There is a growing contingent workforce that is filled with professionals with high end skills. Most of these professionals have worked in corporate or government environments, are familiar with the demands of HR Operations, deadlines, projects, and the day to day crisis management. They have managed staff and/or projects and are well versed in the challenges that result from budgets and resources. And they have decided to work differently.

These professionals know the pace of the internal corporate world, the constant barrage of e-mails, phone calls, meetings, and deadlines. The crisis management mentality that isn’t how you want to work but how you are forced to work to survive. Until it becomes a crisis, there isn’t enough urgency to get the needed attention and resources to get the job done. Without a crisis, there is no planning, no governance, no strategic foresight and crisis management means costs continue at the same levels because there is no time to change.

No time to look for business processes that eliminate waste and create better value for stakeholders. No time to consider whether the organization should be proactively planning for a skills gap.
No time to perform real time performance evaluations and on-going professional development to ensure the full value of an employee is realized. No time for Human Capital Risk Management – maximizing the value of the workforce and managing the costs.

This is often the world of the HR professional working in a lean environment struggling to meet demand. Organizations expect that professional to respond to every phone call and/or e-mail from employees. They expect resolution of problems. They expect stewardship of the costs of the workforce including strong management of expenses resulting from compensation and benefits. They expect communications and planning and processing and partnership. It’s a lot to accomplish in a day.

But there is an opportunity that more companies are using to improve their HR Operations. The contingent workforce of professionals can bring skills that are project oriented, just in time, and specialized in the work. This provides resources on a short term basis. These professionals can work on site, but more and more technology provides the ability for them to work remotely which reduces the cost by eliminating or reducing travel costs. These professionals are like the “ringers” the team used to bring in – the highly skilled, temporary athlete that came in just in time and provided high end skills to win the game and position the team for success.

Contingent professionals do not create long term commitments for your organization and are fluid and flexible. You spend money on Open Enrollment in the 4th quarter and HR technology in the first quarter. Both needs are met, but you are not committed to any specific skill set, and you are in better shape for the next season because these professionals provide process improvement based on their experience with best practices. And most important – they “get it done!”