Companies are well aware of the benefits of outsourcing in general as well as outsourcing staffing. Especially if you are a growing organization you want your teams to focus more on the strategy, expansion, new ideas, etc than on everyday tasks. To name some benefits – outsourcing staffing helps to reduce costs, aids employees to focus on core activities, provides flexibility as people can be hired in relatively less time, lessens the risk of hiring the wrong person, gives access to the best talent and most importantly the expertise of staffing firms makes everyone’s lives easier.Â
The above-mentioned benefits have now become common knowledge, but there are some benefits of outsourcing that do not come out very strikingly or directly, yet they change and build organizations for the better.
As per Indian Staffing Federation, the Staffing Industry saw a 3.6% growth in the fiscal year 2021. Pandemic along with giving the Staffing Industry a boost has also given them the power to break the stigma surrounding Flexi jobs, contract working, etc. The staffing industry is actively facilitating these changes and it will forever change the face of work. Some of the most recent and notable ones are:-
- Inclusion of Facility Management and Security Services companies under the umbrella of the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), the apex body representing the staffing/private employment services industry in India. This addition means that the concerns and well-being of contract workers and temporary staff belonging to these companies can now be voiced to the government through ISF.
- Till now it was believed that gig working is limited to blue-collar workers and it was rarely seen in white-collar jobs. Today with the changing generation proportion in the workforce, the need of the hour, etc has changed the attitude towards gig working (contract / temporary working). Now, it is seen in a positive light and as per the ASSOCHAM January 2021 report, demand for gig jobs is going to increase in the future. Further, as per an article by Fortune India, in India, white-collar jobs will consist of 50%-70% of gig workers in the future.Â
This change has been brought about by the startup boom where they are unable to recruit full-time professionals due to budget constraints bringing in the demand for an alternative. Whereas the attitude change of generation and the need for flexibility has built a pool of people who are ready to take per-project jobs. The scarcity of full-time employees who have niche skills in say CLM, AI, etc has also nudged companies to open gig working opportunities.
   3.The gig working, hybrid working models, remote working, etc have given women the much-needed flexibility to work without having to leave their families behind. There are a lot of stigmas associated with women working in India, and many times they have to push the pause button on their careers in order to tend to their families. But flexible working comes as a hope for many women who wish to build their careers and saves them from societal pressures, breaking the stigma that women cannot do it all!
All the above-mentioned flexible work models were seen as a hassle and risky by both parties previously. For companies, hiring gig workers and managing remote teams is a herculean task, which can bring about many other costs to the company. It was also seen as unreliable because the gig workers could potentially leak confidential information as they are not bound to the company for the long term. On the other hand, employees used to view gig work as unorganized and risky, where they can be easily exploited by the company.Â
The staffing firms take all these concerns, become the mediator, and share the risk, giving confidence to both employees and employers. Staffing firms and job marketplaces are changing the gig working to make it more organized and safe, and it is because of their efforts so many people are now open to working as gig employees as well as companies are open to having them! Staffing firms are facilitating the future of work making it more human, conscious, and stigma-free!
