Utilising a Strategic combination of Direct Hire and Contingent Staffing can Satisfy critical Talent Shortages in Supply Chain

As companies find themselves increasingly with their backs against the wall in the Supply Chain space – more Baby Boomers retiring and not enough talent coming up to fill those spots with top talent, what we foresee as specialty SCM Recruiters and Consultants in Talent Acquisition to companies trying to figure it all out, is that the most strategic organizations will learn over time to utilise a combination of Contingent and Permanent staffing going forward. Organizations can remain nimble and sharp with the latest skills in SCM bu utilising “super-temps” as part of their overall talent initiative. While having a strategic permanent hiring plan in place they will still have the continuity required for long-term success while staying globally competitive making their products and getting them to market in the most timely manner.

For example, imagine a Procurement organization with a large backlog of RFP responses to process or are working on an implementation being phased in over time or an introduction of a new product: it might be better to bring on skilled contractors who don’t require lengthy training and can have “boots on the ground” quickly, while ensuring the permanent team they are supporting is being shored up by finding the right Permanent solution moving forward if necessary. In fact, we’re seeing many organizations adopting this exact approach.  While we blog a lot about the exciting emerging model of Contingent staffing, we’re willing to plant our flag and assert that both Permanent and Contingent hiring will be highly relevant in the years to come and should coexist well to the benefit of the particular needs of the situation.

As a final point, it’s worth mentioning that there’s a third model of staffing, which is “Contract to Direct Hire.” We’re seeing a number of organizations elect to bring on contractors with the express purpose of moving them into a Permanent role at some future point. This certainly works very well in situations where companies are facing long term hiring freezes but looking to the future they can keep the pipeline full of talented long term contract staff who they can bring on once that freeze is off.So when it comes to Contingent and Direct Hire, it’s often not an either/or situation. They can be both flexible and powerful when used together.

Over and Out

Bronwen