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Optimize Your Workforce with Recession-Proof Strategies, Part One

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceGeneral InsightsHRTalent by John Yuva on

We’re now two months into the second half of 2023 and economically speaking, things are looking positive. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that GDP grew 2.4% in the second quarter of 2023. The labor market remains tight with unemployment at 3.6%, a rate not witnessed in decades. However, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the tight labor market provides the Federal Reserve with the flexibility to continue raising interest rates to fight inflation. Currently, inflation rests at 3%, a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s longer-run goal of 2%.

Does the state of the current U.S. economy equate to a “soft landing” and the evasion of a recession? Maybe, maybe not. Due to the expectation of continued interest rate increases and the potential ramifications, uncertainty remains among executives and their enterprises. Thus, many are considering strategies over the next six to 12 months to recession-proof their critical workforce and their organizations.

With that in mind, over the next few weeks, the Future of Work Exchange will feature a three-part series exploring several contingent and overall workforce strategies to achieve a recession-proof enterprise. Let’s begin part one this week with a look at our first three strategies.

Higher Utilization of the Contingent Workforce

The contingent workforce presents enormous opportunities for enterprises. It opens the door to global talent that was not accessible by the organization in the past. The remote/hybrid work model means attracting contingent workers who are seeking workplace flexibility and balance. Once in the door, maximize how contingent workers are utilized within the enterprise. First, whether it’s a unique skillset or competency, contingent workers can help train employees in those areas to expand the capabilities of the entire workforce. Second, integrate contingent workers into the workplace culture, providing a greater sense of purpose and achievement — enhancing collaboration and teamwork. And third, ensure a diversified recruitment strategy to hire contingent workers who bring unique perspectives that can translate into potential innovations and business solutions.

Use of Skilled Contingent Workers for Critical Projects

The contingent workforce is much more advanced than it was a decade or more ago. The gig economy is ripe with contingent workers who bring best-in-class competencies to organizations of all sizes. The timing couldn’t be better with many HR leaders and recruiters now shifting to skills-based hiring for both their permanent and contingent workforce. Today’s roles and projects often require specialized skills, making freelance and contingent workers ideal candidates for executing those opportunities. Positions can remain open for several weeks, costing enterprises time and money until those roles are filled. Instead, tap into top-tire talent within the extended workforce to deliver immediate performance and drive long-term value.

Improve Overall Operational Agility for the Future

To best recession-proof your enterprise, agility is required. What does this mean exactly? It means having the organizational capabilities to adjust to changing conditions quickly and easily with little to no operational disruption. Enterprises must optimize their processes and workflows in all areas of the business for greater flexibility and resiliency. In procurement, for example, securing a second and possibly third source of supply mitigates the risk of production delays and product shortages. Implementing automation for accounts payable streamlines the payment process and reduces processing errors. And in HR, leveraging contingent labor during periods of peak demand ensures workforce optimization.

The economy is proving resilient against a recession. However, implementing workforce strategies today that can weather an unexpected economic downturn will only pay dividends in the long term. Next week, we’ll explore three more recession-proof enterprise workforce strategies.

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HR Transforms into FOW Advocate

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceDiversity and InclusionGeneral InsightsHRProcurementTalentTalent AcquisitionUncategorized by John Yuva on

Human resources as a function is experiencing a transformation as the Future of Work paradigm extends into more enterprises. Previously a benefits-focused department, HR is now regarded as a strategic partner in attaining business goals and objectives. Chief human resources officers are now tasked with leading total talent management efforts across the organization, ensuring the right talent is at the right place at the right time.

Growing Priorities, Balancing Demands

The Future of Work includes many tenets from flexible works models (remote and hybrid) to work/life balance considerations to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) programs. HR must now balance those priorities, along with talent acquisition and talent management demands that align with the current and future needs of the enterprise. That’s no small feat!

With contingent labor comprising nearly 40% of the total workforce, according to Future of Work Exchange research, HR must collaborate cross-functionally to not only understand staffing needs but the skillsets behind those roles. HR has evolved where partnerships with business managers and executive leadership are essential to the future competitiveness of the enterprise. In many ways, HR is now becoming the central role for both workplace and enterprise strategy execution.

In an article for Forbes, Joey Price, CEO for Jumpstart: HR, writes: “What’s the secret behind high-performing organizations? They are most keenly aware of the critical role that their organization’s human resources function plays in activating its overall success. If you think human resources is just a support system (*cough* “back office” *cough*) for your business, it’s time to reimagine your relationship.”

HR Impacts on FOW

HR’s impact on the Future of Work cannot be understated. It holds the keys to the execution success of Future of Work strategies. With that in mind, let’s look at several FOW areas where HR has a growing influence.

1) Human Capital Initiatives

Human resources is a human capital-intensive function. As such, building initiatives that increase employee engagement and promote a positive work culture are critical responsibilities for HR managers and executives. At the forefront of those efforts are diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives. With more employees working remotely or in a hybrid work model, enterprises are attracting candidates on a global scale. Thus, the workforce today is a melting pot of different cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles. Leveraging such diversity means developing DE&I initiatives that provide a sense of belonging and community — leading to an engaged and supportive workforce culture.

2) Work Model Influencers

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in remote work and transformed how and where work gets done. In the last year, however, several large corporations reversed their remote work policies and asked those employees to return to the office. HR leaders are in a position to influence and advocate for remote and hybrid work models, understanding their importance to work/life balance and inclusion issues. The essence of the Future of Work is a workplace that incorporates a variety of work models to meet the needs of a talented and global workforce. Driving such policies and using data to support remote and hybrid work models is at the core of HR.

3) Talent-Centric Mentality

How and why HR sources candidates are evolving — leading to a focus on skills-based hiring. The mentality is shifting from filling a job vacancy as if it’s a commodity to truly choosing candidates based on specific skillsets that align with the strategic growth of the business. The expanding extended workforce also places more emphasis on skills and competencies than ever before. The gig economy is an ever-increasing talent pool for HR to leverage for their organization. Thus, contingent workforce management is essential to building the appropriate talent pipeline that attracts contingent candidates and retains them for ongoing strategic initiatives.

4) Balance Through Total Talent Management

As enterprises transition to skills-based hiring, it’s a natural progression toward total talent management. HR’s workforce partnerships with cross-functional business managers must encompass the totality of a department’s budget. Partnering with procurement on talent acquisition and contingent workforce management helps ensure personnel budgets remain within scope. Understanding talent spend to truly optimize the hiring of contingent labor is critical. Total talent management brings transparency to all the elements of what goes into talent acquisition. It ultimately prevents going over budget on a hire, while ensuring the enterprise achieves its talent needs.

Human resources is now much more than an administrative department focused on benefits pricing and offerings and filling vacant positions. Rather, it’s a strategic function building partnerships enterprise-wide to better achieve workplace and organizational goals while advancing and advocating Future of Work initiatives.

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The Future of Gig Work

Talent by Featured Contributor on

[Today’s guest contribution was written by Tim Minahan, EVP Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer at Citrix.]

Hybrid work has opened the door to a new kind of “gig with benefits” that may upend the model. And that’s good news for Corporate America.

Workers are leaving jobs like never before, and it’s causing a shortage of talent that has companies around the globe reeling. According to a recent survey conducted by Citrix, 40 percent of 1,000 knowledge workers in the US have left at least one job in the past year or are considering doing so. It’s been dubbed “The Great Resignation.” But it’s really “The Great Transformation.”

Contrary to what’s being reported, workers aren’t bailing for traditional reasons like more money or a better title. The majority are jumping ship for jobs that give them the freedom to do meaningful work from the location of their choice and provide equal opportunities to contribute and advance their careers. As revealed by the Citrix survey:

Money isn’t Everything

Make no mistake: salary and benefits are important. But they aren’t what’s inspiring workers to seek new roles. Among those surveyed who have changed jobs in the last 12 months, more than half took a pay cut. And 60% joined startups and accepted equity in exchange for salary.

Flexibility is Key

Today’s workers want flexible arrangements that allow them to choose where they work best. An overwhelming 80% of respondents to the Citrix survey said it was “very” or “somewhat” important that they be able to “work from anywhere,” and 55% said they would take less money to do so.

Employee Experience has Never Mattered More

Modern employees want to engage in innovative work, be productive and make meaningful contributions to the business that are valued without interference from complex technology and processes. And they’re likely to move on if they can’t:

  • 60% of workers have left jobs for positions that provide more opportunities to innovate and try new things.
  • 38% bolted because they were not engaged in or passionate about their former role.
  • 31% were frustrated by overly complicated technology and processes.
  • 47% believe they can do more meaningful work in their new roles, and;
  • 13% saw it as a way to inject certainty into their future and regain some of the control they’ve lost during the pandemic.

If all of this sounds familiar, it should. In 2009, a similar exit took place as workers across the knowledge economy began pursuing consulting and freelance work, creating the so-called “Gig Economy.” They left for many of the same reasons workers are moving on today. But the stage is set to bring them back.

In addition to why workers leave, the Citrix survey sought to understand what makes them stay. And it found:

  • 41% feel their benefits are competitive and beyond financial security, provide for their physical and mental well being.
  • 40% can work flexibly.
  • 27% are afraid to make a change given the ongoing uncertainty.
  • 12% will lose stock options or a retirement plan if they leave.

All of this bodes well for Corporate America.

In embracing hybrid models for work and digital technologies that empower people to work when, where and how they choose, companies can create a new class of “gigs with benefits” that provide the flexibility and autonomy that freelance, contract and gig workers crave along with the stability that has become increasingly attractive as the pandemic wears on.

And in doing so, they may lure back some valuable talent with the skills to keep business going and growing.

Creating the Space to Succeed

With the right digital workspace solutions, companies can remove the friction from work that frustrates and slows employees down. And this is critical, because when employees feel empowered by the solutions they use rather than hamstrung by them, they can focus, innovate and deliver value.

Narrowing the Digital Divide

They can also narrow the new digital divide that hybrid models threaten to open by creating an equitable environment in which employees can engage and collaborate in a transparent and efficient way regardless of where they are located.

Whether at home, in the office or on the road, digital workspaces provide employees with consistent, secure and reliable access to all of the apps and information they need to perform at their best.

Winning the Battle for Talent

The balance of power has shifted. Employees are no longer demanding flexible jobs that allow them to innovate and move forward, they’re commanding them.

To remain vibrant in one of the tightest labor markets the world has ever seen, companies need to come to grips with this and get on board with the new, flexible work models that will drive the Future of Work and leverage them to cultivate a workforce that is flexible, agile, and empowered to adapt to changing conditions and move their business forward.

Tim Minahan is the executive vice president, business strategy and chief marketing officer at Citrix, a leading provider of digital workspace solutions.

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FOWX Notes: September 24 Edition

General Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Some picked-up pieces from across the industry, which we call “FOWX Notes,” for the week ending September 24:

  • The business implications of the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate, whilst expected to be effective in boosting lagging inoculation numbers across the United States, are already (as to be expected) creating plenty of questions for executives and enterprise leaders. Who’s on the hook for COVID testing? Will businesses offer more PTO for vaccine appointments and potential side effects in the days after injection? What are the OSHA implications of non-compliance in enterprises? How do businesses manage competing vaccine exemptions (i.e., multiple workers in the same unit)? There are so many potential issues here that are about to slip to the surface and it will be interesting to see how both businesses and states handle the weeks ahead, especially as more and more businesses begin to include vaccination status in job requests and job descriptions.
  • The Gig Workers Collective has asked customers to delete the Instacart app from their devices in what could be the first of many similar moves for gig workers’ rights. The collective, representing a group of nearly 13,000 Instacart shoppers, is fighting for equitable treatment and compensation for Instacart workers. Nearly half a million contractors work for Instacart, a figure that is 2.5 times bigger than it was before the pandemic (and before on-demand food and grocery delivery became a necessity in the era of social distancing, lockdowns, and quarantines). Batch order payments and default tipping percentages are two of many demands from the collective, which had also pushed for better working conditions during the beginning of the pandemic (especially concerning PPE and paid time off). The group is also asking for occupational death benefits given the risks of working during a pandemic. As Instacart flirts with the idea of going public, groups like the GWC will fight even harder for equity, protection, and better compensation (and benefits) in the months ahead.
  • “Worker burnout is not a mental illness” is a phrase that needs to be eliminated. Nearly every industry now faces worker burnout and fatigue, even without a pandemic backdrop. What the past 18 months have done, however, is transformed businesses in such a way that some sectors (healthcare, veterinary medicine, shift-based work in light industrial and manufacturing) experience workers clocking 50-hour (or longer!) work-weeks, with professionals in remote environments having trouble balancing an “always on” mentality with a laptop frequently within vicinity of wherever they are within their homes. Business leaders are not therapists, nor should they be the ones to diagnose mental health issues. However, worker burnout has become so prevalent that it’s time we reassess its validity as a true mental health issue and how exactly managers and other enterprise leaders can give their workers they support they need.
  • Nearly 80% of businesses plan to transform their workplaces into more attractive destinations for candidates over the next year. New Future of Work Exchange research finds that the vast majority of enterprises are laser-focused on turning their offices into more alluring places to work. Given the personal, professional, and societal changes happening in the greater market, as well as the ongoing “Great Resignation” that started in the spring, businesses face a more expansive war for talent than they ever have before. While there is no cure-all to this transformation, enterprise leaders only have to truly listen to what candidates want to begin this process: flexible working environments, inclusive workplace cultures, clarity on career paths, opportunities to hone key skills, etc.
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