A Blended Workforce – Our Client’s View of How They Use Contract and Full-Time Workers

There is a strong attraction to leverage the “Gig Economy” because of the positive impact and influence it has on organizations. Using a talent pool of contingent workers helps companies meet an immediate resource need, and provides the ability to scale or leverage a specialized skillset.

Using a blended workforce consisting of full-time and contract professionals is the norm among many high-impact organizations. This blend of workers helps corporations to be more agile, competitive, and cost-efficient. Having the option of using a variety of talent based on a company’s resource needs allows a company to be nimble.

Small companies to large multi-national corporations are using a blend of workforce talent. Here’s a closer look at how one of our clients takes advantage of this blended workforce model for their Learning and Development (L&D) talent.

How One of Our Clients Mixes Talent

Our client is a North American leader in supplying custom work uniforms and workwear programs to hundreds of thousands of customer locations. The company is proud to have a business footprint that supports the outfitting of millions of workers daily. Having recently opened a 34,000 square foot Corporate Services Center, the company continues to rapidly expand its services.

So how are they using full-time and contract L&D professionals to support their growth strategy?

If you asked the Director of Learning and Development, he would say it depends on their needs at that time. Having a small L&D team, and supporting dozens of training projects, there is a constant analysis of talent and project deadlines. The Director of Learning and Development uses a contingent workforce to meet an overabundance of training projects.

Here are a few examples:

The Need?

Specialized Talent to Support Team

Solution: Contingent Workforce

One project required the conversion of a 400-page product manual for an interactive eLearning Production Manager Certification Program. This new program consisted of new policies, safety, HR, and compliance courses. The project required an additional expert instructional designer to support the existing training team. For this need, a contract Senior Instructional Designer was ideal because it provided specialized support during the design phase of the project.

 “TTA has been a partner with us for the last couple of years on some very large projects. We are working with some really talented designers,” said the company’s Director of Learning and Development.

The Need?

Resources for Transformational Project

Solution: Contingent and Full-Time Workforce

Here is a slightly different scenario. The company is undertaking a business transformational project that will change the way they do business. Due to the critical and large-scale nature of the project, The Director of Learning and Development combined both full-time and contract L&D professionals to meet the scope of the vital project. Based on the continuous volume of work, two new full-time Instructional Designers were added to the team. In addition, a contract technical writer will write the technical requirements of the project. Throughout the project, additional contract L&D professionals will be added based on project requirements, at different stages of the project.

“When we needed to bring on full-time employees, TTA worked with us to find the right people with the right set of skills,” said the company’s Director of Learning and Development.

Looking at the flexibility that a blended workforce offers, you’ll see how easy and efficient this approach can be for your organization. A mix of full-time and contract L&D professionals can make your organization more efficient, meet goals, and be productive. The best part is that you can determine the right balance or workers for your organization, based on your exact needs.

As specialists for sourcing L&D talent for the past quarter of a century, we’re happy to share some of our advice on how to get started.