There are 4.8 million self-employed people working in the UK, IPSE reported in 2017.
The number of solo self-employed people – that is, freelancers, contractors or locum staff who are in business alone without employing other people – has grown by 34% since 2008.
These solo self-employed people contributed £271Bn to the UK economy in 2017. IPSE says that’s enough to fund the NHS twice-over, to give the number some context.
The point is, freelancers, contractors and locum staff are becoming a major element of the UK workforce. More than ever before.
And that means our old ways of hiring and managing those people are no longer fit for purpose.
A new model for freelancer, contractor and locum management
Agency recruiters will always have their place. They can add heaps of value, especially if you need urgent and unexpected cover fast. But they’re not the best solution if you’re consistently hiring a large number of freelancers, contractors and locums.
In that situation:
You should be building your own talent pools, maintaining your own lists of go-to contingency staff.
You should be able to manage that talent pool online, to avoid time-consuming calls and scheduling.
You should be able to automatically manage compliance in a totally auditable, foolproof way.
And you should be able to easily record the performance of your freelance, contractor and locum hires, in one place, so you know who to hire again.
That’s where contractor management software has its place. A relatively new category, freelancer management software has sprung up to help businesses to hire and manage their contingent workforce in a more agile, more efficient, more affordable way.
Contractor management platforms – like TribePad Flex – also dramatically improve the experience for candidates, which is a massive competitive advantage. Freelancers, contractors and locum staff who have a fast, seamless, easy experience with you will more likely apply again – so you’re building an on-tap trusted resource you can always rely on.
For instance, with modern contractor management software:
Candidates get info about potential job opportunities direct from you, through a secure cloud-based any-device portal.
Contractors submit timesheets and track their shifts, invoices and payments from one place, making the whole process fast and simple.
Contractors communicate with their hiring manager and upload relevant compliance docs (and get reminders when they need updating).
Many freelancer and contractor management systems offer a complete one-stop-shop, better for freelancers, contractors and locums – and better for the businesses that rely on them.
If you’re one of the thousands of businesses that depend on the flexibility and productivity of the contingent workforce to drive growth, contractor management software could be a smarter approach.
TribePad design and build recruitment management software that’ll transform how you hire, manage and retain your people.
TribePad Flex is our freelancer and contractor management software module, which makes managing your contingent workforce easy. Discover other business, like the BBC, who hire and manage all their freelancers and contractors using TribePad Flex).
Find out more about TribePad Flex Contractor & Freelance Management Software
