Strategies to Combat Today's Changing Workforce

Cost Savings and Risk Reduction. References put the cost of a "mis-hire" between five and 15 times a worker's salary, a major contributor being the expenses associated with on-boarding. One estimate, by Bob Willard in "The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line," cites the cost at just under $40,000 to onboard one worker. Re-sourcing previous employees eliminates much of this risk, as both the individual and the company has already had a chance to perform due diligence on the other. A company would not re-hire a poorly-performing employee; likewise, workers will not accept positions with a company that does not meet their needs.

Baby boomers are retiring and newer generations of workers cannot replace them, physically or knowledge-wise. The time is ripe for companies to examine whether alumni such as retirees and interns could play a large role on the contingent side of a workforce. By taking full advantage of these known talent resources, companies can save time, costs and energy while achieving a much higher success rate with new hires. While no one can deny the pool of full-time talent — including current and potential workers — is shrinking significantly, research shows that by deploying a unified platform, companies can maximize their workforce and cost savings.

About the Author: Sean Chou is chief technical officer of Fieldglass (www.fieldglass.com) where he oversees all technical aspects of the company's software, which is designed to help organizations procure and manage all their outsourced services. He can be reached at schou@fieldglass.com.