Blended Workforce: Meaning, Advantages and Challenges

What is Blended Workforce?

A blended workforce is a flexible HR management strategy that includes different types of employees like full-time employees, part-time employees, on-contract employees, temporary employees, freelance employees, etc. Full-timers are those who work for 8-10 hours regularly in the company. Part-timer means who works for a certain amount of time regularly. Contract employees are those who work for a certain period, like for 3 months or till the completion of any project. Temporary means employees whose job is not fixed. Freelancers can contribute when they have time. Because of having different kinds of employees, the company can adapt easily and change the teams based on needs. A blended workforce is a futuristic approach towards a dynamic workforce. It will enhance a strategic and forward-thinking approach to talent management. This new model uses technology to connect with people by providing work-from-home and freelancing opportunities. This will allow organizations to function across various geographies and time zones, thus improving diversity. In this article, we are going to know about the advantages of blending the workforce and its management in the organization.

Geeky Takeaways:

• A blended workforce gives you the freedom to handle different types of work and the ability to grow as needed.
• Having access to more people with the right skills for short-term or unique projects is helpful.
• Employees’ mental health is better when they have flexible plans and can work from anywhere.
• When companies pay for services based on what the project needs, they save money.
• Putting together different teams with the right skills makes it easier to respond quickly to changes in the market.

Advantages of Blended Workforce

1. Flexibility and Scalability: Because the organization has a mix of employees, it will provide flexibility in work. For example, if an organization is working on some big project and needs small help, then they can take help from freelancers and part-time employees rather than hiring more full-time employees if the work is smaller. When the work is done, they can adjust it back to normal. This will help the organization in handling big challenges without the need for a huge team all the time.

2. Increased in Specialized Skills: When the company starts looking for mixed employees rather than only full-time employees, then it will increase the hiring pool of the company, which means they will get access to a variety of talent and expertise rather than only full-timers. This can be very beneficial for short-term projects or the ones which need expertise in a specific field.

3. Promoting Mental Wellness for Employees: If companies start offering flexible schedules and location independence, then it would be very helpful for employees. They will get proper time for balancing both personal and professional life. Independence in choosing a flexible schedule will decrease their stress and improve their mental health. This will boost their engagement and productivity in work, which is beneficial for the growth of the company.

4. Money Saving: Having a mixed workforce saves a lot of money for the company. Because for example, if the company has some work, which will require 4 hours every day and it does not have a flexible workforce and only has full-time workers, then they have to pay more to employees. But if they have part-time employees, then they can assign that work to them and pay according to their hours of work, which will be comparatively, lower compared to full-timers.

5. Quick Adaptability to Trends: When the organization has a different set of workers, they can very quickly assemble a team with the right skills and experience in the field. If the organization does not have a mix of workers, then they need to hire more full-timers, and that will take time. It will help the company stay competitive in the environment.

Challenges of Blended Workforce

1. Managing Remote Employees: In organizations having a blended workforce environment, it becomes difficult for the manager to manage and keep track of different types of workers who have different work schedules, locations, etc. For managing all, a good strategy of having proper schedules of feedback is needed. Setting different objectives for different employees would be challenging.

2. High Turnover: A blended workforce will lead to a high turnover rate because higher flexibility will reduce the commitment in employees, and they are less likely to work for the same organization for a long time. Part-time or freelancers will try to find better opportunities where their full time is utilised and get higher salaries.

3. Legal Compliance: When you have to deal with different kinds of employees, everyone has different rights and regulations. So, it is important to ensure that everyone is receiving their benefits and compensation. In this case, we cannot classify a freelancer as an employee or vice versa because it may lead to tax, financial and legal implications for the employee.

Ways to deal with Blended Workforce

1. Develop a Blended Workforce Strategy: It includes understanding the needs of the company and deciding which job roles should be held by permanent and which should be held by temporary employees. For that, the company needs to understand its long-term goal and find out the benefits and disadvantages of having different types of employees.

2. Use a mix of Hiring Strategies: Don’t rely on only a single source for hiring employees. You can use various online platforms and job boards for your hiring needs. For example, you can hire employees from freelancing platforms for short-term goals. Post your vacancies on job sites like Naukri and geeksforgeeks job portal to hire part-time or regular employees.

3. Clear Communication and Policies Discussion: As in a blended workforce employees have different work times and schedules, so frequent communication and discussions become important. It will also keep them informed about the company’s updates. Creating safe channels and strict schedules for communication will help in getting connected with their manager, colleagues and other team members. Also, policies should be made, which promote inclusive work culture in the workplace. Temporary employees should be provided equal respect and value. This will help in increasing productivity and better alignment with the company’s goals.

4. Performance Management: When you have different sets of employees, performance management becomes challenging and important. Regularly check the work and understand whether the goals of employees are aligned with the goals of the company. Make employees clear about their roles and the company’s expectations at the time of joining. Employees and workers will get opportunities for improvement due to constructive feedback and performance management.

5. Create an Inclusive Work Culture: Try to create a positive work culture where both permanent and temporary employees will be provided equal benefits. Both have equal access to resources. Ensure the collaboration of mixed employees and promote teamwork. An effective onboarding process where the employee communicates with other employees and managers understand the organization’s culture and values will help in building trust and loyalty.

Conclusion

A blended workforce means having a group of people who can do things in the best way possible. Having a mix of different workers, including permanent and part-time workers, will make the organization more flexible and efficient in handling goals. In this way, the organization can change their teams and workforce according to needs. The organization will be well-equipped for upcoming challenges and changes. By ensuring good communication, a positive and inclusive work culture, and proper policies, the blended workforce will help the organization in achieving its goals and objectives. Hence, the hiring and workforce strategies are becoming better and better with time. Because of using high-end technologies. But, blended workforces also bring some challenges, like creating a proper balance of flexibility and maintaining effective communication so that every employee will be connected. They understood the problems of employees and addressed them by providing technological solutions.