One thing we know for certain as a growth partner to hundreds of tech companies for the past 23 years, when it comes to the talent acquisition landscape of today, something’s gotta give. Universally, from large organizations to growing startups, hiring teams struggle to hire the right talent, manage budget, implement flexible work policies, and adhere to the compliance requirements of a diverse and dispersed workforce. Notably, these issues have always existed, but post-pandemic work trends have only exacerbated the toll they take on growing teams.
These reasons, among many, are why we spent the last year embarking on a journey to build a more comprehensive, strategic, and streamlined approach to better support our clients’ hiring needs. Knowing that 52% of leaders also say there is a growing gap between where their business is and where it needs to be to compete, the time is now for staffing partners to bring more to the table in terms of facilitating workforce growth opportunities.
Combining the recruiting machine of BWBacon with the powerful back-office support as an Employer of Record (EOR), our new Premium Service Suite delivers unmatched flexibility and opportunity for our clients to hire workers anywhere in the US by proxy, as well as select locations globally. In this post, we will share more about the ways we are adapting to today’s talent landscape and the new benefits of our highly specialized approach to technical staffing.
Have you heard of elastic staffing? Essentially, it’s the mixed use of full-time, part-time, and contingent workers (e.g., independent contractors, consultants, or other non-permanent workers) to meet variable demand. 2023 saw a boom of business expansion via contingent workers; one study reports that 49% of the average company’s total workforce is comprised of external, extended talent, while another shows the global contingent workforce management market is anticipated to reach $465.2 trillion by 2031.
Allowing organizations to quickly scale and adapt depending on the needs of the business, using elastic talent is quickly gaining traction. Factors driving this strategic growth include evolving market and technology dynamics, the increasing size of talent pools, matured standards of the borderless workplace, and the need for business continuity in a remote world. Backing up our assertion that the future of work is moving in fast, Intuit reports that more than 80% of large corporations are planning to substantially increase their use of a flexible workforce in the coming years.
The growth of contingent resources is especially relevant for the tech industry. According to Eightfold research, the 7 of the top 10 titles held by contract workers globally are technology related, from Software/Web Developers and Project Managers to fractional leadership.
However, beneath the surface of this growing movement, the skew of contract workers in tech can present challenges for businesses trying to secure talent when aspects of location and compliance come into play. As there are only 65 potential candidates for every 100 new software engineering job openings, considering contingent workers becomes nearly essential in workforce budget planning, as well as a way to maximize your team’s access to the best talent. How can growing tech companies continue to swim in the biggest talent pools without being sucked under by the tow of bureaucracy?
For a moment, let’s go beyond filling roles and into a mindset of how companies can stay ahead and continue to deliver cutting-edge customer experiences. Sounds great, right?
While exciting in theory, elastic staffing can be difficult to execute efficiently and legally. In some cases, partnering with an EOR or PEO is one avenue to hire the talent you need, but more often than not, this partnership by itself comes with caveats and limitations.
Focusing on service gaps of staffing partners and EOR’s/PEO’s, BWBacon is alleviating a long-standing burden of our clients by unifying their workforce management approach. Fusing talent acquisition and compliance at scale, we deliver the best of both worlds, meaning our clients can lean on our partnership for both the search and deployment of skilled tech workers, as well as assuming responsibility for their ongoing employment.
In short, we empower companies to grow without the growing pains. With compelling advantages such as streamlined legal compliance, optimized HR administration, access to broad talent pipelines, and enhanced flexibility, we’re redefining what a strategic partnership can look like. From contingent and direct placement to executive and retained searches, we’re customizing recruitment solutions with our clients’ priorities in mind.
When it comes to hiring, a top priority for our clients is simplification and speed. It’s no secret that the legality of hiring is often a barrier to simplicity and speed, and yet, 74% of business leaders report they are not able to properly address compliance vulnerabilities due to limited budgets and resources.
With a maze of state regulations, costly penalties, and a sleeping giant of an audit looming in the shadows, staying compliant is key to mitigating legal risks and ensuring organizational stability. For industries with high-growth verticals like healthcare, finance, and tech that heavily rely on contingent workers, prioritizing an approach to compliance is a non-negotiable aspect of creating an effective hiring plan.
Without one, worker misclassifications and the management of co-employment laws regarding employee data privacy, work-from-home protocols, and more build on the mounting pressure many tech leaders already feel. With nearly half, 47%, of organizations struggling with onboarding employees due to infrastructure challenges, both employers and new hires can be left feeling flustered and disengaged, leading to a less impactful start.
While there’s no overnight fix, working with a partner like BWBacon Group lifts the heavy burden of compliance and offers a rock solid onboarding process that studies show can increase a new hire’s productivity by 50% or more. Our back-office infrastructure is designed to support scalability and give you peace of mind in knowing a full compliance team is working behind the scenes to protect you and your business. In short, it’s one less thing to worry about when engaging with a variety of workers.
Besides, research also shows that a detail-oriented approach to compliance can also positively impact your company’s reputation and contribute to a healthy brand image, creating a competitive advantage in enticing the most aligned talent.
Beyond compliance, creating a flexible staffing plan with a variety of worker types helps businesses bridge talent gaps and save on labor costs overall. According to the Workday global report Closing the Acceleration Gap: Toward Sustainable Digital Transformation, more than one-third of senior executives say a lack of relevant workforce skills is their top barrier to achieving transformation goals.
One way to address this growing gap? Yep, you guessed it; specialized contingent talent that possesses more precise skills can optimize your team’s ability to meet customer demands. Mitigating staffing shortages and filling skills gaps, temporary workers can help growing companies adapt to unpredictable market conditions. Especially for tech companies, temporary workers can code seamlessly alongside an organization’s permanent employees during a new website or product launch before moving on.
Elastic staffing can also save your company money by facilitating administration of benefits, PTO, 401k matching, pensions, stock options, Social Security contributions, payroll taxes, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, disability insurance, and other costs that typically would restrict the available talent pool.
Additionally, 89% of workers say an effective onboarding process helped them feel engaged at work. In fact, these employees are 30x more likely to feel overall job satisfaction, compared to employees who feel their onboarding process was lacking. All of this is to show that onboarding plays a critical role in giving an incoming worker purpose and connection to your organization. After all, who doesn’t want their workers to feel more commitment and satisfaction?
From streamlining onboarding to offering a plethora of benefits, we understand that workers who feel valued exceed expectations. In addition to making talent feel supported and appreciated, we also put a sharp focus on reducing the amount of time it takes for them to hit the ground running when they in fact do start. On average, our process takes five days, drastically cutting down on the average amount of time spent on onboarding.
Relieving the feeling many contingent workers have, that they are in the backseat of their own assignment, all workers can access a digital portal than contains details of their assignment, benefit docs, as well a team of experts that are available for support throughout the duration of their work.
Ultimately, our high-touch approach to growing companies infuses resourcefulness, intentionality, and transparency into every step of the hiring process, while our distinct service offerings tackle onboarding with unwavering attention to detail and urgency. If you're hiring tech resources in 2024, enhance your operational efficiencies, reduce administrative burdens for your team, and unlock your full growth potential by leveraging our unique infrastructure. We’re here to empower you to seize opportunities in new revenue streams, geographies, and verticals through our comprehensive staffing solutions.
Bridging gaps that a staffing partner or EOR partner could not accomplish alone, BWBacon’s recruitment services deliver unrivaled execution and delivery in support of hiring growth. Backed by certified compliance power delivering a gamut of solutions, let us do the heavy lifting so your team can focus on what matters most.
Here at BWBacon Group, we know and live what you are experiencing as an employer or job seeker in Denver, Boulder, Dallas, San Francisco, New York City or anywhere! We believe great recruiting starts and ends with understanding people.
If you have any questions about living, working or playing any of the areas we serve, please contact us. We are happy to help. Seize the day, every day, that’s what we say!