O
Catalyst | On Topic
are at the door of the employer. To the outside
world these people are seen to be employed by
the company.”
HR must tread a fine line between seeking
control over contractors and crossing the
threshold where it could be argued they should be
employed, he adds. “There’s a spectrum for where
people sit within the company. But HR is entitled
to advise anyone working for them, no matter
their status, as to the level of conduct required.”
Yet the question of whether an individual is a
genuine contractor is a dangerous grey area, as
shown in recent cases involving Pimlico Plumbers,
Deliveroo and Uber. Factors such as an individual’s
control over their working arrangements, their
uniform, and their ability to turn down sessions
or provide a substitute must be taken into account
when deciding how to engage an individual.
“What this comes down to is a number of tests
which determine how closely aligned an individual
is with a business,” explains Maude. “When you
have people who may have been employees and
are now providing their services five days a week,
then in that circumstance, despite the badges you
put on it, they’re close to being an employee.”
Creating a sense of connection
Ensuring that dispersed workers feel part of the
organisation, and buy into its culture, is another
challenge organisations face. A recent study by the
Association of Independent Professionals and the
Self-Employed identified three main challenges
for self-employed people: not feeling part of a
team, feeling ‘disconnected’, and loneliness.
A divide often exists between permanent staff
and contractors, admits Hema Bakhshi, chief
workplace officer at workforce transformation
firm Adoptt. “If you’re a contractor, there are
certain things you’re not invited to, you’re not
entitled to benefits or perks of the job or even the
basics around the core company messaging and
positioning,” she explains. “That attitude has to
shift. Companies need to think about how they can
widen the net and become much more open and
accessible, and perhaps think about an associate
value proposition or something that transcends
the broader, permanent employment contract.”
In practical terms, this can be as simple as
“treating contractors as part of the extended
workforce”, says Roberts. “Invite them to social
events, bring them into meetings about projects
they could be involved with, ask their opinion
about key issues. This doesn’t just ensure people
remain engaged; it provides extra insight internally
from someone who has a wider perspective.”
Jorens explains that Microsoft embeds its
WHAT EMPLOYEES WOULD DO TO GAIN FLEXIBILITY
54 %
40 %
move to another
company take on a greater
workload
31 % 24 %
pay for their own
technology
“The notion
of a fixed
workplace is
changing”
give up company
benefits
project workers into existing teams as far as
possible. “True partnership is important, whether
with our in-house or external workers,” she says.
“It starts with a mindset. We’re quite strict on the
calibre of candidate we bring into our teams, but
as a result we integrate them in our teams as we
would do with any new person.”
It’s crucial to get people together, even if
irregularly, believes Hirsh. “People discovered this
very early on with job-sharing; you have to build
in these valuable spaces where people working
in different places with different patterns can
overlap,” she says.
A failure to do this can negatively affect new
joiners, she adds, citing an example when a young
in-house employee felt she was being held back
by being unable to build networks due to large
numbers of peers working virtually.
Some form of onboarding should be provided
to freelancers or those working on short-term
assignments. A study by Cezanne HR found that
60% of HR professionals either do not include gig
workers in their onboarding processes, or do not
know whether this is done in their organisation.
“HR should provide a thorough induction so
that even short-term contractors understand the
brand, its values and its clients,” says Tarek.
Another area of challenge in a deconstructed
workplace is managing workers’ health and
wellbeing. Many flexible workers put in extra
hours and may even work when they are ill,
warns Dr Charmi Patel, associate professor in HR
management at Henley Business School.
“Their recovery takes twice as long because
they’re still working and not really recovering,”
she says. “It can lead to more illness and burnout.”
As deconstructed workforce models proliferate
in certain sectors, HR will increasingly find itself
tasked with keeping networks of flexible workers
engaged and ready to come on board as required.
Issue 3 - 2019
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