Rashmi Gupta leads PRO's multifaceted HR organization including Talent Acquisition, DE&I, Employee Relations and Learning & Development.
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The contingent workforce (niche, hard-to-find, professional skilled workers) plays a key role as part of an organization’s overall human capital strategy. And this essential workforce has gone through tremendous change and growth over the last few years. In fact, according to a report from Intuit, roughly 25-30% of the total workforce in the U.S. is now contingent — and that number is only increasing.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are already a growing part of the conversation for full-time employees, so it is essential to start thinking more comprehensively about the diversity and inclusion of the workers who comprise the staffing industry’s contingent workforce segment.
To drive real change in an organization and benefit from the amazing business case for diversity, we need to diversify the entire modern workforce — not just full-time employees. But first, let’s take a look at the numbers.
The Need For A Diverse, Equitable And Inclusive Workforce
According to research, the access to a broader scope of high-quality talent inherent in a diverse and inclusive workplace can provide organizations with an enhanced ability to innovate and lead to growth in revenue. For example, according to a long-term McKinsey & Company study, companies in the top quartile for executive team ethnic diversity are 36% more likely to experience above-average financial performance than their peers in the fourth quartile.
As organizations consider the future and their strategies for business, there's immense opportunity as the workforce rapidly expands and creates significant impact.
Diversity and inclusion challenges in the contingent workforce may stem from what is happening in staffing firms.
A 2020 survey from the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) Staffing Leadership Council underscored the opportunities tied to gender and racial diversity in particular. Two key takeaways from their findings include:
• The pay gap between women and men is wide in the U.S. There appears to be a fair balance of men and women across the staffing industry's workforce, but women are underrepresented among senior leadership.
• There is a lack of racial diversity. Though people of color represent about 40% of the total population, they comprise under 10% of all staff.
In another survey conducted by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), 63% of professionals surveyed expect contingent DE&I initiatives to become a higher priority in the future. The same survey also found that leaders in DE&I among contingent workers agree that they reap bottom-line benefits, such as being 27% more likely to agree that their ability to attract talent is a competitive advantage, 24% more likely to agree to achieving a high return on investment (ROI) for contingent work and having 19% greater access to highly skilled talent.
If you are not thinking about your DE&I goals and program, you should be.
Key Steps You Can Take To Bring The Contingent Workforce On Your Organization’s DE&I Journey
Hire From Diverse Staffing Suppliers: Hiring contingent workers from diverse staffing suppliers and nonprofits engaging with diverse talent can help your organization mitigate biases in recruiting practices.
Measure And Utilize DE&I Data Analytics: Promote change and accountability through data analytics. Having a view into diversity data, trends, benchmarks and labor market availability can help you draw actionable insights, which is key to achieving measurable change. This is critical to implementing a substantiative DE&I strategy since it will impact issues like hiring attrition and your employees’ experience of company culture.
Ensure Contingent Workers Are Part Of Company Culture: Put in place mechanisms to measure inclusion for your contingent workforce. Include your contingent workers in the culture of your organization, while mitigating all co-employment risks. Provide them with the same level of DE&I education and awareness that is given to employees. Implement employee resource groups (ERGs), which help to combat isolation, expand networks and target knowledge-building for specific demographic groups.
Choose A Strategic Managed Services Program (MSP) Partner: Select an MSP that will act not just as a vendor, but as a strategic partner. Seek out an MSP that is experienced in navigating the complexities of implementing DE&I programs that result in real, sustainable change — the kind of change that positively impacts workers’ lives and not just the distribution of company spend.
Making A Tangible DE&I Impact On Your Workforce
Over the next few years, contractor and temp labor will likely make up the majority of employers’ workforces. As a result, DE&I strategies need a comprehensive approach for all employees, both full-time and contingent. That work starts within each organization from the ground up and may involve hiring from diverse staffing suppliers, utilizing DE&I data analytics to inform hiring decisions, including contingent workers in company culture and partnering with the right MSP.
DE&I is a constant journey that requires focus and ongoing investment. The best time to start is now.
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