[Publisher’s note: Ardent’s Research Director, Christopher J. Dwyer is here to talk about an issue that plagues even the best managers of Contingent Workforce Management programs across the world: onboarding and offboarding.]

In our discussions regarding the contingent workforce umbrella, we’ve tackled a variety of sub-topics that are typically top-of-mind for the modern executives, such as “big data” / intelligence / analytics, procurement’s influence within this complex spend category, and a series of best practice articles. One sub-topic that some executives bumble (yup, even the Best-in-Class ones) is the onboarding and offboarding components of managing contract talent. While these two strategies are more apparent in a “sister” function within the organization, human resources (HR), organizations can further enhance their management of temporary labor while simultaneously improving the mitigation of critical risks inherent within the contemporary contingent workforce umbrella.

Onboarding: It’s Not Just for Traditional Workers

Just like a traditional employee must be properly onboarding in order to speed-up productivity times, contract talent, whether it’s a service or temporary worker, must follow the same rigorous processes. Even though the vast majority of contingent labor will be leveraged for shorter-length corporate projects, onboarding is still an effective process to gain the most value out of this type of workforce.

Proper (and effective) contingent labor onboarding traverses beyond simple processes (such as access to hardware, software and physical locations); mangers of this talent must ensure that both services and temporary workers understand the ramifications at hand, have full definitions of goals and objectives, and, in the case of SOW-based services, are well-versed in the agreed-upon key milestones and delivery dates of the project.

If you remember my “13 for 2013 – Best Practices in Contingent Workforce Management” series regarding contingent workforce management, I talked a bit about some “forward-looking” aspects of measuring / quantifying the quality of contract talent. One such way is to measure the percentage of both temporary workers and SOW-based services that actually meet or exceed pre-defined goals and objectives. Effective onboarding ensures that all contracted parties understand: 1) what their goals are, 2) when they need to achieve those goals, and, 3) how they need to achieve those goals. By instituting a robust onboarding process (that should begin before the worker / service even steps into the office), enterprises can ensure that they are driving the most value out of their contract talent.

Offboarding: Mitigating Risks, Supporting the Future

The contemporary business is typically overwrought with deadlines and eagerness to move onto the next great project, forcing many executives to lose sight of several critical tasks that may be overlooked. As discussed above, onboarding is one of those processes, and if this phase can be mismanaged…well, offboarding certainly can, too.

Contractors, consultants, temporary workers and professional services often have access to a wealth of information, hardware, software and other entry-points in the organization’s inner sanctum. This is to be expected, as the rise of contingent workers surely is a representation of just how effective contract talent can be within the average enterprise. They require this type of access, as well a variety of corporate tools, to meet expectations (and objectives).

However, the end of a contract, SOW or temporary worker term isn’t always managed in the most effective of manners. Those same workers that have access to sensitive info and company hardware / software? It’s very easy for them to walk out of the building with those items in tow. In an age where the loss of many types of corporate data could result in millions of dollars (or more) floating out the front door, companies must ensure that access to any enterprise systems by contract talent is deactivated (or scheduled to be deactivated) before an agreement or term ends. These same rules apply for building access cards / passes and company laptops.

Contingent labor is proving, year-over-year, to drive true value to the greater organization with its flexibility and “top-tier” talent. Organizations must ensure that even the most simple of processes within contingent workforce management, such as onboarding and offboarding, are crucial parts of the program.

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13 for 2013: Best Practices in Contingent Workforce Management, Part 4

The Future of Contingent Workforce Management: Where Can We Go?

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Tagged in: Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Contingent Workforce, People, Strategy