Episode 27 | 5 Benefits of Adopting a Blended Workforce Strategy with Karan Ferrell-Rhodes

Karan Rhodes  00:01

So grab your favorite coffee or tea because we’re going to explore five incredible benefits of leveraging a blended workforces approach into your organization. Blended workforces are one of the hottest talent strategies today, where employers are using a mix of traditional employees with external resources like independent contractors, coaches, consultants, vendors, and technology solutions, all in order to enhance competitiveness, ensure cost flexibility, and expedite business goals. But how are the successful companies infusing blended workforces into their business strategy? And what are the critical success factors and pitfalls to avoid during implementation? And on the flip side, what does it really take for suppliers to improve their chances of finding and landing contract opportunities? The devil is in the details, my friends! I’m your host, Karan Ferrell Rhodes, and it’s time to get smarter about Blended Workforces at Work! Hey, there, superstars. This is Karen, and you know, today we’re going to dive into helping you better understand some of the benefits of infusing a blended workforce approach into your overall workforce planning. Now, as you know, blended workforces are a game changing approach that’s reshaping how companies really think about how work gets done. And now I know you’re thinking another buzzword, right? But trust me, this isn’t just a corporate jargon. It is really and truly the way more and more companies are going to evolve their operations. Now, for those that aren’t familiar what blended workforces are, just a reminder, blended workforces combine traditional employees with technology solutions and external talent such as freelancers or contractors or suppliers or gig workers. It combines the three in order to help an organization to get work done. Now, the concept was really popularized around maybe 10 or 15 years ago. It was a buzzword back then, but honestly, you really didn’t gain as much traction until after the pandemic. However, now it’s a focus of everyone to build agility into their companies and their workforces. So grab your favorite coffee or tea because we’re going to explore five incredible benefits of leveraging a blended workforces approach into your organization. So let’s start out with the first benefit. And the first benefit is most companies experience an improved speed to market. And as you know it, in today’s fast paced business world being first to market can make or break a company, and that’s where blended workforces shine by tapping into a very diverse talent pool, one that you can tap into on demand, companies can rapidly assemble teams with The exact skills that they need for a project. It’s no there’s no or very little delay. Think about it, instead of spending months recruiting and onboarding full time employees, you can bring in specialized contractors who are ready to hit the ground on day one. Now, this agility, as I mentioned, allows businesses to seize opportunities faster than ever, ever before, and the numbers back this up. You know, there was a study by a company called toptal that found that 91% of companies using blended workforce models reported a faster time to market for their products and services. And there was also a McKinsey research study that showed that companies with agile practices, including having flexible workforce strategies, they are 1.5 times more likely to report above average financial performance as compared to their peers. Now talk about a competitive advantage that definitely is the second benefit I wanted to talk to you about involves a higher quantity and quality of innovative thoughts and ideas. So let’s really talk about innovation, right? If you really think about it, especially in the context of the world of work, it is the lifeblood of any thriving business, a blended workforce actually brings fresh perspectives and diverse expertise to the table, fueling creativity and out of the box thinking and by collaborating with other professionals from various backgrounds and industries, companies can cross pollinate ideas and approaches like they had never been able to do so before. Now, this melting pot of talent often leads to breakthrough innovations that might never have emerged in a more homogeneous environment. But just don’t take my word for it. There was a Deloitte study recently that revealed that companies. With diverse teams, including blended workforces, are 1.8 times more likely to be change ready and 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in their market. Also, there was some research done by Harvard Business Review, and their study found that diverse teams really accelerated the way teams solve problems, and both how quickly they saw problems as well as their the quality of their end results. And so no matter who you are, what kind of industry that you’re in, I can say that no company can survive being stale or just dependent upon the status quo in order to be competitive in providing a safe work environment where innovation is welcomed and encouraged. That can be key to you all being thriving in today’s world. Now, the third benefit I wanted to talk about is reduce company overhead and cost efficiency. Because let’s face it, running a business isn’t cheap, right? But what if I told you that a blended workforce could significantly reduce your overhead and labor costs. Now, of course, it’s not magic, but it is smart resource allocation, if you go about it very strategically and by engaging freelancers and contractors for specific projects or seasonal needs, companies can avoid long term financial commitments that are associated with full time employees. This flexibility allows businesses to scale their workforce up or down as needed without the burden of maintaining large amounts of permanent staff during slower periods of time, and the same as truly can be substantial. The company Upwork group found that 59% of hiring managers are using flexible talent to reduce costs, and also Ernest and young reported that companies can save up to 30% on employee costs by implementing a blended workforces model. Of course, it’s not as easy as it seems. It does take quite a bit of work to build a sound strategy and implementation plan, especially one that mitigates risks such as avoiding IRS and legal compliance issues, or negatively impacting your current workflows that are going on in the company, or even avoiding employee unrest due to the changes that are going on the workplace. But if you do it very thoughtfully and with a consultant that knows a lot about implementing blended workforces, then you can avoid some of those pitfalls that many companies fall into. The fourth benefit that I wanted to talk about is blended workforces provide companies more flexibility and scalable operations in today’s unpredictable business environment, flexibility is really key, and a blended workforce’s approach gives companies the agility to quickly adapt to market changes, as I mentioned, seasonal fluctuations that come about or unexpected challenges. They throw those curveballs your way. So imagine being able to rapidly scale your team for a big, big project, and then seamlessly reduce it once the work is complete. This elasticity really allows businesses to stay lean and responsive without sacrificing their capabilities when it’s needed the most. And the benefits of flexibility are truly very clear. A study by Mercer found that 77% of executives believe freelance and gig workers will substantially replace full time employees within the next five years. Don’t be afraid, but it’s coming around the corner, ladies and gentlemen. And then there’s some information from the World Economic Forum that suggests that 50% of companies expect to increase the use of their contractors for task specific work in the next 12 months. So the ability for companies to become more agile will also decrease the need for that dreaded downsizing or right sizing of staff you know. No leader that I know of anyway thrives, and having to deliver those really tough messages that someone’s employment has been impacted, you know, because when you think about it on a human level, when these kind of conversations happen, it may shatter somebody’s world. I mean, there are family members that depend upon them, and a lot of workers don’t have extra savings to carry them until they can find their next best opportunity, especially when they’re blindsided. So the ability to reduce the chances that a layoff or right sizing or downsizing is needed is absolutely priceless, in my opinion, and the last of. Benefit that I really wanted to highlight in this session is companies, by adapting blended workforces, have unique access to specialized talent in a world where skills are becoming increasingly specialized, having access to top tier experts in your area of need can give your company a significant competitive advantage. A blended workforce allows you to bring in world class talent for specific problems, problems, projects and challenges. Sorry, I’m getting Tongue Tied without the need to keep these specialists on full time, and this means that you can assemble your own dream team that’s tailored to each unique business need, and you can keep them on call for whenever you know new needs arise, and their onboarding will be little non existence, because they will be very familiar with you and your workforce and how your values and how you like to work. So you can have them on speed dial when you’re next. Ready for them. They can let you know their availability, negotiate you know the time that they’re going to spend with you, and then you all can get to work right and the impact of this approach is really profound. Oxford Economics found that 83% of executives say that they are increasingly using external talent to access specialized skills, and another research study from ardent partners revealed that 61% of organizations believe the blended workforces are critically important to achieving their business goals, both now and in the immediate future. So to close this out today, I just want to leave you with this thought that implementing a blended Workforce Strategy offers a wealth of benefits, such as faster time to market, higher quality innovation, cost efficiencies, unparalleled flexibility and access to some of the world’s most top tier talent. Knowing all this, is no wonder that a forward thinking approach regarding blended workforces really catapult companies and their infrastructures to the next level. But remember, the key to a successful blended Workforce Strategy is finding the right balance for your unique business needs. So please take some time to consider how a blended work first might transform your company’s future. And if you need a thought partner or need help with implementation, you have a friend with me right here, feel free to reach out directly to me on LinkedIn or via our contact page on our website, Shockinlydifferent.com you can almost find me on any social media channel, and me and my staff would be more than happy to see how that we can best help. Well, that’s all for today’s episode. If you like what you heard, please be sure to subscribe and share with just one friend, because by doing so, we can all get smarter about blended workforces at work until next time you keep thriving and see you next week. Bye. Well, that’s our show for today. Thank you again for listening to the Blended Workforces at Work podcast. You can check out the show notes, additional episodes, bonus resources, and also submit guest recommendations on our website at blendedworkforces@work.com. You can also follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube by searching for the name Karan Rhodes with Karan being spelled K a r a n. And if you like the show, the greatest gift you can give would be to subscribe and leave a rating on your favorite podcast platform of choice. This podcast has been a production of Shockingly Different Leadership, a global consultancy which helps organizations execute their people, talent development, and organizational effectiveness initiatives on an on-demand, contract, fractional, or project basis. Huge thanks to the SDL production and editing team for a job well done. Bye for now.