General

These days, it’s hard to know if the economy is coming or going, and whether it makes sense to staff up or trim down your workforce. And given that the labor market still remains a relatively tight one – especially for the best and most specialized talent – most companies are navigating complex (and perhaps even contradictory) forces that further complicate those decisions. Yet with so many employers fishing for talent from a shallow pool of elite candidates, how does a company go about attracting the best contractors?

One of the best strategies for managing these circumstances is engaging with contingent labor, which allows a company to hire proven talent quickly, while also providing the flexibility needed to handle short-term projects and more nimbly reshape a workforce, if and when necessary. Contractors also expand the pool of candidates available to a business, and they often are better equipped than permanent hires to be onboarded quickly and hit the ground running. Contingent labor helps address a lot of the challenges companies currently face.

A Test Case: Hospitality

The fallout from the pandemic – including, but not limited to, a roller coaster economy and job market – have had a dramatic effect on most sectors of business. No industry, however, has had to weather the storm quite like hospitality. Not only did COVID restrictions and travel fears decimate the customer bases of hotels and related businesses across the country, but they also forced many of these organizations to completely rethink fundamental elements such as their service models, digital transformation and, of course, staffing.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution, nor any once-and-for-all answers, that will “settle” the hospitality sector. By nature, the business is seasonal, cyclical and ever-changing. Which is all the more reason why many hotels have leaned into contingent labor in recent years, and why some are exploring even more radical, related moves – such as gig-based housekeeping services, modeled after Uber or Postmates.

Yet even in areas of the hospitality space that are somewhat more predictable, or at least slower-moving, contractors offer benefits that can’t be ignored. There is demand in the sector for IT support, but single hotels and smaller chains may have fewer resources and less flexibility to hire a full-time staff to address that demand. Based on the type of work involved (finite duration projects, often requiring specialized skills), even larger businesses in the industry would likely find their IT needs more affordably and intelligently met using contingent labor. So attracting the best contractors is important in this use case. 

Methodology for Attracting the Best Contractors

The goals and incentives of contractors aren’t necessarily all that different from those of full-time employees. Most workers want fair pay, a positive work environment and a purpose-driven mission to get behind. Where contingent laborers diverge most from staffers is their desire for flexibility – whether that comes in the form of schedule, work location or job duties. Delivering in those areas will give a company its best chance of winning over top contract talent.

But a business first must find and connect with those contractors. To forge those connections, the company needs either a well-established network or a deep bench of hiring professionals ready to scour the contingent labor market – and, realistically, it would need both. Even for organizations that wouldn’t find that approach to be cost-prohibitive, a third-party vendor may make the most sense for developing a contractor network and workforce.

Staffing agencies specialize in the hiring process, and talent clouds – such as PeopleCaddie – take it a step further by utilizing technology to build and maintain close relationships with curated networks of contractors to help clients find the right candidates as quickly as possible. By partnering with a talent cloud that has a good reputation, starting early in your search to fill known needs (example: an annual auditor) and asking back the best, most trusted contractors, an organization positions itself to nail those hard-to-fill roles and assemble an all-star team of contingent laborers. PeopleCaddie has the technology platform and customer-focused model to help you build that team and consistently win at the hyper-competitive contract talent game.

PeopleCaddie’s talent cloud is home to some of the best contract talents across a number of sectors. Find out how by clicking here.

Every year around this time, accounting firms find themselves hustling to wrangle an open fire hose of client needs – and bring in the staffing support to accommodate the demand. With W-2s and 1099s to be prepared and end-of-year audits to be performed, hiring managers are expected to ramp up an accounting workforce at a time when talent is at a premium and there is no time to be lost. With more businesses leaning into the services that public accounting firms provide, this is a pain point that isn’t going away. In fact, without a cogent strategy to address these seasonal and cyclical staffing needs, the issue only figures to grow more painful for accounting firms (and the businesses they serve) over time. Fortunately for those tasked with doing the staffing of accountants, auditors and related support, tapping contingent labor provides an excellent resource for temporary, project-based labor. Here’s how to make the most of it:

Divide and conquer. You have a trusted staff of experienced CPAs, auditors and office professionals, and perhaps your business even requires certain full-time specialists who stay busy year-round. Tapping contingent labor isn’t necessarily a strategy intended to fill those roles. There are, however, acute moments in the annual business cycle – big projects rather than day-to-day tasks – that require all hands on deck, and then some. These moments are when contract workers become a critical resource.

Because every client’s greatest time of need comes after the end of the calendar year (when tax preparations, audits and projections all come due), the pileup requires outside help. Additionally, the cadence of accounting work has helped create a job economy of professionals who specialize in parachuting into a firm and expertly buzz-sawing through specific tasks. Silo out your seasonal needs, identify the areas where contingent labor can help most, then deploy talent in a way that will be least disruptive to the usual rhythms of your firm. This positions staff and contractors to focus on what they do best and allows your organization to plug and chug based on cyclical business needs.

Get ahead. Audit busy season is an inherently busy stretch for accounting and auditing firms, but it’s hardly the only one. The lead-up to the April 15 tax filing deadline and October 15 extension deadline bring their own special kind of madness, and firms almost certainly need to flex their staff with contingent labor at these stages, too. But the importance of EOY extends beyond completing immediate tasks; hiring managers who want to avoid the annual scrum for talent should be identifying and securing the services of their best and most valuable contingent laborers now. Lining up those contracts well in advance provides peace of mind to both the employer and the worker, and often leads to ongoing relationships that keep experienced, trusted independent contractors coming back for seasonal work again and again.

Call on an expert. Just as your clients come to you to manage their books, you may consider a third-party specialist to help connect you to the best contractors on the market. PeopleCaddie has a proven track record  in the accounting space, and our technology-enabled platform and high-touch service put the best CPA and auditing contractors at your fingertips. With our roster of qualified candidates, all of them reviewed by previous PeopleCaddie clients and vetted by seasoned recruiters, you can trust your next seasonal hire’s skillset, experience and fit within your organization. With PeopleCaddie, preparation for audit and tax busy seasons – perhaps your firm’s biggest pain points – doesn’t have to be a pain at all.

Looking tap contingent laborers? PeopleCaddie’s talent cloud features contractors with wide-ranging expertise. Contact us to find out how our team can help power your contingent labor strategy.

Opinion article originally featured in Accounting Today by PeopleCaddie CTO/COO Tim Rowley 

Accounting firms today are at an impasse. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported almost 1.5 million jobs in the accounting and auditing sector in 2021, and although the 6 percent job growth in the space projected over the next decade is only slightly higher than overall projections, the industry’s job economy appears to be teetering on a precipice. The industry is very much considering the role of a contingent workforce in accounting firms.

Almost 75 percent of the CPA workforce met the retirement age in 2020, as estimated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) – and when the pandemic landed, many of those eligible for retirement indeed opted for the gold watch. At the same time, fewer workers are entering the accounting profession, as the number of CPA exam candidates has dropped from 50,000 in 2010 to just over 32,000 in 2021. Accounting firms, most of them in need of a talent infusion, are facing dwindling options.

Dwindling – but not exhausted. One of the options accounting firms can call upon is the contingent labor market, which many organizations once found themselves forced into considering but are now willingly embracing. In fact, the accounting and auditing space – where workflows fluctuate dramatically based on seasonal cycles – is a hand-in-glove fit for contingent labor. And the best firms are currently building a strategy (or already have one in place) for deploying those contractors in 2023 and beyond.

More Consideration for Contingent Labor

The economic and practical forces at play during the pandemic not only drove many retirement-age employees out of the workforce, but also fueled advances in the development and adoption of technologies and work models best suited to contingent labor. Accounting firms were required to build or refine hiring and staffing infrastructure incorporating remote work, which opened the door to consider a whole new pool of candidates. Organizations suddenly desperate to staff up – especially for the busy months and special projects – now had solutions in place to accommodate independent workers and to access their abilities from anywhere in the world. That sets the stage for a larger role of a contingent workforce in accounting firms in 2023.

Over the next 18 months, two-thirds (67 percent) of accounting firms expect to increase their use of contingent labor, while only 5 percent expect it to decrease, according to projections from MBO Partners. An even higher percentage of corporations (77 percent) expect their use of contractors to increase over the next five years – including 33 percent that believe it will increase substantially. Not surprisingly, the use of contingent labor in the space is expected to grow from its current share of 28 percent to 33 percent in 18 months and a whopping 36 percent in five years.

That means more than one in every three employees in accounting firms will soon be a contract worker. Among that group, expect an overwhelming majority to be skilled contingent professionals. Even now, the accounting and auditing contractor workforce is made up of 82 percent of skilled contingent professionals – a phenomenon driven by both demand and supply.

As more firms come to realize the benefits of a robust contract workforce and seek the flexibility and specialized skills that contractors offer, long-standing stigmas attached to contingent labor are dying and the average employee recognizes contracting for what it is – an opportunity. More employers are seeking prospects to fill expanding rosters of contingent workers, and new technologies and services have transformed contract work into an increasingly attractive option. The end result: a pool of contingent workers that, over the years, has both expanded in size and improved in quality.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Contingent Labor

Old standards related to upward mobility, job security and even professional status once dissuaded many prospects from considering contract work, which limited the number of candidates and often meant the best talent remained tied up in traditional staff roles. The landscape has dramatically changed, however, as employers acknowledge the importance of contingent labor in their workforce both in terms of how they staff and how they compensate those independent workers.

The role of a contingent workforce in accounting firms isn’t simply theoretical. Companies have witnessed time and again business needs that are met by contract workers, as well as some of the hidden benefits a contingent workforce – and hiring agencies that connect employers to those workers – can bring to an organization.

Most notably, contingent labor offers a company flexibility. The ability to staff up or modulate down based on project needs, seasonality and economic factors helps businesses to remain solvent and, when the time is right, to grow. With fewer embedded costs than those associated with full-time staff (such as sick time and benefits) and no commitment to unemployment insurance, contract workers are an excellent, no-hassle resource that can be turned on or shut off as needed.

Independent contractors allow organizations to be more agile. Plucking an expert from a pool of specialized talent to fill a short-term need is a luxury that was once out of reach for most companies, but today’s fully mature contingent labor market and hiring apparatuses now provide access to qualified contractors for all. Contingent laborers have grown more sophisticated over time, too, having gained the experience to pivot from gig to gig, onboard quickly and hit the ground running. A contract workforce can even be used as a kind of pipeline to staff positions, a way to break in, judge and even prepare new talent for possible long-term employment.

What are the challenges associated with contingent labor? Any short-term staffing strategy may lead to churn or turnover that can cost a company proprietary experience and compromise the consistency of work quality. Identifying and bringing aboard specialized contractors with the precise expertise needed can also be difficult for an in-house human resources department. But both of these challenges can be met by working with the right third-party staffing vendor – particularly firms with curated networks and deep connections to your areas of need.

Access to specialized talent, fewer hiring hoops to jump through and quicker turnaround times – they all add up to more efficient workflows and more dynamic responsiveness to business needs. Accounting firms that lean into contingent labor will reap these benefits and more, advantages they can pass on to a growing list of satisfied clients.

Interested in learning more about how contingent labor can help your accounting firm? Contact a PeopleCaddie representative to learn more.

The face of American business has changed dramatically in the last several years – and not necessarily for the better. The pandemic led to the departure of 2.3 million women from the workforce in 2020 alone, as some were let go by employers downsizing and others were compelled to leave their jobs to care for young children or other family members.

Declared a national emergency by vice president Kamala Harris, the exodus of women from the labor force hasn’t only been a crisis in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace – although that would have been enough of a crisis. Simply, it has also been a significant drain on the talent pool at a time when employers continue to scramble to find qualified candidates. 

“While the pandemic has been hard and heartbreaking for so many, it has shed a light on many of the inequities that exist in the workplace,” said Allison Robinson, The Mom Project CEO and founder. “Companies are in dire need of talented employees, but they will have to re-evaluate many of their antiquated business practices in order to attract and retain them. The power has shifted from employer to employee.”

Yet many women still face obstacles in taking advantage of this moment, when employees perhaps have more leverage than ever. It only makes sense – for everyone – to remove those barriers and help more women find a way to get back to work. Here’s why and how:

Why Many Women Aren’t Working

While many women may prefer to re-enter the workforce, their options could be limited by a number of practical and financial considerations. Pre-pandemic childcare had been prohibitively expensive for many, and skyrocketing inflation has only put a greater strain on family budgets in the period since. Meanwhile, childcare options have become increasingly limited and far less reliable as vaccination concerns, low wages and competitive alternatives have created a staffing shortage in the industry.

The American Rescue Plan Act earmarked $39 billion for childcare programs, but that funding expires in 2024 and it isn’t clear how effectively it will trickle down to parents – particularly would-be working mothers. Although women as a group are slowly returning to the workforce, they are still down 98,000 jobs since February 2020. Appropriations and annual omnibus spending may lead to more federal dollars being directed to short-term childcare solutions, but a system that is described by some in the industry as “broken” isn’t likely to suddenly meet the needs of the millions of women who are either struggling to balance parenthood and working life or are on the outside of the workforce looking in.

Bringing Women Back to the Workforce 

Some help, it seems, is on the way: Amazon and a variety of other big tech companies are advertising return-to-work programs, specialized training and more flexible onboarding that may better accommodate women with caretaker responsibilities. Other organizations, recognizing the moment, are beefing up their company policies and childcare benefits.

Women exploring their employment options have another potential advantage: contingent labor. Contract work typically offers employees a more flexible schedule, work-from-home possibilities and even higher pay. More workers than ever are prioritizing these offerings, but likely no one can benefit more from them than women who have been pushed out of the labor force due to circumstances around childcare.

Ultimately, businesses need to do more to connect with women, who represent an indispensable portion of the available talent pool. In the meantime, more women have an opportunity to reconnect with the working world (and a revenue stream), while still managing caretaker responsibilities, by tapping into contract work.

The PeopleCaddie talent cloud has a tremendous number of talented women across several areas of expertise. Check out PeopleCaddie’s talent cloud.

Corporate executives across the country are painting a bleak picture of the U.S. economy’s immediate future. In the latest Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence survey, 126 CEOs were asked to describe the economic conditions they expect to face over the next 12-18 months. Their response for Q4 2022 – a score of 32, down from 34 in Q3 2022 – was the lowest measured since the Great Recession. (A reading below 50 reflects more negative than positive responses.) Moreover, nearly every C-suiter surveyed – 98 percent of participants – indicated they are currently preparing for a U.S. recession. (A full 99 percent said they are preparing for a European Union recession.)

At the same time, only 19 percent of CEO respondents reported an increase in consumer demand over the past three months. Even as inflation eases and the Dow shows signs of life, we appear to be a long way off from the sort of rebound that ensures companies anything resembling even short-term economic stability. Given those dark forecasts, companies need to be prepared for the worst. Yet even in a less-than-favorable business climate, they also need to keep the wheel of progress turning, responding to new clients and new opportunities as they arise. Enduring through the downturn is commendable, but real growth comes from preparing during the downturn to capitalize on the upswing. That requires thoughtful planning and a strategically deployed workforce – specifically contingent labor help.

Can Contingent Labor Help During a Recession?

What a difference a year makes. It was only months ago that companies were scrambling to fill positions, as the worst of the pandemic began to subside, with the “reopening” of the country fueling consumer demand and prompting the rebuilding of workforces across countless industries. Today, many businesses are already making preparations for a looming recession by trimming payroll, or at least identifying areas for future downsizing.

Companies can never fully insulate themselves from the realities of the global economy. But there are ways to mitigate risks and still maintain access to the talent necessary to at least maintain operations in the short term – and, when the time is right, begin growing them again. It starts with a healthy pipeline to qualified contingent labor.

During previous recessions, the permanent placement business has been impacted much more harshly than staffing. Essentially, that’s because hiring full-time staff requires a more binding (and expensive) commitment than bringing aboard contingent workers. Even a company that scales back its workforce and learns that it cut too deep can find opportunity in contractors, who can quickly bring stability to operations without forcing a business to commit payroll, health care benefits, retirement contributions, and unemployment insurance over the long term.

How to Best Deploy Contingent Labor in 2023

If your organization is among those contemplating the structure of their workforce, a sweeping reduction of headcount – even one conducted strategically, based on salaries and value creation – likely isn’t surgical enough. It’s important to check closely under the hood of the company, identify the skills and competencies necessary for current and future operations, and outline the demands of any green-lit strategic projects on the horizon. Only then can the optimal makeup of your organization be determined.

At that point, a comprehensive plan to fill key skill gaps can be put together. Typically, that plan will include tapping contingent labor, a resource that offers companies on-demand access to specialized talent. Companies can be creative in deploying contractors for certain short-term tasks (example: a tech team charged with an organization’s enterprise software deployment) without creating a lasting infrastructure or committing long-term resources. Contingent labor allows businesses to plug holes and support projects at a lower risk than hiring full-time staff. Take a closer look at the PeopleCaddie platform to learn how our talent cloud can quickly connect you with some of the best contractors available in your industry. 

Is your company taking steps to ready for a potential recession? Contact PeopleCaddie to gain more insight as to how our contingent labor force can help provide stability during a potential economic downturn.