While HR has handled most aspects of employee hiring, training, and compensation, the procurement department has handled these processes for contingent workers. Today, non-employee workers—including contingent workers, Statement of Work-based consultants, freelancers, specialized talent pools, and more—account for nearly 40 percent of the average organization’s workforce, according to Ardent Partners State of Contingent Workforce Management.
Project managers need the ability to manage planning, cost, budget, mobilization, site access, permits, safety, time recording, learning, skills, training, and job performance for both employee and non-employee workforce—they need to manage the total workforce.
The emergence of the connected workforce
The emergence of mobility, cloud, and IoT technologies has led to the concept of the connected workforce. In the connected workforce, all workers (employee and non-employee) are connected to work demand, to equipment, to safety and security, to logistics, to management, and to each other. With wearable devices and sensors, workers are connected to the Internet of Things.
In the oil and gas industry, as in many others, workforce safety in potentially dangerous environments is of prime concern. While there are obvious concerns about privacy, most workers are interested in tools that help them to work (and live) better. Collision avoidance systems in automobiles, fitness apps, wearable devices that monitor heart rates during exercise, and appointment reminders—all have grown in popularity. Analysis of the large amount of data from the total workforce can discover potential problems and lead to new ways to improve job performance.
Providing the workforce with such tools, and reducing or eliminating dull, repetitive tasks through automation improve both workforce performance and workforce satisfaction. Managing the total workforce enables companies to adapt to the rapidly changing needs and to improve productivity and safety.
For more on how connectivity is shaping workplace trends and more, see IoT And Connected People.
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