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Tag: on-demand workforce

How Employers Can Access a Wider Range of Talent Pool?

Published on October 29, 2024

Introduction  

Today’s organizations are facing continuous disruption due to dynamic business landscapes and continuously evolving technologies such as AI and automation. Some of the key concerns that HR remains anxious about are, rising labour costs, managing a remote workforce, and skills shortages.

48% of HR leaders see skills shortages as a top threat to their business this year

There is a dire need to bridge the skills gap, and this calls for focus on talent intelligence i.e. a deep understanding of the available talent pool. 

The Talent Landscape

The evolving Future of Work, and socio-economic disruption has transformed the talent pool. Expectations of a consumer-grade experience, man-machine liaison, flexible work arrangements (remote, hybrid), are changing the employer-employee contract. Employees today value Culture (50% respondents), Values and Purpose (47% respondents), Fair Pay (34% respondents) and Flexible Working (33% respondents) . The rise of on-demand, gig economy is a case in point. Organizations must align with talent expectations and build a focus on skills-based hiring. 

Why Accessing a Broader Talent Pool is Crucial? 

Skill shortage is real. A skill gap directly impacts business outcomes – decreased productivity, reduced innovation, increased costs, and high employee turnover.

Over 3 in 4 organizations have had difficulty recruiting for full-time regular positions while nearly half have had difficulties retaining full-time regular employees in the last 12 months. 

As AI and ML redesign the very fundamentals of work, ‘Skills’ are overtaking ‘Degrees’ as the future work-currency. Building the critical skills for tomorrow requires a mindset of “right skill for the task at hand”. Organizations must proactively address the skill gap through skills-based workforce strategy. Moreover, to make businesses agile, innovative, and learning-oriented, these same values should reflect in the talent pool. A broader talent pool, with an optimum blend of specialized skills and skill diversity, can help achieve this outcome. 

This may translate to several options –hiring globally by embracing the remote work model. Or, tapping into a largely untapped pool of ‘returning mothers’, by providing more flexible work options. DEI is another focus area – Amongst global jobseekers, 39% have turned down or decided not to pursue a job opportunity because of a perceived lack of inclusion. Companies can also opt for a blended workforce strategy, using a mix of full-time employees, and on demand talent. On demand workforce can be in the form of fractional CXOs, project consultants, subject matter experts, domain experts, short term or interim talent, gig workers, apprentices, returnships, etc. Many companies are already leveraging this talent pool – around 4 in 5 organizations that do offer apprenticeships or returnships say these programs have been somewhat or very effective in addressing talent shortages. The impact of a contingent workforce strategy would amplify when applied at the Executive level for high level, strategic roles. 

79% of business leaders say leveraging top-level contractors can yield key competitive advantages, citing an increase in agility as the primary benefit

Broadening the talent pool is a win-win for both employers and employees, by providing a skill-centric growth opportunity for people as well as growing the organization. Perhaps, the impact of this goes beyond business, to social impact. For example, many companies consider DEI as a key factor while reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. A global talent network can definitely help carve a more inclusive world of work.  

How to Access a Vast Talent Pool?

To create a reach and access beyond immediate and conventional talent pools, the first step is to define the workforce strategy:

 

  • Leverage Remote and Global Talent: Design the work and workplace for remote working, open up access to location-agnostic talent pools. Focus on skill-based hiring, beyond the immediate geographical location.
  • Diversify your hiring channels: Companies must figure out the ideal blend of traditional hiring, tech-led hiring, social hiring, referral hiring, outsourced hiring etc. For example, to hire Gen Z digital natives, social media hiring may work well.
  • Adopt Flexible Hiring Models: The recent wave of ‘return to office’ mandates has left many flexibility-seeking employees discontent. For global reach, redesign roles to suit new digital ways of working, and upskill and reskill people to perform them.
  • Utilize Online AI-Talent Platforms: AI has the power to maximize hiring efficiency and effectiveness, by matching talent with skills, at scale. Invest in a tech-led talent platform  to optimize talent search and maximize ROI.
  • Social Media and Employer Branding: The ‘Great Reconsideration’ has encouraged many employees to re-evaluate priorities, goals, and ways of working and living, including their relationship with work. In fact, nearly 44% of GenZs and 37% of millennials say they rejected assignments due to ethical concerns. To attract, engage and retain such purpose-driven talent, enterprises must be vocal about their practices, values, culture, and the larger impact. This reflects aptly in statistics – 61 % of CHROs said they need to update their EVP in response to the external labor market.  

Why SolveCube is Your Solution for Accessing A Vast Talent Pool?

SolveCube combines AI & advanced technologies with domain expertise to revolutionize blended workforce strategies for companies across the world. The goal is to create a blueprint for people strategy, while realizing the larger vision of “creating work opportunities for millions“. This is possible through:

 

  • Integrated Talent Solution: SolveCube offers a multidimensional platform which solves for a wide range of workforce challenges. Complete with global reach and deep domain expertise, it is a one-stop-shop to hire curated experts for on-demand roles. SolveCube helps build a future-forward, business-led people strategy.
  • AI-Powered Shortlisting: Years of tech expertise helped develop the cutting edge Al engine, which Sources, Searches, Indexes and Rank-orders the right talent match for organizations. Some of the useful features include Instant AI selection of best candidates for your JD, rank ordering of matches, and a communication system for notifications.
  • HCM Tools and Toolkits: SolveCube offers 3 strategic, business-friendly HCM suites:

    • ice.cube is a deep-dive diagnostic tool providing a clear direction for people strategy and HR practice. 
    • hr.ready is a cost effective and time saving HR toolkit offering ready to use, country specific HR policies and templates. 
    • p.three quickly assesses the maturity of an organization’s people practices relative to business requirements – a great starting point to refurbish HR processes. 
  • Speedy and Efficient Scaling: Need-of-the hour workforce solutions
    ensure speed, accuracy and global scale.
  • Expert – Experienced team: What makes SolveCube deliver beyond talent expectations, is the deep expertise of the team across domains – industry experts with over 4 decades of hands-on talent expertise! And with a keen eye for business, as the core enabler for talent excellence.

Unlock Global Talent with SolveCube!

Accessing a wider talent pool is no longer a choice, it is a mandate if one wishes to win the War for Talent. The key to unlock the talent advantage lies in identifying and implementing an ideal workforce mix and workforce strategy that aligns with the business outcomes. Keeping business at the center of all talent decisions is an imperative for business success.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the benefit of accessing a broader talent pool?

Accessing a broader talent pool is essential to bridge the skill gaps and to build “right skill for the task at hand”. It fosters DEI, builds new values and cultures, and helps businesses align their agility, innovation, and learning orientation with futuristic growth.

How can remote and global hiring expand a company’s talent pool?

Going global opens up avenues for skills-based hiring. The rise of the on-demand, gig economy is a case in point. On demand workforce can be in the form of fractional CXOs, project consultants, subject matter experts, domain experts, short term or interim talent, gig workers, apprentices, returnships, etc

How does an AI-rich platform simplify staffing?

An Al engine can help Source, Searches, Index and Rank-order the right talent match for organizations. Some of the useful features of SolveCube’s cutting edge  AI-Powered Shortlisting tool include Instant AI selection of best candidates for your JD, rank ordering of matches, and a communication system for notifications. Companies can now optimize their talent search with minimal manual efforts. 

What are the challenges of managing a global workforce?

A global workforce requires an effective skills-focused workforce management strategy. Organizations must manage diverse time zones, policies, cultural differences, and multiple workforce segments and their needs. This requires an optimum blend of tech and touch.

How can SolveCube help employers access a vast talent pool?

SolveCube’s integrated talent solutions combine AI & advanced technologies with domain expertise to revolutionize blended workforce strategies. A team with deep expertise across domains, along with cutting-edge human capital management tools and interventions help companies scale their talent needs with speed and scale.

Get in Touch

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Top 5 Challenges and Solutions to Hiring On Demand

Published on August 8, 2024

In today’s business hustle and bustle, companies are ditching the traditional 9-to-5 and embracing a more flexible approach to work. One popular strategy is on-demand hiring, which lets businesses quickly hire top talent for short-term projects. It’s like having a superhero team on call, ready to swoop in and save the day when you need that skill. This trend is taking off because it’s a win-win: companies get the skills they need without long-term commitments, and experts can take on exciting projects without getting tied down.  

On-demand hiring enables organizations to scale their workforce up or down depending on current needs, improving operational efficiency. This model has proven beneficial across various industries, from startups needing specific expertise to large corporations dealing with seasonal fluctuations.  

The key advantages of on-demand hiring include cost savings, speed to market, agility, and greater flexibility. Businesses no longer need to worry about long-term employment contracts or maintaining large teams during slow periods. However, while this approach offers numerous benefits, it also comes with challenges that require careful management. 

5 Challenges In Hiring On Demand  

Challenges in Finding Qualified Talent 

One of the biggest hurdles in on-demand hiring is identifying candidates with the necessary skills and experience. Unlike full-time recruitment, where companies may have more time to vet applicants, on-demand hiring typically requires fast placements. Finding talent who meet the exact qualifications and can hit the ground running becomes critical, especially in industries that require specialized expertise.

Without access to vast, robust talent pool sources and efficient skill-to-task matching tools, businesses may struggle to locate candidates who meet their specific needs quickly; in a competitive labor market, skilled professionals may be in high demand, making it harder to secure top talent.  

Availability of Experts On-Demand  

Even when businesses find qualified candidates, another challenge lies in the availability of on-demand experts. Since these individuals often work on multiple gigs, they may not always be available when needed. This can cause delays in project timelines, particularly if a business has to wait for the ideal candidate to complete other commitments before starting.

Seasonality can also affect the availability of on-demand expertise. For example, specific industries may see a spike in demand for freelancers or temporary talent during peak business cycles,  leading to a shortage of available candidates. In such cases, businesses may find themselves competing for limited talent. 

Onboarding and Training  

On-demand experts may require swift onboarding to ensure they understand their role, required output,  and company processes. However, this can be a challenge, as businesses often expect these experts to begin delivering results immediately. Limited time to onboard and train an on-demand workforce can lead to a lack of clarity, causing miscommunication and potential inefficiencies.

In some industries, onboarding is more complex due to industry-specific regulations or specialized software tools. Short-term experts may require more time to get up to speed, which could delay project completion and reduce productivity. 

Extensive Vendor Management 

Payment management can be tricky when dealing with a workforce of on-demand hires. Freelancers, contractors, and temporary employees not only need to go through a time-consuming vendor onboarding process but may require different payment schedules, tax deductions, and compliance standards compared to full-time on the payroll employees.  When hiring experts on demand, businesses must also adhere to local labor laws regarding the right to work, contracts, and deductions. 

For companies without a dedicated HR department or sophisticated vendor management systems, managing these variations can become cumbersome and lead to errors in payment processing, compliance issues, or even legal troubles. 

Limited Talent Management Tools

Standard HRMS software is often not programmed to manage an on-demand workforce.  Many organizations lack access to advanced tools designed to monitor, manage, and evaluate the performance of temporary or gig experts. Limited oversight over an on-demand workforce can hinder productivity, accountability, and project outcomes.

Additionally, companies may face challenges in tracking the progress of on-demand hires, aligning their work with company goals, or ensuring they meet performance standards. 

Solutions to Hiring On Demand Challenges

While there are challenges to on-demand hiring, several strategies can help businesses overcome these obstacles and streamline the process. 

Use Integrated AI Platform For Sourcing Candidates

AI-driven platforms can significantly reduce the time it takes to source, shortlist and vet qualified candidates. These tools use algorithms to analyze resumes, assess skills, and even conduct initial screenings, allowing businesses to identify the best-fit candidates quickly. AI platforms also enable companies to tap into a large global talent pool by aggregating candidates from multiple sources. With AI, businesses can benefit from automating much of the early steps of the hiring process, improving efficiency and accuracy, saving time and cost, and avoiding the risk of selecting under qualified candidates for their highly specialized requirements.  

Ensure Skill Fit and Cultural Alignment

When hiring on-demand experts, it’s essential to ensure they possess the necessary technical and collaborative skills and align with the role requirements. Comprehensive candidate assessment tools to facilitate business that evaluate technical skills and cultural fit are needed. Even though these employees may be temporary, their ability to integrate into the team and work effectively with other team members is vital for project success. Utilizing behavioral interviews and skill-based tests can help ensure that on-demand hires meet technical requirements and fit within the company’s working culture. 

Leverage Advanced HR Tools For Hiring 

Some platforms that use advanced AI technology provide integrated talent hiring solutions that cater to both permanent hiring and expert-on-demand hiring. This makes vendor management  a breeze while simultaneously improving the management of on-demand experts. These platforms allow businesses to source, select, and contract experts on demand, manage performance milestones, and even streamline payment processes. Some offer facilities to help enterprises monitor the productivity and output of on-demand hires. Companies can better manage their on-demand workforce’s hiring and performance output with such platforms. 

Craft A Detailed JD 

A clear, detailed job description (JD) is essential for sourcing suitable candidates. Businesses need to concisely outline the job’s scope, required skills, deliverables, and any necessary qualifications. A well-crafted JD helps filter out under qualified candidates while setting clear expectations for the on-demand hire. When working with tight timelines, clarity in communication is critical to avoid misunderstandings and ensure that both parties are aligned.

Look For Scalable Talent Solutions  

Businesses should seek out scalable talent solutions. Using niche  expert-on-demand platforms that provide access to a wide range of skilled professionals, partnering with specialized agencies, or staffing companies, can help fill gaps quickly. AI platforms often have vetting and curating processes so companies can feel confident about the quality of talent they are hiring. Scalable global sourcing and shortlisting solutions ensure businesses have access to the necessary talent when and where needed without overcommitting to long-term employment contracts. 

Hire On-Demand Talent Effortlessly With SolveCube

With SolveCube’s AI-powered platform, hiring  and managing experts on-demand talent has always been more accessible and never challenging. Our intuitive AI platform helps businesses source, screen, shortlist by skill to task, manage stakeholders, and quickly select and onboard top-tier talent, ensuring the right fit for every short-term role. Whether you need specialists for short-term gigs, or enable an agile workforce strategy, or ninja teams for ongoing projects, SolveCube offers a platform and expertise to empower your business. Sign up today and experience hassle-free hiring that scales with your business needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on-demand hiring, and why is it popular?

On-demand hiring allows businesses to hire short-term experts to fulfill specific project needs or address short-term demand fluctuations, or support their agile workforce strategy. It is popular due to its agility, cost-effectiveness, and ability to provide access to skilled talent without the long-term commitment of full-time employment. 

What are the benefits of on-demand hiring for businesses?

Businesses benefit from reduced costs, greater flexibility, faster hiring processes, acquire specialized skill sets as needed, and the ability to scale their workforce based on changing business requirements.

What tools can help manage on-demand talent effectively?

AI-driven hiring platforms, advanced vendor management and HR tools, and scalable staffing solutions are critical resources for managing on-demand talent. These instruments streamline the sourcing, selecting, onboarding, and payment processes, ensuring businesses maintain efficiency and compliance, while having untethered access to the talent they need.

How can an AI-integrated platform assist in hiring?

AI platforms automate candidate sourcing, screening, selecting, and shortlisting, making it easier for businesses to find qualified talent quickly and skill to task accurately. These platforms also reduce human bias at the first instance, improve the matching process, and make hiring effective and efficient. 

How can SolveCube help with hiring on-demand talent?

SolveCube offers an AI-driven platform that simplifies the on-demand hiring process. From sourcing top talent to ensuring cultural and skill fit to managing contracts and payments,  SolveCube streamlines every step. 

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A Workforce Strategy to stay indomitable

Published on May 27, 2024

Staying Resilient before, during and after a crisis

If one takes a peek into those companies that have been down the path of negative economic shocks, and recessions for a 100 years and thrived, the common thread between them simply put is resilience.

This current pandemic has more than ever opened our eyes to the stark reality of our interconnectedness as people, economies, and nations. if we are to stay strong and emerge thriving, whatever shape and form the “new norm” may take, it will need to have resilience at the core. For this to happen resilience needs to be embedded into the constitution of the way a business is run.

[Part 3] A workforce strategy to stay resilient before, during and after a crisis

The RICAP Framework for Resilience

The RICAP Framework (©iCube Consortium April 2020) is an approach to embedding resilience into the very core of a company’s way of functioning. Central to the understanding of resilient organizations are 5 principles Relationship, Innovation, Collaboration, Agility, and Prudence, that influence the way an organization functions through the 5 pillars of structure, strategy, process, people management and technology.

The question therefore is how does this fit into a running enterprise?

The RICAP framework Matrix – which is the application of the RICAP Framework- provides direction to decisions on managing a running business to stay resilient, and thriving.

Ricap Framework Matrix

Applying the RICAP Framework Matrix to re-imagine workforce strategy

Relationship:
  • Do the workflow processes
    promote collaborative work between the onsite, offsite and contingent
    workforce?
Innovation:
  • How do you create and
    leverage centers of excellence (hubs) & shared business services?
  • How can you include
    freelance experts as extended capacity for your business?
  • If you have excess capacity,
    how can you benefit from sharing resources with external partners and
    alliances?
Collaboration:
  • How do you create
    self-organizing structures, shared resource pools, and a lean expert core?
  • What secure technology is
    needed to support remote working teams and a collaborative workflow?
Agility:
  • What activities form the
    business core that needs stability and continuity and what part of your
    workforce can be flexed?
  • What roles can be powered by
    a freelance workforce?
  • What is the percentage of
    fixed and contingent workforce will support business agility?
Prudence: 
  • What people costs can be reduced without affecting morale and productivity?
  • What are the pet projects, structures or products that can be eliminated?
  • What when restructured will help eliminate between 15-20% costs more permanently?

Circumstances have forced increased adoption of digital technology which has helped immensely in continuing business activity remotely. The comfort in addressing the needs of a new norm has got us thinking about the changes we can make to the way we work. While it has forced business leaders to deal with more unsettling thoughts about what is going to change in the workplace and the impact on jobs, it has also built confidence in optimizing digital technology to experiment with new ways of working and creating new workflow processes that are cost effective, agile, and make businesses resilient. The 5 principles of the RICAP Framework is not a one-time-activity, but allow CXOs to continually test for resilience in the way a business is managed.

Go ahead and Download the RICAP Framework Poster here

If you’re interested to know more about on-demand recruitment, we can provide tailored solutions to fit your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a resilient workforce strategy?

A resilient workforce strategy involves planning and actions designed to maintain and adapt workforce operations effectively before, during, and after a crisis, ensuring business continuity and stability.

Why is employee well-being important in a crisis-resilient strategy?

Employee well-being is essential for maintaining morale, productivity, and engagement. Supporting employees through crises helps them cope better and contributes to overall business resilience.

How can businesses ensure that their workforce strategy remains flexible during a crisis?

Businesses can ensure flexibility by regularly reviewing and updating their strategy, incorporating feedback from employees, and being prepared to pivot as new information and situations arise.

How can businesses build a more adaptable workforce?

Build adaptability by investing in employee training, encouraging a growth mindset, promoting cross-functional skills, and creating a flexible, agile workforce strategy that can quickly respond to changing needs.

How can businesses support remote workers during a crisis?

Support remote workers by providing necessary technology and resources, ensuring access to company systems, maintaining regular communication, and addressing any issues related to remote work conditions.

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How to Build an On-demand Workforce: Key Decisions

Published on May 23, 2024

Uncertainty and dynamism mark today’s macroeconomic landscape. Geo-political outages, economic ramp-ups and ramp-downs, technology-driven transformations, and skill shortages are a daily conundrum businesses must override. Only those businesses that are nimble and responsive to sudden shifts, can survive and thrive. Moreover, the workforce dynamics are changing with new-age skills, interests, aspirations, preferences and potential, changing the rules of workforce management. The rise of the gig economy is proof enough, as more and more experienced professionals prefer Flexible work to avail freedom and to make a deep impact in their high-skilled domains. An agile workforce calls for agile talent management.

60% participants think ‘few people will have stable, long-term employment in the future.

Organizations that adapt their strategies and practices to fit this real-world talent pool, which is far more complex and increasingly composed of non-traditional ways of working, will gain access to skills and experiences to accelerate growth, innovation and agility. To tap into this budding yet hidden contingent talent pool, organizations must embrace a skills-first hiring approach.

79% of business leaders say leveraging top-level contractors can yield key competitive advantages

Challenges in On-demand Workforce Management

A blended workforce may lead to disparate management approaches, directly impacting the organizational strategy, leadership, and culture. This is because the present workforce management systems are not designed to bridge the management gap between internal and external contributors. In fact, only 16% organizations are very ready to inclusively lead an expanding workforce, including those inside and outside the organization.

86% of believe that effective management and orchestration of external contributors is now critical to their organization’s performance. But only 33% believe their organization is sufficiently preparing to manage a workforce that will rely more on external contributors.

Some workforce planning pointers to manage highly skilled contingent talent: 

  • Define clear roles & responsibilities between internal and external contributors across business owners, HR, and all other functions. 
  • Continuously drive and measure the value of this ‘fluid’ on-demand talent 
  • Manage the large volumes of contracting & compliance to ensure scalable talent
  • Checks and balances to manage data security and privacy
  • Devise new and modern models of collective bargaining
  • Mitigate competitive risk from possible losses of trade secrets, intellectual property, and organizational knowledge.
  • Address labour-related legal and regulatory mandates to prevent penalties and fines. 
  • Cultivate an enterprise-wide culture of collaboration

First Steps to Kickstart an On-demand Workforce Strategy

Now is the time for business leaders to tap into ‘the rise of the pivotal talent, to leverage people with critical skills. Here is how: 

  1. Align with business strategy: Define your organisations’ approach and principles regarding the workforce mix and make a solid business case for the “Why”. Analyse your business dynamism, business continuity and business criticality, capabilities and competency gaps, intellectual property rights management, costs and financial impact, etc. from an outside-in perspective. The “Why” can be one immediate need, for example, driving efficiency and turning profitable through a turnkey project by a curated specialist, or making forays into a new market by a seasoned marketing industry veteran. Or it can be a blend of reasons. Assess the impact on the business, for example, hiring a contingent workforce may lead to shorter delivery times on critical projects due to the quick access of the right temporary resources. So how does this talent-dynamic impact your business outcomes? 
  2. Define a successful contingent workforce strategy for the overall talent strategy: Don the talent lens and study the talent demand-supply, benefits of contingency, policies and processes, measures to attract-engage-develop-retain, integration with the larger organization, collaboration and partnering mechanisms, cost-benefit monitoring mechanisms, compliance and regulatory checks, and degree of digitization of HR systems and HR technology etc. Develop a detailed talent management strategy for the contingent workforce, including talent acquisition, performance management, engagement, learning, rewards, and exits. 
  3. Decide on the optimum workforce blend: With the plethora of options in the contingent workforce market, it is important to assess what works best for the business’ needs. Decide on the mix of FTE versus contingent, generalists versus on-demand domain experts. Select the right type of contingent workforce based on the business size, stage, strategy. From task-based, time-based, location-based engagements, from consultants to coaches to fractional executives to crowdsourcing, there are different types of contractual arrangements, each with its specific uses. 
  4. Set goals and success measures: A contingent workforce management strategy must be measured and assessed time to time, to ensure it is working well for the business. Clearly define KPIs, collect feedback (both qualitative and quantitative) to assess whether your contingent experts are adding value. 
  5. Implement apt processes and technology: Create standardized, cross-functional business processes, policies, and roles across business units and regions, supported by a single information technology platform. Since much of contingent hiring happens through relationship-building with senior level professionals, a personalized talent acquisition approach will help build a connection. Sometimes, creating such an in-house HRMS may not be feasible, it is then best to outsource the contingent hiring needs to an external specialist for optimizing the process. 
  6. Cultivate a conducive culture: To enable a culture of acceptance and integration, on-role employees must be educated and coached about the what-why-how of a contingent workforce, especially when starting out. Train employees on the new tools and processes, build a collaborative and community mindset, time-and-schedule management for flexi-boundaryless working, enable influencing without hierarchy, and uphold DEI for a contingent workforce. This shall ensure the team spirit and cohesiveness prevails for internal and external contributors. 

Here is a Snapshot of some recent instances of how SolveCube helped organizations carry out contingent hiring

  • Hired a C-suite HR expert for a turn key assignment with a global conglomerate in India. The task was to recommend, design and guide the implementation of the revised strategy for the group. 
  • Found CISO talent for a consulting firm in Singapore to advise on setting up and maintaining Data and Cyber security.
  • Brought in a Fractional CFO for a well-funded  startup in Singapore in the healthcare domain,  to work towards getting it listed in Nasdaq- Singapore and India. 
  • Enabled 2- 4 Executive Coaches hiring for a consulting firm in Malaysia to bring in program management – project management experience. 
  • Enabled 3 Digital Transformation Leaders for a consulting firm in Singapore to mentor and coach the participants of a Government sponsored programme to drive Transformation and Innovation in their respective organisations.
  • Helped a manufacturing firm in Australia enhance their sustainability initiatives by bringing on board a Sustainability Advisor. 
  • Fostered growth for a high-growth BFSI startup by hiring 5 Strategic partners in the form of mature experts, leveraging their networks for Business development/client origination. 

How to Decide your “Ideal Talent Mix”

The talent acquisition strategy must outline the choice of contingent engagement, which in turn depends on the business needs: 

  • Task-based: Project-by-project work is a rising trend for the C-Suite. For example, due diligence for an acquisition, creating a DEI strategy, creating an investor deck for fundraising, or other turnkey projects of strategic significance. 
  • Time-based: Full-time or part-time based on the scope and extent. They can be advisors, coaches, interim managers, or fractional executives. 
  • Geo-location based: Brick-and-mortar companies, especially in traditional sectors may require on-site involvement for a ground-level view of the business. Or maybe geo-location agnostic for new-age businesses.   
  • Consultant based: These can be of various types and may work on any of the above models. For example, a company may contract independent directors on their Board of Directors for 1 -2 years, rather than for lifetime. Other types of consultants are: 
    • Coaches and Advisors: CEO coaching has become prevalent to help founders and CXOs navigate new situations and challenges, through various stages of the company’s growth. Coaching is more about showing direction, while advisory may be more functional in nature. 
    • Fractional Executives: Fractional executives take up regular executives roles, either full-time or part-time. This is usually preferred by smaller companies who may not afford a full-time professional, or till they are able to hire a FTE. Part-time fractional executives may parallelly work with more than one client, and may bring in their own team for operational implementations. 
    • Interim Managers: In the eventuality of a leadership exit, recruiting the right talent takes time. To fill in the skill and leadership gap on short notice, companies may hire interim independent domain experts. Eventually, if found a good fit and willingness to join, the interim leader may take on the role full-time. This ‘try before you buy’ model works well for both organization and executive. 
  • Crowdsourced based engagement: Best suited for idea-generation and task-completions in the technology or product space, often referring to niche skills. 
  • Contractor engagement: Labour is ‘contracted’ out to a company for a finite amount of time listed by a contract, and can be full- time or part-time work. The advantage is that usually such talent can be scaled up and down on demand. 

Whatever be the contingent workforce model selected, it is critical to handle the entire contingent talent lifecycle, from talent sourcing to talent engagement, to exit management and possible future re-engagements. This begins with an omni-channel talent acquisition strategy. Some companies may not have the inhouse bandwidth or capability to build such an integrated workforce strategy and may avail the expertise on-demand, of  a contingent hiring and management specialist firm or a talent aggregator: 

  • Better equipped to advise on strategic choices suited to the business and industry
  • Global connectedness and reach for talent
  • Market know-how about compensation and benefits for this workforce
  • AI-powered recommendations help tap talent deeply and widely
  • Possess the right technology, structures and procedures for firms to plug-and-play into their talent strategy.
  • Knowledge advisory on the softer aspects, for example on how to cultivate a culture which backs the contingent-operating model
  • On-demand access to contingent talent basis business ramp-ups and ramp-downs, with options to hire, re-hire, let go
  • Minimizes legal and compliance risk due to third-party-deployment model
  • Single ownership and accountability to ensure the desired value is created
  • Offer protections to contingent talent, such as establishing policies, protocols, community standards, customer support, training and wellbeing opportunities, etc. 

Final Thoughts

In a survey of C-suite executives worldwide, 60% predict that the number of interim experts in their companies will substantially increase within the next three years.

To build a strategic intent and integrated workforce management strategy, one must first seek strong leadership buy-in. This will fuel end-to-end commitment. Companies must invest in integrated cross-functional processes, technologies and align stakeholders across functions and the business to drive ownership and accountability for this blended workforce. Such a tailor-made people strategy will help strike the right balance between control and flexibility, between risk and returns, and eventually make talent work towards surpassing business needs. 

We are here to share our experience and expertise in talent discovery. 

We would love to hand-hold you & enable a blended workforce strategy curated to your business

Click here to leave a message or email us @ [email protected]

Reference Sources: 

*1 Workforce of the Future Report, PwC

*2 Talent on Demand, Odgers

*3 New fundamentals for a boundaryless world, Deloitte’s 2023 Human Capital Trends

*4 Managing the extended and connected workforce, Deloitte Insights

*5 Working Without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work, World Bank

*6 HR functional perspectives: Contingent Workforce

*7 The Rise of the Fractional CXO: The Gig Economy Goes Executive, Medium

*8 The Return of the Gig Economy, Russell Pearlman

*9 The Future of Recruiting 2023, LinkedIn

If you’re interested to know more about on-demand recruitment, we can provide tailored solutions to fit your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an on-demand workforce?

An on-demand workforce consists of temporary, freelance, or contract workers who are hired to meet specific business needs as they arise, offering flexibility and scalability for companies.

Why should companies consider building an on-demand workforce?

An on-demand workforce allows businesses to quickly adapt to changing demands, reduce costs, and access specialized skills without the long-term commitment of traditional full-time employees.

What are the challenges of managing an on-demand workforce?

Challenges include maintaining clear communication, managing remote work dynamics, ensuring data security, and integrating on-demand workers into the company’s culture and processes.

How does SolveCube ensure the right match between businesses and on-demand talent?

SolveCube’s platform uses advanced technology and matching algorithms to connect businesses with qualified talent based on their specific project needs and requirements.

How do companies maintain long-term relationships with their on-demand workforce?

By building trust, providing fair compensation, and offering repeat business, companies can foster strong, long-term relationships with top on-demand talent who are valuable for future projects.

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Sharing the SolveCube Vision for 2024

Published on April 22, 2024

What SolveCube means…

SolveCube has proved to be a pioneer in platform-based comprehensive people solutions, integrating various HR products and services into one platform. What started as an HR solution is today an end-to-end talent solution and talent service across domains. SolveCube moved from HR-specific tech products like ICE Cube, P.Three, and HR Ready toolkits to become more domain-agnostic and business-focused. This was possible by continuously upgrading the platform to leverage AI, making search more specific basis a robust matchmaking engine, and becoming a platform with millions of active and passive profiles available. We are looking at 2024 with invigored ado with our seasoned team of not mere consultants, but experienced practitioners with deep domain and functional experience.

“We use technology to enable talent discovery backed by a tailor-made people strategy. We work with business leaders of small, big and large enterprises to revolutionize talent sourcing”

– Chandru, Founder and MD, SolveCube.

What we have enabled till now…

SolveCube uses an AI engine to match talent requirements with a vast database of ~450 million+ candidates from all over the globe. The AI engine technology identifies potential candidates based on skills, experience, working style, job-role alignment, and such parameters. Thus, SolveCube has been able to provide organizations not just a curated shortlist of optimally aligned candidates quickly, but also a great talent acquisition experience.

Blurb: “We solve for everything to do with PEOPLE in running a business – revolutionizing advisory, people strategy & talent solutions globally”, quips Chandru.

What has worked for SolveCube is deep knowledge on how to utilize AI technology to make a flexible, on-demand, global talent pool of domain experts available and accessible to employers. Going beyond traditional methods, SolveCube offered a comprehensive suite of products and services for businesses. SolveCube thus paved the way to attract and connect high-quality talent to the clients’ needs on-time and in line with world-class service standards.

Where we go forward from here…

The aim is to aggregate and curate One Million experts-on-demand and One Billion profiles globally for fixed term or permanent roles, cutting across geolocations, domains and industries.

“By providing these ~million work opportunities, we will enable and empower people to work in the way they want to”. This larger than life objective began with the first step i.e. acknowledging that peoples’ relationship with work has changed over time, with diverse workforce and different work models co-flourishing.

The immediate priority is to go from the current talent database of ~½ billion to 1 billion. The conundrum is to ensure the best talent-matchmaking for such volumes. The answer shall emerge with a deeper understanding of the next-gen employer-employee relationship. At the talent end, reasons for on-demand work are to continuously expand the skill set, gain valuable experience across various industries, and pursue a passion for diverse work.  From an industry perspective, the emerging demand for certain niche skills, and the need to bridge the temporary skill gaps has led to the overall growth of the gig economy.  In light of these workforce dynamics, some of the next-gen focus areas are offering matchmaking as a self-service, generating job descriptions, and further streamlining search and shortlisting. The future is about simplification, customization, and effectiveness in talent match-making.

  • Simplification: Knowing what will work for businesses, enhancing the user experience and making it accessible through ‘self-service’. 
  • Customization: Relooking at the end-to-end service and offering specific services on a needs-basis to businesses. 
  • Effectiveness: Better matchmaking through AI-enabled tech and access to data, while maintaining data security, data privacy, and data protection protocols.

SolveCube aspires to solve the main people problems i.e. misalignment of people strategy with business, high costs, inefficient processes, unreliable partners, and fragmentation of the workforce. SolveCube founders and leaders believe that a blended workforce, with the optimum blend of technology-enabled tools and human intelligence, will help build a workforce strategy with a more equitable future for the workforce.

“The intent is Total Value Creation i.e. to maximize value, surpassing the capabilities of standalone products or services. 2024 shall see us deepening our expertise more from a technology and business perspective”, shares Chandru.

Some key questions that came up during this visioning journey were…

“How do we make ourselves self-service for our capability?”

“How do we become more partner-driven?”

“How do we leverage the power of our capability for different regions?”

“How do we penetrate different client-segments?”

And many more…

How we will enable the vision 2024?

SolveCube shall rely on its core competencies to realize the above future-forward objectives:

  • Deep AI and tech expertise: Mahboob Hussain, Head, Platform Technology, SolveCube believes that the SolveCube edge lies in continuous experimentation with cutting-edge technologies, not just for the sake of using technology, but as a tool to make a difference in the world of work; and to create social impact. From a tech perspective, some future priorities shall be a new UI-UX which is easy-to-use, intuitive, and self-contained platform. Gen AI also holds scope to enhance the value of the solution with useful add-on features for professionals. The vision is to use tech to stand out as a differentiator from run-of-the-mill job portals, and to democratize gig so that hirers and seekers both find an affordable price and break biases while hiring. 
  • Right people: Led by a team of out-of-the-box thinkers who are creative, quirky, humble, and kind, SolveCube has always tackled challenges that matter with a diverse team of seasoned professionals residing across the world. As Deepak Rajasekar, Partner and Director, shares, “I am able to live my passion, translating ideas into solutions and products”. Such is the shared vision of the team that Uma Jagadeesan, COO, believes that if everyone moves forward together with a shared vision and goal, success will follow us all the way.
  • Business-focus: The core remains to enable clients to enhance productivity, build knowledge, create agility and generate savings in their businesses. SolveCube is not just a matching platform but a complete ecosystem that facilitates interactions between clients and professionals. From initial interviews and discussions to final negotiations and payments, the entire process is streamlined. This ensures that everything is transparent and business-first.  

Final Thoughts…

The guiding light continues to be, ‘to use tech in a way complementary to human intervention’. SolveCube leaders firmly believe that tech can be bought anywhere, but the people who manage and leverage that tech i.e. the human characteristics are key to success. This core principle has been rock-steady for the SolveCube leadership, through various waves of change. It naturally translates into making the end user experience the benefit and not just not ‘building something for the sake of building it’. 

Hence, placing the end-users at the center, creating something which will make work and workforce available at both ends of the talent spectrum, is the core to make people strategy easy for business owners and talent alike.

 “Ours is an ongoing commitment to democratize the concepts behind the on-demand workforce – adoption, usage, and operational aspects, from both client and talent perspective. We work towards the same goal – to make the world a better place”, says Chandru.

With SolveCube, organizations can focus on what they do best – growing their business!

If you’re interested to know more about on-demand recruitment, we can provide tailored solutions to fit your needs.

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