Brian Huggett , Head of Non-Permanent Workers , Lloyds Banking Group
Melanie Barnett , Managing Director , Client Services PSR UK & Ireland , AMS
Matthew Rodger , Chief Commercial and Growth Officer , AMS
Craig Neill , Head of Talent Acquisition , NatWest Group
Mike Cleaton , Deputy Director of Workforce , Crown Commercial Service
Contingent workers are being increasingly recognised for the value they provide to an organisation , in terms of both skills and flexibility . To truly unlock the power of the workforce , visibility is key to enabling an understanding of capability , skills , costs and risks across all categories of worker , supporting strategic decisions with a total talent lens .
At the recent 2021 Contingent Workforce Summit ( CWS ) Europe , held entirely virtually for an audience of Workforce Programme Managers , HR and procurement professionals , AMS delivered a panel discussion on ‘ seeing the path to workforce dexterity and unlocking the power of flexibility ’.
Matthew Rodger , Chief Commercial and Growth Officer at AMS and panel chair , opened the discussion by highlighting the impact of recent global disruption and how this has influenced the way that organisations view their talent .
“ Times like these really reinforce the need for true workforce agility , and the dependence of organisations on contingent workers really comes into focus ,” said Rodger . “ Organisations are looking for extreme flexibility in terms of both capacity and skills to truly unlock the power of the workforce . Visibility is absolutely key to enabling and understanding the capability and skills that you have at your disposal .”
Rodger invited panellists to share their insights on what it takes to implement a successful contingent workforce programme . For Mike Cleaton , Deputy Director of Workforce at Crown Commercial Service , securing executive sponsorship , engaging with the business about their role requirements and having a clear communication path are critical .
He explained : “ At their heart , these implementations are organisational change programmes . And change programmes require an awful lot of comms . There are so many stakeholders that you literally cannot do too many communications with this kind of project .”
Melanie Barnett , Managing Director , Client Services PSR UK & Ireland at AMS , highlighted the need for a robust governance structure , while Craig Neill , Head of Talent Acquisition at NatWest Group , suggested that having a strong business case and clear benefits proposition can help you secure senior stakeholder engagement . He added that highlighting “ any risks that might exist to either your implementation , or alternatively risk of not implementing this business case ” is equally important .
Brian Huggett , Head of Non-Permanent Workers at Lloyds Banking Group , emphasised the power of purpose . “ If you ’ re not clear on the purpose , you can run the risk of trying to do too much at once , and then not deliver anything ,” he said .
Times like these really reinforce the need for true workforce agility , and the dependence of organisations on contingent workers really comes into focus
Matthew Rodger , AMS
The role of technology
From a technical perspective , while developments in technology have had a huge impact on processes and procedures , panellists agreed that the tech landscape is “ extremely complex ” and there are gaps in the market for tools to help businesses understand their ‘ total workforce ’.
For Neill , the most crucial concern of advancing technologies is how they connect across the entire workforce . He believes that a skills taxonomy and getting visibility on skills within workforces will become a powerful tool for complex organisations .
Huggett added : “ We ’ re seeing the start of an evolution of businesses really understanding who are my contractors ? Who are my consultants ? Who are my true outsourced workers ? Because often those lines can get blurred . I think once that ’ s understood , there ’ s a whole educational piece with tools that will enable colleagues of large organisations to understand what solution they need .”
Everyone ’ s on a journey with total talent management and , in some instances , it ’ s a utopian concept Mike Cleaton , Crown Commercial Service
Understanding the total workforce
In the UK , the introduction of IR35 legislation [ tax rules around offpayroll working ] has prompted organisations to seek visibility over how contractors are engaged . In turn , this has encouraged a shift towards understanding the total workforce .
In Cleaton ’ s view , “ Everyone ’ s on a journey with total talent management and in some instances , it ’ s a utopian concept .”
Neill has observed a shift in recent years with HR , supply chain services and the business working much more closely together across different ‘ types ’ of worker . “ Our contingent staff and permanent staff are under a consistent skills taxonomy ,” he said .
For Barnett , the maturity curve of the contingent labour market is well established , and she pointed out that the ‘ statement of work ’ will be an iterative journey . “ Visibility is key to having the data in one system first and foremost and then to use that data to do something meaningful by identifying skills gaps ,” she said .
Looking to the future for non-permanent workers
Given the uncertain economic landscape as countries emerge from the pandemic , panellists agreed that contingent labour models are likely to be utilised by many organisations , certainly in the short-term . Tax compliance will also continue to be on the agenda for years to come .
In Huggett ’ s view , there is a “ massive opportunity ” for system architecture to look at not only the whole workforce plan , but also help people demystify the whole concept of workforce planning and tying the total workforce together . “ Five years down the line , I ’ d like to see a really smart piece of kit out there that will help all of us . That ’ s my hope anyway , and maybe a plea to those that are listening .”
AMS is delighted to sponsor the annual Staffing Industry Analysts ’ CWS Summit North America as a live , in-person conference .