by Tracey Arnish, Senior Vice President, Talent, SAP
The number of independent workers—from contractors to consultants, freelancers to entrepreneurs
—increased by more than 1.7 million between 2011 and 2013, according to consulting firm MBO partners. Their ranks are expected to continue to surge more than 35 percent from 17.7 million today to more than 24 million by 2018.
In my 15 years in talent management, I’ve witnessed this trend up close, and I think several factors are pushing people to declare themselves free agents in increasing numbers.
First, the global economic crisis of 2008 blew the job-for-life idea out of the water. Even those who never suffered through a job loss saw friends or family members who did, and people in general began thinking differently about employment security.
We’re also in the midst of a dramatic demographic shift. Millennials are entering the workforce in large numbers, with a more independent, entrepreneurial attitude than generations past. Baby boomers have seen their investment portfolios at least partially recover since 2010, and they have more breathing room to consider alternative employment arrangements as they approach retirement.
The result: a new talent reality for employers, in which the best people can jump from company to company or project to project, creating their own job security and enjoying a steady stream of fulfilling work. Employers who want to attract and retain top talent have to respond with a more customized and individualized work environment.
Renewed energy
How achieve you do that? Treat your best people like temps. But not just any temps. Treat them like supertemps, the term coined in a 2012 Harvard Business Review article documenting the rise of highly skilled professionals who are temporary employees by choice.
At SAP we do this through our fellowship program, which could, for example, allow a colleague in Global Communications in Germany to spend six months working in Corporate Audit in New York. These employees get a renewed sense of passion and energy and at the same time grow their skill and experience base exponentially. But unlike a true supertemp, they don’t take that new knowledge with them to another company when their temporary assignment is over. By proactively engaging employees with their passions, a collaborative environment is fostered, networks are expanded, and our institutional knowledge grows.
An employer could even take the idea a step further, creating a system or platform in which employees could bid on different short-term roles. Perhaps these “permanent supertemps” could work on a marketing campaign, then bid on a six-week stint assisting a corporate-strategy project, then take off three weeks for family commitments. This arrangement could appeal to boomers who have intellectual capital to share but may not want to work year-round. It might also appeal to millennials who favor jumping from task to task in the hope of speeding career advancement and gaining valuable experience.
Worth the effort
Creating this kind of work environment isn’t necessarily easy. It requires managers to be willing to share their best talent with others, and employers to recognize managers who develop talent and then help find new roles for them based on their passions. It requires organizations to think differently about how work is structured and gets done. It requires flexibility in working arrangements and team dynamics.
And, it’s complicated. Especially in companies with thousands of employees, it’s difficult to keep tabs on the talents and passions of individuals in your organization. Technology, however, can help you better mobilize your people and match their interests with your needs.
But it’s worth the effort. If you allow your valued employees to act more like free agents, they’ll get the benefits of being a temp, without the downsides. And you’ll have a better chance of retaining the best talent in the long run, while reaping the advantages of highly engaged employees doing work they love. And doing what we love is something we should all aspire to!
Want to learn more about attracting and retaining talent? Check out Tracey’s session at the Future of Work forum at SAPPHIRE NOW, June 3 – 5 in Orlando, Fla.