Easy Contractor Management Through Connectivity And Mobility

By Mike Karlskind, VP of product marketing, ClickSoftware, www.clicksoftware.com

Today’s technologies can simplify the enterprise-contractor relationship.

According to Aberdeen Group, nearly 27 percent of an average organization’s workforce is expected to consist of contingent labor by 2015. Contractor management has always been a complex relationship between two parties. The enterprise faces challenges including fluctuating demand volume depending on the time of year, or location. When hiring field workers, the enterprise doesn’t want to hire for the peak or the low point in the levels of demand volume; but, somewhere in between and use the contractor’s workforce to supplement and cover the demand to provide consistent response.

The contracted worker is visible to the customer, requiring the enterprise to set standards to maintain control and consistency of the work to ensure the customer’s experience is as good and efficient as if it were serviced by an internal resource. To put it simply, the enterprise typically does not have the necessary insight into the schedule and skills of the contractor’s workforce. It is a guessing game of assuming that the contractor can meet the needs of the work being assigned. Without the necessary visibility, it is difficult for the enterprise to provide responsive and reliable service to its customers.