(Note: This post was initially published on LinkedIn, and the following iteration is a syndicated and updated version of the same.)
Most employers consider 40 hours, five days per week, to be full-time employment. That’s about 2,000 hours a year. Full-time employment also typically includes paid time off, paid holidays, healthcare, retirement plans, and more.
An employer may prefer full-time employees to plan and handle work, as well as develop employee loyalty. But full-time employees may not be cost-effective and may impact morale, where workloads ebb and flow.
Managing full-time employees, their benefits and tax obligations becomes expensive when projects are few. And that places all kinds of stress on employers and employees alike.
Evolution of On-Demand Resourcing: From Basic Labor to Expertise
A growing option for small businesses is a type of sourcing that allows them to quickly hire the people they need for a project. Such flexible staff augmentation provides companies – particularly small and medium-sized businesses – support projects like contract management without incurring the costs of hiring full-time employees.
It also allows existing full-time workers the ability to focus on other company functions while an “on-demand” individual or team handles the rest.
In the past, on-demand resourcing generally focused on basic activities like manual labour where little or no subject matter expertise was required. But that was the past.
Today the value of on-demand resourcing has increased since companies now can hire on-demand experts who have superior training, knowledge, and experience to take on crucial work, including contract management.
The 6 Advantages of On-Demand Resourcing for Small Businesses
On-demand support is growing because it makes so much sense for small companies:
- Cost Efficiency & Reduced Financial Commitment – Small business saves money with an on-demand option. The investment is significantly lower than hiring full-time.
- Eliminating Training & Onboarding Costs – Small companies – who are stretched to begin with – don’t have to invest in training, onboarding, and integrating on-demand staff who already have the skill set to hit the ground running.
- Overcoming Recruitment Challenges – It’s difficult enough for small companies to recruit local specialists. Lack of expertise. Labor shortages. The on-demand option saves time on recruitment.
- Access to a Pool of Vetted Experts – On-demand gives you access to a talented pool of subject matter experts. You don’t need to go through a long list of candidates before you find the proverbial needle in a haystack. Candidates are vetted and waiting for you now.
- Flexibility and Scalability – On-demand resourcing gives small companies flexibility. Need a particular set of skills for a limited purpose and limited time? Done! It just doesn’t make sense to hire full-time workers who are needed only for one project and will sit idle the rest of the time. On-demand is scalable. You can increase or decrease on-demand staffing as your needs change.
- Relieving the Burden on Small Business Owners – Small business owners can, well, relax with on-demand staffing. There’s no need for employers to commit 100% of their time and patience to more full-time staff. The on-demand professional has seen it, done it, tracks his or her work, reports regularly, is communicative, and complies with the employer’s demands. Easy!
Concluding Points
Contract management – creating playbooks and templates, researching, preparing, drafting, reviewing, revising, negotiating, tracking renewals, and otherwise administering all aspects of contracts on behalf of small businesses – is just one example of the growing trend of on-demand support to supplement your workforce.
To receive the benefit of on-demand staffing only requires contacting a qualified vendor, who can provide you with a skilled resource (or resources) for the duration of your critical project.
