Did you know that from late 2009 to 2012 the number of temporary workers in the workforce increased by 29%? I think we can call that a rapidly growing sector of the workforce, especially when you consider that private jobs grew by less than 1% in the same time period. It’s certainly a big enough jump to keep managers and executives alike up at night considering how to manage it properly.

As the contingent workforce segment continued to grow, organizations were in a frenzy trying to keep up with the management and alignment of these workers, alongside their current full time workforce.. Almost every part of the talent acquisitions and management process for a contingent workforce was part of a group of separate systems and processes, which got disorganized and mismanaged quickly. Not to mention, teamwork is difficult enough to manage internally. It can be even tougher when a large chunk of the workforce has never entered the office.

So, in came the Vendor Management System (VMS), to save the day. These systems act as the central mechanism to manage and procure staffing (usually temporary or contingent workers). The usual features of a VMS include order distribution, consolidated billing and significant enhancements in reporting capability that trump manual systems and processes any day of the week. Lots of companies rely on their vendor management systems to keep the cogs of the contingent workforce running smoothly.

They’ve thought of everything…except for cultural fit.

A VMS will handle the paperwork, compliance, and the business side of contingent workforce management, but what about the contingent cultural fit? We collectively realized with our permanent workforce that hiring for cultural fit does matter, as do management styles, engagement and communication practices. Well a new light bulb has come on, and we’ve realized that those things matter in a contingent workforce as well. If your contingent workforce doesn’t fit with your current team, it can affect productivity and efficiency in both groups!

Cultural Fit by Osmosis?

You can’t look at someone in the office and tell what their work style is. Even the best managers need to work within a team for awhile before they figure it out. Because cultural fit by osmosis isn’t possible, the enterprise has turned to assessments to figure out how to put the workforce puzzle together. The science behind assessments lends itself to the cultural management of the contingent workforce because it is extremely effective and thorough.

Many employers saw the value of assessments for their internal teams but felt the process was too lengthy or expensive to work for contingent workers. There hasn’t really been a great way to implement this type of testing on temporary or contingent workers; and to be honest, employers have only just recently realized the need to do so. So we built it!

Vitru makes it possible to quickly and easily discover just what you workforce needs culturally, both individually and corporately (yes, that includes your contingent workforce)!

What can psychometric assessments do for my contingent workforce?

UNCOVER MOTIVATORS

Knowing what motivates workers is vital in hiring for cultural fit. Most employers are putting a lot of effort into bulking up their company culture efforts, but those aren’t necessarily translating to the contingent workforce. The motivation behind contingent workers may look very different than to those inside the company but they may have other, very real concerns for the enterprise to address.

The contingent workforce is often overlooked in this manner because a separate process has to be created and managed for them, and often the attitude is they’re leaving soon anyhow. According to the Dale Carnegie Training Institute, companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%. These assessments can gather the information about individual motivators that leaders need to manage an engaged workforce. Inside and out.

DEFINE THEIR OPTIMAL LEADERSHIP STYLE

Again, the they’re leaving soon anyhow attitude has inhibited too many leaders, and robbed the contingent workforce of thoughtful leadership. The nature of these assessments makes it easy to find out what learning styles, work environments and leadership styles your contingent workforce finds optimal.

70% of employees who lack confidence in the abilities of senior leadership are not fully engaged. Before now there weren’t tools aimed at the engagement collaboration of the contingent workforce…now there are no excuses. While you may not expect your contingent workers to become the leaders of tomorrow, you must plan for the possibility. After all, they are flexible and less expensive and the tide of America’s workforce is increasingly weighted toward the freelancer or contingent worker.

A tool like Vitru that assesses the motivators and work styles of everyone on the team gives recruiters and hiring managers unique insight that extends forward to succession planning and even into workforce planning. That’s right, an inexpensive and useful tool that aids in selecting the right contingent workers for your workplace.

…AND QUICKLY

A big part of the continuation of this oversight in the contingent workforce lifecycle is that time is truly of the essence. The right psychometric testing should allow workers a user-friendly, efficient experience. Look for a provider that allows workers to login through social portals. This way there are no hold-ups in the process and the necessary information can be gathered and utilized in real-time.

As the contingent workforce continues to expand, leaders must find ways to not only manage these temporary masses, but also create cultural fit within their workplaces. A VMS won’t and can’t do it all, assessments are a great way to get in touch with your contingent workforce, get them engaged and offer them the same cultural experience that your traditional workers enjoy.

Bio: Ryan Mead, CEO/Partner

Vitru is an online application that provides tools to evaluate and build better teams. Powered by science yet practical and easy to use for a variety of teams. From students and nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies Vitru works!

Great organizations, regardless of size or mission, understand that powerful team chemistry is impossible to force; but when it happens, it’s magic.

Vitru allows team leaders to create and assess teams virtually and in doing so helps quantify what makes an outstanding team outstanding.

Want more? Visit our blog and sign up to automatically receive our fresh-weekly articles.

Tweet me at @GoVitru