Contingent workers are here to stay. In fact, in a recent report, CareerBuilder claimed that 2015 was the Year of the Temporary Employee, with 46% of businesses adding temporary workers, up from 42% in 2014. That number is expected to rise even more this year in what seems to be a continuous upward trend.
Some may find this growth surprising, but it’s a change that’s been coming for some time. In the past, the hiring of contingent workers was directly tied to the state of the economy. The number of contingent workers would go up as the economy would turn south. They were a cheaper option than full-time salaried employees and didn’t carry any long-term commitment. However, we’ve seen a shift over the last few years. Contingent workers are no longer viewed as “unskilled.” In fact, in many fields contract and freelance workers are often considered to possess the highest level of expertise and skillsets, prompting companies to turn to the contingent workforce to accomplish core goals and objectives.
In its 2014-2015 Guidebook for Managing Non-Traditional Talent, Ardent Partners cited expertise as the top reason companies hire contingent workers. Other reasons given were the ability to ‘test drive’ a potential full-time hire, seasonal employment needs, avoiding long-term commitment, and cost savings on benefits and employment taxes.
Interestingly enough, many workers, led by millennials, are now actively seeking contingent employment rather than traditional, full-time salaried employment. The flexibility and freedom associated with those positions can be very appealing to workers.
Clearly contingent workers aren’t going anywhere, and while they have their benefits, are you aware of the risks they can bring to your organization?
Just how vulnerable are you? Did you know:
A 2015 survey report by SANS stated that while 74% of IT security professionals said they’re concerned about insider threats, 32% said they have no ability to prevent an insider breach, and 28% said insider threat detection and prevention isn’t a priority in their organization.
Contingent workers can bring serious risk to your organization. However, there are steps you can take to minimize these risks and instead experience only the positive contributions contingent employees have to offer. To learn more about business process challenges and resolution paths associated with the management of contingent workers, register for our live webinar, “A Trojan Horse of a Different Color: The Inherent Security Risk of Today’s Contingent Workforce.”
Details:
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Time: 11:00 pm PT / 1:00 pm CT / 2:00 pm ET
Presenter: Timothy Till, Director of Sales for SLED North America
To register for the webinar, click here.
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