Recap of Current Rule and Proposed Changes

The DOL’s current rule on the books — which was issued by the prior administration and has been in effect since January 2021 — offers a flexible standard for determining whether workers are independent contractors under federal wage and hour rules. It has helped shape today’s modern economy, as workers gain flexibility and an opportunity to work for more than one organization and businesses can adapt to shifting landscapes in light of recent labor shortages.

While the current test primarily focuses on two “core factors” — the extent of control exercised by the business over key aspects of the work and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss — the proposed rule seeks to reinstate a rigid, multi-factor analysis. The focus will be on the “totality of the circumstances,” with an employee-friendly interpretation of how each of its six factors should be applied.

Several factors should not be surprising: the relative amount of investment made by the worker compared to investments made by the business, the permanency of the work relationship, the extent to which the work is an integral part of the organization’s business and whether the worker uses specialized skills to do the job.

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Hidden Landmines?

But where many organizations might get tripped up is with the “control” factor. The DOL’s proposal seeks to examine the nature and degree of the potential employer’s control, including legal obligations, safety standards or contractual or customer service standards that could indicate an employee relationship. While this seems like a standard factor that many organizations have grown accustomed to working with, further exploration reveals a deeper concern.

Buried in the proposal is the statement from the DOL that businesses that merely reserve the right to control certain aspects of the work — even if they don’t actually exercise that control — could be found to have an employee relationship with the worker.

Another subtle reference in the control standard is the statement that “electronic” supervision will be considered a form of control, as opposed to only considering control exercised through human interaction. This obviously is directed at app-based platforms that control service provider activities through automation. Staffing firms with independent contractor service models could be impacted as well.

Expected Impact and Next Steps

This change in rule and interpretation should cause staffing businesses to carefully review the agreements you have in place to determine whether revisions are needed. Process changes may be appropriate as well, particularly where service provider activities are tightly governed by agencies. Of course, there also may be a number of situations where contractors may need to be converted to a different status.

The DOL has announced it will accept comments from the public through November 28 before finalizing the rule. Once the agency has had a chance to review all comments, it will decide whether to revise the proposal before finalization. You can expect any such revisions to be minor in nature and not to impact the overall direction of the current proposal — and almost certainly will not sweep away the hidden landmine discussed above.

Once the process is completed, the agency will publish the revised rule, which will become the new law of the land — which you can expect in early 2023. There’s not much time to adapt to these changes, so your organization will want to start working with your staffing counsel to ensure your written agreements and management protocols are ready for what’s to come.

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Training and technology. Training is essential for every company, but it’s especially vital for staffing companies. In order to work cohesively and successfully as a unit, each employee needs to understand their role and the value of the work they are doing. There are some companies that don’t see the benefit of training or continuing to educate their employees. They worry that after investing time and money into their staff, they will leave. But research proves training has quite the opposite effect — 86% of HR managers believe training aids in employee retention (SHRM Research Institute and TalentLMS).

PREMIUM CONTENT: North America Staffing Company Survey 2022: Staffing Firm Plans for Use of Vendor-Provided Services

Role-based training. When it comes to implementing training protocols, many employers use outdated practices and make the mistake of leaving training responsibilities up to individual leaders. Instead, businesses should consider utilizing role-based training, which involves several different team members, aligns with the responsibility of each role and provides training for employees based on what’s expected of them. The opportunity to be involved in new employees’ training also gives rise to more tenured team members and further promotes staff retention.

Upskilling. Another training tactic to consider is upskilling, an approach focused on building existing employees’ skills to prepare them to fill new positions. As various industries leverage new technologies across the board, it’s important to close the digital talent gap and fill positions with candidates who have the specialized skills needed while maintaining your current workforce.

Investing in technology. Aside from creating opportunities for upskilling, technology also plays a massive role in the success of a staffing business. Small boutique firms might still run on paper ink and basic Excel or Word formats, but all they are doing is getting by. You have to invest in technology as it will bring you the greatest efficiencies that save you time and money in the long run. At Spherion, we have an entire team who stay up to date on staffing and recruiting technology and determine which systems and processes will help our franchisees and their teams operate at the highest capacity. That level of constant research can be an insurmountable task for an individual group, but is handled quite readily through a franchise brand like Spherion.

In the second part of this series, we’ll explore additional tactics and considerations that will help you stay agile in your recruiting strategy.

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Wearing a t-shirt on a conference call or a hoodie at Google’s office is the new normal. The business dress code is becoming more casual and flexible to highlight our skills and performance but is still imbued with a fashion sense. Where are these trends coming from, and how should managers respond?

The Tech Industry Pioneering Casual Attire

Big companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook are famous for their casual office attire. Dressed in hoodies and jeans, the employees behind Sundar Pichai, Evan Williams and Mark Zuckerburg are headlining fashion trends in the tech industry.

While the “dress to impress” mantra is still valid, changes in dress codes prove that it’s not all about the looks. Intellect and performance are more important in business nowadays, especially in the digital-first ambience, as the tech giants demonstrate.

After the casual dress code revolutionized the tech industry, it also caught up with the booming landscape of start-ups. During the rise of start-up culture, many small businesses quickly grew to become corporate giants in an informal atmosphere.

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Other Industries Embracing the Casual Dress Code

Now, other industries are chiming in on the trend too.

“Dress codes in the finance sector have historically had the most conservative, formal standards, and even those are changing,” said New York-based alumna for Goldman Sachs Jessica Cadmus, who works as a stylist in the corporate world.

In 2019, Goldman Sachs published a memo announcing a shift towards “a more casual environment,” and they’re not the only ones. Morgan Stanley and other investment banks are also embracing the change.

Other industries are also driving change. The British airline Virgin Atlantic also relaxed its dress code by allowing flight attendants to wear pants and not forcing them to put make-up on so that they have “an increased level of comfort” and “more choice” to express individuality. The retail world is following suit: Target, for example, now allows employees to wear blue jeans every day at work.

Gen Z Is Shaping the New Business Dress Code

The emerging cohort of workers is the tech-savvy and fashion-forward Gen Z. As such, businesses are adapting their corporate dress codes to attract top talent from the young generation.

The new dress code is dictated by the latest trends in menswear, taking a more flexible approach. That means that knitwear will dominate the office style during sweater weather. Wider cuts, belted overcoats, and men’s loafers are the top fashion and shoe trends for this autumn, so expect to see them around the office.

Changing the Dress Code Reflects Changing Mindsets

While the shift in the business dress code is evident, even in historically rigid industries such as finance, some employers have clung to formalwear in the workplace.

Just like hiring managers would enlist the desired skills and requirements in a job advert and recruiters would prepare their clients, talking about the new dress code can help put everyone on the same page, especially employers.

If you’re a recruiter, you may have clients who insist on finding a candidate that fits their outdated dress code. But they could miss out on innovative talent by judging them based on their outfit. In that case, it’s your job to take them through the new business code and the benefits of adopting it. Bring the stats in: studies show that 61% of employees are more productive when they have a relaxed dress code. Show them some candidates that don’t fit the current dress code but have the perfect skillset. You’re the expert, and they’ve hired you for a reason, so bring that expertise to bear.

As part of adapting to the hybrid working environment, it’s important to start reworking our collective mindset around the new business dress code and other changes that come with that. Mastering this can help position us better in the evolved business landscape.

The shift towards a more casual dress code is accelerating as employees are looking to embrace comfort and individuality. A more flexible work attire means a happier workforce, better productivity, and more gains for the company.

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But if you ask the employees, their response, according to a Monster survey, is that 61% are just burned out. And 72% of those burned out say the reason is their company is short-staffed. Surprisingly, although the buzz is everywhere, it seems that human resources haven’t caught up yet. SHRM recently reported that only 36% of HR professionals are aware of the term “quiet quitters,” and only half of those are concerned about the trend. So where is the disconnect?

Through this so-called “quiet quitting,” employees are actually screaming that enough is enough. In speaking with professionals across the industry, I’ve found the general consensus is that working 50-plus hours a week was affecting their mental health. Most had been trying to do their primary job for the first 40 hours and then trying to pick up any additional work for those who had been termed but not replaced during the next 10-20 hours. Weekends blended into the workweek because they needed time to catch up and prepare for the week ahead in order to combat the constant feeling of being behind on deadlines. Now, having scaled back for self-preservation — and being called out for doing so — those employees are wondering how “going above and beyond” became an expectation rather than an occasional service.

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But what are the solutions? Some experts say to pay employees more and they will be OK with working more. Some say provide recognition and employees will be happy to work more. Some say just communicate with employees, tell them why they have to work more and hope they will agree to do it. Meanwhile, the workers are begging employers to realize that it goes deeper than that. They need a workload balance, job sharing opportunities or updated processes that will enable them to be more efficient in performing their job. In order to accomplish this, they also need support from management and realistic deadlines.

From an employer perspective, I believe it’s an internal challenge. Maybe budgets are being cut, people are actually quitting, and talent is hard to find. It is true, according to SIA research, that there are more jobs posted than people available to work, even if every person in the US were employed. This means hiring more help isn’t always an option. So what else can companies do to lighten the load? If your culture is company-centric, then your challenge is going to be to understand the “quiet quitters” and find ways to improve processes so that the work still gets done without extra hours being expected.

If your company is employee-centric, then your challenge is going to be to listen to the “quiet quitters” and create an employee resource group think tank to help solve the root issues causing burnout. Employees will tell you which activities could be centralized and/or off-loaded. They know how to divide and conquer work among their teams. They know when to say no to customer requests. And they know which work efforts have already been tried and failed.

So, before you judge some of those employees who are starting to limit their work hours as “slackers” or call them “unmotivated,” look in the mirror and ask yourself what your organization can do to help get work done efficiently while retaining your valuable workforce.

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In turn, the past decade has seen an explosion of litigation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which empowers people to resolve errors in credit reports and background checks, among other provisions. The number of FCRA lawsuits has nearly tripled since 2011, reaching 5,400 suits in 2021. Meanwhile, background check-related lawsuits have forced companies like Aerotek, Kelly Services, AT&T, Home Depot, and Whole Foods to pay more than $325 million in settlements. As just one example, Starbucks recently settled lawsuits alleging the company used flawed data from background checks to deny work to thousands of jobseekers.

Yet there is little reason to think employers have become less concerned for their workers. Rather, the broker-centered verification system has simply dominated the US workforce for decades, and it has become normal for employers to hire background check firms that buy their verification data from brokers like Equifax or Experian, which collect and sell billions of records on workers’ income, education, employment and more. Some verification firms are even subsidiaries of the brokers themselves. For instance, Equifax’s The Work Number service collects payroll data on more than half of the entire US workforce.

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Unfortunately, this system creates enormous risks for both workers and employers. Beyond the threat of data breaches — like the infamous 2017 hack at Equifax — or the fact that brokers re-sell worker data to countless buyers, it is incredibly easy for data errors to go undetected when workers are not included in their own verification process. Where data brokers assume there will always be errors across the billions of records they process, mistakes like inaccurate criminal histories, missing jobs and even small misspellings will be obvious and urgently important to the workers involved. And where 78% of employers aim to offer identity theft prevention as a worker benefit, employers can avoid all the added costs of this benefit if their workers can simply review their data and flag any anomalies.

This verification system is outdated and inefficient, and it treats workers like products rather than clients or consumers. Meanwhile, Equifax raised the price of its employment verification by 31% in the past year, passing these costs to job seekers, home buyers and staffing firm customers.

However, new technologies are emerging that allow workers to take control of their own payroll data, offering personal, encrypted vaults to store their data, review it for accuracy and share it with specific third parties with the knowledge that the authenticity of their data is guaranteed.

Regardless of the specific technology, it is critical that employers explore these new platforms. Beyond legal liability, mistakes in payroll data can devastate workers, ruin job opportunities and damage relationships with employers. For instance, the world recently learned Apple labeled former employees as “associates,” regardless of their title. Since these workers did not verify their own records, some were shocked to learn this error had derailed other job offers. Moreover, taking a bold step to protect your workers’ data can signal to your clients that they can entrust their own sensitive data to your company and your contractors.

To avoid litigation, PR crises, worker turmoil and corporate distrust, experts urge employers to arm themselves with policies, documentation and redundant compliance measures. And while these are good precautions, they can never fully shield a company that relies on data from massive brokers to vet their workers.

There was certainly a reason employers relied on data brokers in the past, but things have changed. Laws and technologies are shifting, leaving employers with a choice: Stick with the old system and do your best to defend against liability, breaches and distraught workers, or cut out brokers as middlemen and give workers a voice in their own employment story.

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Evaluating Processes and Technology

Today, software enables agencies across the globe to reduce their administrative burden and speed up the placement process. This is especially pertinent within the current market as agencies grapple with rapid regulatory changes in the domain of candidate screening and compliance. It has never been more urgent for recruitment businesses to assess their tech stack in line with ever-changing needs.

Whether large or small, tech-savvy or tech-starved, all agencies should go through calculated decision-making when introducing new software into their organization. Firstly, leaders need to consider the overall aims of the implementation project and their desired end state. Only then can they start to determine what processes they are looking to change and automate and envisage what the tech stack might look like by the end of the project.

This future-gazing approach involves evaluating the existing resources within the agency to ensure that any new software will be integrated and adopted throughout the business. Recruitment firms that are in the early stages of the digital transformation process should opt for a stack that can be easily maintained without additional resources. Most agencies will now choose cloud-based solutions where the software is delivered as a service over the internet and the provider is responsible for security, availability and performance freeing users from complex software and hardware management.

Once these initial decisions have been made, decision-makers can begin to review the market and what suppliers can offer.

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Structuring the Tech Stack so Operations Run Seamlessly

Recruitment technology is diversifying at a rapid rate with a wide range of offerings on the market.  Buyers should therefore ensure that they delve deep into the software’s capabilities, ensuring that they thoroughly research what the software can do for their business. Alongside current functionality, it’s important to discover what is in the roadmap, determine how frequently the software will be upgraded and assess the credentials of the provider.

For recruitment organizations with outdated technology in their stack, upgrading to an efficient recruitment CRM to handle all aspects of permanent and temporary placements is vital to stay ahead of the competition. By avoiding manual systems and siloed data, consultants can better collaborate with their team to place workers at speed.

For high-volume staffing agencies, a CRM that offers strong shift management needs to be paired with effective payment and billing software allowing them to process hundreds of timesheets for dozens of clients simultaneously. Having access to software which automates the payment and billing process not only saves time but ensures a high level of accuracy that keeps clients and candidates on side and compliance in check.

Delivering High Returns for Business Growth

As with any major business purchase, there will always be an adjustment period whilst employees get to grips with any new software’s capabilities and an understanding and buy-in as to how it improves their workflows.

Businesses need to ensure that they are receiving a significant return on their investment by measuring the results and tracking associated KPIs.

For example, consultants may currently manually schedule candidate interviews using external video-conferencing software. This may only take a couple of minutes, but when considering how many candidates consultants engage with on a daily basis, the minutes begin to add up. What if consultants could seamlessly schedule video interviews within their recruitment CRM? Measuring speed to hire is an important metric with time saved invested into placing more candidates and ultimately driving revenue.

Knowing that the impact of the software will be inspected may also help to increase adoption, especially if best use cases are shared and celebrated.

Building a strong tech stack allows recruitment agencies to free up their consultants’ time, creates a more enjoyable candidate experience and aids worker retention. When leveraging the best recruitment software for enhanced automation, agencies can increase efficiency and, therefore, have the freedom to do more.

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Technology

The Covid-19 pandemic has sped up digital transformation and technologies by years, leaving businesses in a tight spot with managing their digital infrastructure and adapting to these changes. However, the technology sector has been leading the way in providing remote working opportunities and has been the fastest in adjusting to them. But with many remote tech workers preferring to stay at home, how can the technology industry thrive in the remote era?

Create a productive work environment. With daily commutes being a thing of the past, workers can now focus on core projects, which boosts overall productivity levels. However, it’s important to note that with IT and digital projects catapulting to the top of the meeting agenda and many businesses seeking to adjust their business models to the latest technological developments, including outsourced services, your team is still getting their well-deserved rest. Creating a work environment with a balanced workload and fair deadlines helps them feel at ease and appreciated even when working from home.

Customer Service

When high street chains closed their doors in 2020 and moved to the online sphere, the retail sector received a huge boost. Customers filling their digital carts resulted in rapid growth for e-commerce businesses. But with online stores suddenly having to manage the increased demand of customers, many companies responded to that by expanding their customer service departments. A huge benefit of hiring customer service representatives is that support can easily be provided via phone calls, emails or chats – all from the comfort of their own home. But has that taken a toll on customer service representatives?

Staying connected. Customer service jobs can be challenging, despite the perks of working from home. A customer service agent deals with various situations daily; some are more demanding than others, and it can easily take a toll on a person mental health. As such, prioritizing employee well-being has never been more critical. Getting involved in your team’s daily activities, sharing the daily struggles, and finding common ground can help your team face the challenges ahead. As a celebration of all your achievements, a daily virtual huddle, a day out or a networking event once every quarter can go a long way.

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Marketing and Content Creation

Hiring marketing or social media representatives is an investment in future sales, as it contributes to building a company’s brand and selling it to a broad audience. Along the way, the team creates a range of content from blog posts to ads. As a manager, the day is never the same as you jump from project to project, which certainly requires good time management and organizational skills. But how can you ensure your team is driven even when the times are challenging?

Take feedback. As the digital world is changing rapidly, it’s only natural you expect your team to be up to date with the latest releases and ready to implement them in your strategy. But remember that building an empire with a solid base takes time and your employees need to feel supported while taking on more responsibilities. Make sure to implement regular meetings, take their suggestions on board when working out your strategy, and ask what other forms of support they would need to develop in their roles.

Final Thoughts

There are no right or wrong answers regarding best practices for managing your remote team, as each individual requires a different method. Remote working at this scale is a new and fresh method; best practices and technologies will inevitably emerge to help us. As always, it’s essential to be open-minded and focus on how you, as a manager, can empower your team and foster greater collaboration.

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However, some HR departments have been resistant to move with the times. This is due to some fears of the growing pains associated with a liquid talent strategy; procurement, for example, is a common anxiety. How agile can it really be if we have to manage endless procurement processes and contract prep?

Specialized freelancing marketplaces are the solution to these pain points. These online platforms provide a pre-certified, curated selection of professionals at an organization’s fingertips, with a single point of contact for contracts and invoicing. In this post, I’ll outline the key benefits of a high-level freelancing talent strategy.

Plug the tech talent gap. New technologies are ushering in new ways of working. As the demand for digitization intensifies, companies must re-skill employees or search for specialized talent. Unfortunately, this talent is far from abundant. According to a recent study from Korn Ferry, the technology and media sector will have a global shortfall of 4.3 million workers by 2030.

To secure the best talent in a competitive market, you need to move fast. Early starters — which include some of the world’s largest corporations — are able to cover their tech talent gap with remarkable agility with the support of talent platforms.

Speedy onboarding for on-demand talent. In the past, organizations were reluctant to take on freelancers because of the administrative work involved. Then there was onboarding; how could they be confident that the freelancer would fit into the existing company culture?

Proponents of the freelancing revolution know that a freelancer is rarely a one-hit wonder. Instead, leveraging on-demand talent is the start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship. Once they’ve been onboarded, they can slot in quickly and seamlessly on a project-by-project basis.

The result? Talent when and where you need it, already armed with the knowledge of processes and protocols, for the best possible price.

PREMIUM CONTENT: Global Staffing Company Survey 2022: Front-Office and Back-Office Software: Popular Vendors, Use of Proprietary Systems, and User Satisfaction

Top talent at a low price. Gartner reported that post-pandemic, 32% of organizations surveyed said they’re using more freelancers to cut costs. This is because on-demand talent enables companies to get more done with a more flexible budget. This is particularly useful for project-based work where niche expertise can be drafted in as needed, as opposed to offering the highly competitive salary such a profile would demand.

Facilitate skill-sharing. It’s important to emphasize that cost reductions by no means lead to a reduction in quality — specialist platforms ensure that experts have verified experience.

However, this isn’t to say that full-time employees will fall by the wayside in the future. External expertise can share knowledge with internal talent and bring out the best in each team member, enabling the organization to identify hidden skills and help each employee reach their full potential.

Be ready for whatever the future throws at you. It goes without saying that the pandemic was a turning point in working cultures. The abrupt move to remote work demonstrated that resilience and flexibility were the new imperative of an unpredictable business environment. Those that were ready for the shake-up thrived, and those that weren’t fell by the wayside.

Embracing a flexible talent strategy means you’re ready for anything. A good example is managing changing expectations in regard to employee experience. For example, the Harvard Business Review found that 40% of surveyed business leaders said that young people’s desire for more flexibility and autonomy would have a significant impact on the future of work.

The Freelancing Revolution Is the Future

Looking forward, a flexible approach to talent will be what sets organizations apart. Human resources departments will have to develop new skills, but thankfully, the freelancing revolution is already well underway. Online talent platforms are making it easier than ever for companies to access freelance expertise and keep pace with new trends in the labor market.

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Develop a clear attendance policy. A formal attendance policy allows you to establish consistent and precise standards throughout your organization while outlining the disciplinary procedure for policy violations. Once you’ve established workplace attendance policies, make sure to share them with all employees.

More importantly, you must be consistent with applying these rules. This is the only way to show employees how serious your attendance policy is.

Use time-tracking software. Another approach to handling employee attendance is using time and attendance management software. It can boost employee responsibility and decrease absenteeism, and it can assist you in monitoring hours, tardiness and absences, managing schedules and tracking vacation and sick time. By using tracking software, you can discover patterns and take measures to enhance attendance.

There are many tracking software programs available, so choose one that enables you to tailor the system to your company’s requirements and receive updates when errors occur, such as an employee working overtime.

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Measure the employees’ performance. Employee performance should be directly related to attendance in your evaluation system. Furthermore, we suggest that you consider rewarding employees who perform exceptionally well. Of course, these do not have to be costly programs! You can create fun ways to entice and attract your team members (e.g., movie tickets or gift cards) or acknowledge them publicly during staff meetings.

For example, if you’re relocating the office and looking for ways to minimize downtime for your employees, you can reward them if they show extra motivation during this time. Staying productive during an office move can be challenging, but with some enhancement, you can turn your workspace into a well-oiled machine.

Address the attendance issues on time. Do not put off discussing performance and attendance until a planned one-on-one meeting or the annual evaluation. Supervisors should take the responsibility to address these issues with staff as soon as possible. Every manager is responsible for their team’s attendance and overall performance, and dealing with concerns immediately will probably lead to a change in behavior.

What can supervisors and team leaders do to address these issues and overcome potential obstacles? Setting aside time for team training or a development workshop containing sections on handling employee attendance and performance will keep supervisors updated.

Offer fair time off. Companies that provide generous paid time off (PTO) benefits may increase employee attendance and efficiency. Employees will establish the routine of scheduling their days off if you provide adequate time away from the workplace. For example, suppose one of your employees is using their PTO for the process of moving houses. Professional moving crews like those from mod-movers.com can help the employee estimate how many days the move will take so they can forward accurate information to you ahead of time, allowing you to find substitute coverage, reschedule project deadlines and balance workloads across teams.

You need to choose the type of PTO you want to provide to your employees. Is there a set amount of time each year? Is their time off granted all at once or accumulated? Do you provide unlimited PTO?

Offering fair time off is one of the most effective ways to handle employee attendance. Not only will the employees avoid absenteeism, but they will also try and be more productive to earn their PTO.

Final thoughts. While absenteeism makes for a challenging workplace, it is avoidable. Your company can save money and decrease absenteeism by handling employee attendance and establishing a fair attendance policy that deals with issues adequately. Furthermore, providing a reliable PTO policy that covers vacation and sick time can reduce the number of times employees fail to show up for work.

We’ve given you the most effective ways to handle employee attendance. All you have to do now is implement them according to your company’s and employees’ needs.

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Do you have someone on your team designated to ensure steps don’t get missed in simple onboarding or extension processes around contingent workers? The results when a key person in the process is out for a few days unexpectedly can endanger projects — not to mention the reputation of your contingent workforce program. Whose responsibility is it?

A couple weeks ago, an acquaintance of mine — a long-term consultant for a global technology firm — launched his laptop to discover he had been cut off from all systems access at his client company. “Joe,” who supports a large business unit for the organization, knew immediately what happened. A couple weeks prior, the staffing firm that manages his contract and the team he supports alerted the contingent workforce program office that his contract was set to expire and needed to be extended.

Whether the person that alert went to was on vacation, had moved on to another role or left the company altogether, the end result was that no one completed the tasks necessary to keep Joe active in the system. For three full business days, Joe was unable to provide any support his internal team needed. Over the course of the following three days, his access was restored incrementally. So, for six business days, Joe was not able to do his job.

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Fortunately for Joe and his team, this came at a relatively slow time for the group. But it made me wonder if this was an isolated issue or there were other contingent workers across this global corporation who were similarly affected. Depending on the project at hand, several days’ downtime for contractors can seriously jeopardize deliverables and, ultimately, the company’s bottom line. Not to mention that in order to ensure the contractors not be assigned out to other clients, this organization would likely find itself having to pay Joe’s — and any similarly affected worker’s — regular hourly rate for ALL the hours affected, whether he worked at all or not, notes Dawn McCartney, SIA’s VP, CWS Council. A costly lesson indeed, depending on how many workers fell through these cracks.

While managers of this program can rest assured in a way — Joe’s access was completely shut down as the system was designed to do — they should be distressed that their processes failed this contractor and their internal stakeholders.

“Avoidable mistakes like this one can have an impact on not only the contingent worker and staffing provider but on the internal stakeholders as well,” McCartney explains. “Remember, your program needs to have buy-in and adoption from all parties to be successful. Avoid giving a reason for them to avoid supporting the program and create a workaround.”

It is critical for program managers to have a clearly defined process in place. Alerts should be set up within the system to let key people know — along with assigned backups — of impending contract expirations with plenty of time to spare for an extension to be approved, if needed. “We have seen success when program offices send 90-, 60- and 30-day reminders of an expiration date approaching,” McCartney adds. And if a response is still not received after the 30-day reminder, a phone call may be required.

Because the contingent worker and the staffing provider want them to be working — and billing — both will usually start to look for the next opportunity if an extension request is not processed or received.

In this case, Joe and his staffing firm knew the extension was imminent, so Joe remained available for the client. But not all errors have happy endings. “You do not want to put through a late extension only to find out the contingent worker is not available,” McCartney warns.

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