Best Practices for Blended Workforce Management

Featured article by Mynul Khan, Founder and CEO of Field Nation

As the U.S. freelance economy continues to grow, businesses are forced to find efficient ways to manage a blended workforce comprised of different types of talent, including freelancers, full-time employees and vendors. As work is being completed by a variety of different parties, it’s integral to identify solutions that streamline the entire blended workforce management process. Ultimately, by simplifying the process of managing a blended workforce, companies will be able to focus on what really matters – revenue and growth.

Blended Benefits

Although employing a blended workforce comes with inevitable adjustments in operations and employee management, there are three main benefits to utilizing on-site and on-demand talent:

1. Cost Savings: Companies can reduce labor costs when employing freelancers, as the employer can access the skills and expertise of a particular contractor while paying a one-time fee for projects. By leveraging freelancers, overhead costs are also minimized and service offerings can be expanded quickly.

2. Scalability: By engaging a blended workforce, companies are able to scale quickly and efficiently while simultaneously accommodating fluctuations in demand.

3. Business Expansion: Having access to a pool of freelancers helps a business expand its ability to take on new projects outside of a typical service area. With a blended workforce, companies can service multiple industries and support new projects as applicable.

Simplifying Management

While blended workforces have many benefits, the task of managing multiple labor pools can be a time-consuming and daunting task for any company, as each employment category has different priorities and requirements. For example, freelance employees often enjoy more flexibility than their W2 colleagues, but they rarely receive the performance reviews or benefits that keep full-time employees motivated. Other common pain points companies face when managing a blended workforce include:

– Lack of one place to efficiently source, manage, pay and monitor compliance of all different types of talent.
– Low visibility and inability to manage total workflow for a large number of contractors.
– Operational inefficiencies that limit organizational ability to accelerate margin growth.

In an effort to combat these pain points, businesses should consider utilizing a blended workforce management system that consolidates all operating tasks – from hiring and onboarding to project management and payroll. By doing so, businesses will be able to develop a single, centralized set of strategies, technologies and processes to help efficiently manage their entire workforce.

A Streamlined Solution

One current solution to workforce management is Field Nation ONE, a single platform that allows businesses to source, engage, and manage a blended workforce in one system. Additional benefits of the Field Nation ONE platform include:

– Optimize Workforce – Field Nation ONE enables businesses to effectively source and manage all types of talent, including W2 employees, private contractors and vendors, and public contractors through the Field Nation Marketplace.

– Organize Talent Pools – Field Nation ONE lets businesses organize their entire workforce – including W2 employees, private contractors and vendors, and public contractors – into skill- and project-specific talent pools to easily identify the best individual for the job and quickly fill coverage gaps and find the most relevant talent for your projects.

– Manage Project Workflow – Field Nation ONE allows businesses to monitor and optimize all elements of a project’s workflow. Through the dashboard, users are able to easily route work to private vendors, identify skilled service providers within the Field Nation Marketplace, and schedule W2 employees.

Implementing a blended workforce management system, such as Field Nation ONE, will help businesses decrease the time spent on unprofitable tasks while also providing greater insights and visibility into workforce efficiencies and project management. With a streamlined system that is easy to implement, businesses are able to gain a holistic view of the work that is done every day, identify opportunities for growth and increase revenue.