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HCMWorks Insights

Just-in-Time Staffing Explained: What Are the Benefits?

Posted by HCM Works on 20 Aug 2018

The world of recruitment is constantly changing, with both employers and recruitment firms seeking to maximize the huge growth in temporary, skilled workers. These talented workers are a result of the booming contingent workforce, which now represents some 30-40% of all workers within North America.

The employment of these workers can bring significant benefits to companies which employ them, however, rigid views on staffing are holding many organization’s back. 

Thankfully, these attitudes are changing. There are new recruitment methods created each year. Introducing a mixture of these staffing strategies into your hiring process can help your company realize great results.

Whether your company’s hiring is managed by a HR or procurement department, it’s essential to make the most of these new methods to acquire top talent. Whether full-time, part-time, salaried or contract, different categories of workers can help drive a business forward and increase revenue.

One of these newer methods is just-in-time staffing. The flexibility and cost-effectiveness of this staffing strategy has changed the attitude of many organizations and the process in which they hire workers.

What is just-in-time staffing?

Essentially, just-in-time staffing firms are web and smartphone-enabled staffing services that provide a marketplace for on-site blue-collar work.

The term is derived from a Japanese concept known as just-in-time manufacturing, in which parts were supplied only as and when the process required them.

Just-in-time staffing firms typically provide a marketplace for business-to-business and on-site work arrangements, using technology such as two-sided digital labor marketplaces, rating systems and recruitment or assignment matching to place workers with relevant employers.

It is characterized by blue-collar workers, those working on short-term assignments and workers who are remunerated with an hourly pay. Just-in-time staffing companies stemmed from online staffing companies, but differ in many ways.

Just-in-time staffing caters to on-site work and typically operates at the lower end of the skill spectrum, while online staffing companies focus mostly on remotely performed work.

What are the benefits of just-in-time staffing?

Organization’s can realize numerous benefits from implementing just-in-time staffing into their hiring process, such as risk reduction, improved efficiencies, workplace agility and cost savings.

Cost savings - Rather than hiring full-time workers every time you have a project that needs new talent, just-in-time staffing lets you hire a skilled worker for however long you need them. This means you save money on staffing for all those days of the year that the specific worker isn’t needed.

Improved efficiencies - Just-in-time labor means bringing on workers when there is a demand for them only. This means your company can hire someone for a specific task or project without the need of hiring a worker on a full-time basis that you may not need all-year round. This means organization’s can cover gaps in staffing, while at the same time reducing costs and taking a more efficient approach to the way they work.

Speed - Just-in-time staffing is all about speed. Your organization can instantly find the talent you need when it’s needed, without the process of going through a HR or procurement department who have far more complex tasks to spend their time on.

Risk reduction - As vigilant as your company is with the interview process, there’s no doubt that hiring full-time employees comes with a certain element of risk. There’s no full-proof way of making sure an employee is the right fit for your company. Laying off, replacing and the risks associated with a full-time employee are expensive and time-consuming. Just-in-time workers, however, are easily replaced and the stakes are far lower.

Workplace agility - Companies are increasingly relying on “agile talent”; workers who can be engaged on an on-demand manner and have the specialized skills for specific tasks. Just-in-time staffing gives organization’s an easy route to on-demand talent and the ability to create an agile and dynamic workplace that shifts depending on the company’s needs.

Want to learn how HCMWorks can help improve your talent acquisition strategy? Contact us today.

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Tags: Contingent Workforce

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