User blogs

Between continued talent shortage struggles, an evolution of what we’re requiring of field technicians, and continued pressure from customers to do more with less (and faster), more and more companies are turning to contingent workers to alleviate some of the burden of their service requirements. However, while we’ve come a long way in the acceptance of a contingent workforce as an option, there’s still some hesitation around relinquishing control, trusting “outsiders” to deliver your ideal customer experience, and properly managing the resources.

Know more: contingent workforce

In 2019, I interviewed Charles Hughes, VP of technical services for Acuative, for the Future of Field Service podcast. Knowing not everyone of our listeners catch every episode, along with the substantial growth of our following since then, I wanted to revisit some of Charles’ valuable points about when and how it makes sense to turn to a contingent workforce. Charles has had a long career in field services and has experienced a variety of labor models including in-house only, outsourced-only, and hybrid labor models.

The Value of Contingent Labor

“If you take it down to the most basic components, leveraging a contingent workforce gives you flexibility, it gives you scalability and it gives you the ability to control the cost and still deliver high-quality levels of service,” says Hughes. For service organizations balancing the pressures of increased customer demands, more stringent SLA requirements, as well as an increasing shortage of talent, turning to a contingent workforce in some cases may be the only viable path to success.