Bridge Staffing Needs with Flex-Staffing...

Engaging temporary employees on a flexible basis should be an important part of your overall staffing plan. Simply stated, a flexible staffing strategy is a cost-effective approach to shrinking or expanding your workforce as business conditions change, without incurring the ongoing expenses of regular employees.

Generally referred to as contingent employees, the terms contract-, temporary-, project or interim-professionals and even consultants or independent contractors often are used interchangeably to describe individuals whose talent is needed for relatively short, defined periods of time. Regardless of terminology, these types of professionals bring skills and knowledge not present in your current workforce, or bring the skills and experience of already existing talent during times when additional hands are needed to handle increased volume.

Even as regular, full-time positions open up, many businesses rely on a flex-staffing approach to manage the work until direct hire replacements can be found. These interim replacements, when recruited correctly, are also a good source of talent for regular positions. The contracting period serves as a benefit for both the company and the candidate by providing the opportunity to work together in the real work environment before any decisions are made regarding a regular, full-time employment relationship.

In the area of professional HR management flexible staffing also creates many solutions for companies needing to accommodate seasonal projects, expansion into new business ventures, introduction of significant change required to support business evolution, such as mergers and acquisitions, or for backfills while direct hire recruitment takes place.

A word of caution, however. It is important to understand the technical differences between different types of contingent workers, specifically those who should be considered W-2 employees as opposed to those with bona fide independent contractor status employed on a 1099 basis. The IRS and EDD have been cracking down on companies that misclassify individuals and the financial consequences can be quite significant. Microsoft learned this lesson several years ago and Fed Ex is now going through an audit.

To avoid this many businesses turn to a payrolling service provider to become the employer of record and to fulfill employer obligations for mandated withholdings and insurances when bona fide independent contractor status doesn't exist.

Whatever the situation - the reality is that more help is needed from time to time and there are a number of ways to go about bringing the required talent in by utilizing flexible staffing approaches.

Give us a call if you have questions about how flexible staffing might benefit what you are trying to accomplish or if you are unsure about how you are classifying contingent workers. We will be pleased to share what we have learned in this area.

Merit Resource Group, 925-867-4400 / 408-501-8863