Posted

In many companies, the common practice has been to have the procurement department handle contingent workers.

Procurement, otherwise known as the purchasing department, is the division responsible for ordering supplies for a company. In handling contingent workers, the department has been effective at controlling costs and improving the efficiency of the operation.

But some business analysts argue that procurement is no longer the best place to handle the temporary worker program. They contend that the human resources department would be a much better place to handle temporary and contract workers.

Although procurement people are efficient at handling the operational side of things, there is much more involved in handling the people themselves, along with the legal regulations involved. Dealing with the human side of the equation involves much more than keeping costs down and handling orders for people efficiently, says business analyst Ed Frauenheim.

Contingent workers these days are often highly skilled contract workers, and companies need to be more flexible in working with these professionals. Another issue relating to contingent workers is maintaining morale and motivating them so that they do their best work. These issues are more suited to human resources than procurement, according to Frauenheim.

And these issues are becoming more and more important as companies increase their use of contingent workers. Their engagement is also increasingly important to maintain quality of work. This means treating these workers more like regular employees, listening to their concerns and giving them adequate feedback.

It is something HR departments need to move on now, business analysts say. When the economy begins to heat up, skilled contingent workers will be more in demand, and it will be much harder to shift gears and attract the workers that are needed.

In theory, you can work out an arrangement where procurement and human resources share the responsibility for contingent workers. But, analysts say, in real life, this doesn’t work out so well. You run into turf battles.

For that reason, they say, a company’s human resources department needs to assert itself in this area and take over handling all contingent workers. In the final analysis, it will go a long way toward improving the morale of the contingent workers and the bottom line of the company.

When you need skilled and professional workers for your Manhattan company’s temporary and direct-hire assignment, contact the experts at Winston Resources. We know where the good guys “hide.” Contact us today!


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *