Powering Agility with the Alternative Workforce

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Mike Kemp, PhD, Research Manager, Bersin^TM, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Kathi Enderes, PhD, Vice President, Talent & Workforce Research Leader, Bersin^TM, Deloitte Consulting LLP

In today’s rapidly evolving environment, change is the new norm and both workers and organizations are learning that agility is key to getting ahead in the future world of work. Skills requirements are rapidly changing, and unemployment is at unprecedented lows in many parts of the world. Not surprisingly, 67 percent of surveyed organizations worldwide are having trouble filling open positions.

At the same time, more workers are choosing to work in the open talent market as contractors, consultants, freelancers, gig, or crowd workers — also known as the alternative workforce. Deloitte’s 2018 Millennials study identified that more than two thirds of surveyed participants engage in “side hustles” to help pay the bills. Beyond making money, alternative work offers flexibility in schedule and work location and a modular way to build diverse experiences.

The Open Talent Continuum

Source: Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2019

It’s only natural, then, for many organizations to pivot their workforce strategies to incorporate alternative workers. This approach can provide organizational agility through enabling reduced costs, access to a wider range of skills and capabilities, increased flexibility to scale the workforce, staffing for temporary needs, and greater diversity of perspectives.

Despite all of these benefits, only about one in five organizations leverages the alternative workforce to a large extent, and the vast majority of organizations do not leverage them strategically or manage and develop them inconsistently. Harnessing the power of the alternative workforce requires a unique value proposition, a positive experience specifically cultivated for this workforce segment and a broader workforce strategy.

Empowering Alternative Workers with a Tailored Approach

The best alternative workers will have their choice of organizations. Top talent — both balance-sheet employees and alternative workers — want more than a paycheck. They demand an engaging experience, to feel valued and respected, meaningful work, opportunities to use their strengths, access to tools and resources to help them succeed, and a balance between flexibility and predictability.

To access top alternative workers, organizations need a tailored value proposition carefully designed to workforce needs, culture, and brand — unique to the alternative workforce. Many organizations have experience with this: taking a differentiated approach to attracting part-time employees versus full-time employees. This mindset can be transferred to attracting and engaging the alternative workforce as well.

Successfully empowering the alternative workforce will require cultivating ongoing relationships, even though employment might not last long. Each alternative worker should be considered as a potential customer, a positive brand ambassador, and a valued member of a team.

When making this strategic shift, organizations will likely face several hurdles. The first is a mindset challenge: most organizations think about the alternative workforce tactically — filling slots, rather than strategically building ongoing relationships with potential customers. Second, managers and leaders are often confused about the line between legality and risk and may leave behind opportunities to benefit from this workforce segment for fear of crossing that line. Applicable laws in most countries are blurry at best, and outright confusing at worst. But while these laws generally haven’t caught up with new realities of work, they still need to be followed. This fluid regulatory and legal landscape represents the third and often most vexing hurdle.

Equipping Your Organization to Harness the Power of the Alternative Workforce

Consider these four steps to tap into the power of the alternative workforce and help position your organization to reap the potential benefits.

Start with outcomes. What business goal are you trying to accomplish with the alternative workforce? A balance of cost, increased value and growth, and meaning is key. Once you are clear about what you are aiming for, define how you will measure success, and keep track to continuously improve.
Imagine the possibilities. Broadening the talent pool to strategically take advantage of alternative workers presents myriad opportunities. Check your assumptions, think big, and create bold “what if” scenarios.
Compose a plan. Prioritize your starting point. It could be where there is high value for customers, where leadership is ready, where skills are particularly hard to locate, or where most flexibility is needed. From there, create a plan for activating the alternative workforce.
Activate the workforce. Access this workforce, starting with a tailored value proposition. Curate engaging experiences for the alternative workforce. Engage the workforce — high-performing organizations are 8x more likely to provide alternative workers with performance goals and 10x more likely to provide them with regular performance feedback.

The alternative workforce is here to stay. To leverage the power of this workforce segment and position your organization to get the most out of the relationship, focus on creating an attractive value proposition for alternative workers and strategically leveraging them to help create value for the organization, the workforce and the customer.

2019 Global Human Capital Trends: Leading the social enterprise—Reinvent with a human focus, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte Insights, 2019.

High-Impact Workforce Experience study, Bersin, Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2019.

High-Impact Performance Management study, Bersin, Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2019.

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