. Now? VMS is the predominant contingent workforce management tool in major corporations.
Then came the many voices that predicted the gig economy was a passing fad, a business model that companies would never embrace. Yet Staffing Industry Analysts’ second annual Collaboration in the Gig Economy conference, held this past September, was a sell-out, with every segment of the diverse workforce ecosystem represented.
How do you maintain candidate Loyalty such that they call you for their next assignment?
Change Is constant. Regardless of where you are positioned in the workforce solutions ecosystem, the processes by which you interact with clients and candidates will continue to evolve. The speed at which business is conducted will continue to increase. Everyone will have access to technology, pricing will be transparent, and candidates will be even more mobile.
Your dance partners. But this is not a business built on technology; it is a business built on cultivating and maintaining relationships, and that will not change. Your people are your best, most valuable asset in this tech-heavy business environment. Therefore, it is imperative that you attract and retain a motivated, trained and loyal team. These employees are your “X-factor” — they brought you to the dance. They are, and always will be, the core of your future success. They are the ones who must embrace and implement the technologies of the future.
- Trust and personal connections are, and will remain, a key component of your success. To ensure you get the most out of them, I suggest the following: Continue to invest in a robust onboarding process to ensure an employee has a positive impression of your company, even before beginning their first day at work.
- Continue to invest in employee and management training.
- Establish and maintain relationships with your contingent workers; view them as a critical asset and as ambassadors for your company.
- Reinforce your business culture and promote your core values, whenever possible.
- Recognize the importance of diversity and flexibility in the workplace.
- Remember that more money is lost by the inability to implement technology than by a delay in endorsing it. Rather than be the company with the shiniest, newest concept, it is better to endorse and implement the path that you have chosen — technology still needs tenured, motivated employees to put it into practice.
Long before there was technology, your success was predicated on the commitment and loyalty of a core team of employees. As our business becomes more sophisticated and complicated, the marriage of preserving and nurturing core employees with suitable technology continues to be critical to the success of your organization. Therefore, never forget who brought you to the dance.
