Harnessing gig economy power: How BDO matches the best hires with the best organisations

In years gone by, employees sought stability and a secure career path more than anything else—evidenced by many in the baby-boomer generation who often committed to one employer for their entire careers. ‘Millennial’ employees, on the other hand, have been tagged by many in HR for their tendency to jump around and switch jobs at an alarming speed, highlighting a drastic shift in values and career expectations from their predecessors. In fact, it is not just ‘Millennials’ who keep an open mind to rapid career shifts.

In the context of today’s ever-changing business environment, this shift in values is also seen in the recent years in senior professionals who are coming into their prime and want a different relationship with their work. They wish to leverage their experience and successful business practices to deliver something of more value—with a focus on delivering an objective. They want to be able to deliver something consistent with their own values and work ethics, enabling them to instil greater passion into their work.

In the meanwhile, businesses have become increasingly receptive to a more flexible hiring model—this has given rise to the ‘Gig economy’ defined by a prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs. This new way of working has created a variety of challenges for companies still relying on traditional hiring models to meet changing business demands as well as the continuous increase in project-based work and initiatives. While many companies are still finding their way to deal with this changing recruitment trend, BDO is one organisation which has seized this opportunity to service this niche outside of the traditional market.

Talent acquisition: changes and challenges

Portia Tang, Director and Head of Professional Resources Solutions, BDO explained these recent changes that have necessitated a shift in recruitment approaches and the application of the romantic notion of matchmaking in today’s business world.

Tang said, “The Gig economy did not spring up overnight. Ten years ago many companies did their recruitment internally, but in the last five to eight years we have seen MNCs and large companies outsourcing this function to designated recruitment and headhunting agencies. In terms of roles that companies are looking for, previously most companies preferred permanent hires. However, in recent years, there have been an increasing number of non-permanent and contract roles—both short (six months) to medium-term (three years).”

“Millennials are beginning to dominate the workforce. They have a different set of values and will not solely dedicate themselves to work just to earn a salary but instead are in pursuit of greater flexibility, fulfilment, meaningful experiences, and recognition.”

Tang noted that there had been a headcount freeze in the financial services sector over the last decade, limiting permanent hires. Moreover, even for companies which are still adding headcounts, they are finding it increasingly difficult to attract and retain talents to work on a permanent full-time basis. She explained, “The shift from hiring full-time permanent workers to temporary workers happened because companies find it difficult to attract the right candidates to fill permanent roles, and I believe the situation will continue as Millennials begin to dominate the workforce. They have a different set of values and will not solely dedicate themselves to work just to earn a salary but instead are in pursuit of greater flexibility, fulfilment, meaningful experiences, and recognition. It is probably time for companies to review their hiring models and become more open-minded and flexible if they wish to attract quality talents.”

PRS vs. traditional recruitment

Regarding the role of Professional Resources Solutions (PRS) in the gig economy, Tang explained, “PRS is not just about executive search or recruitment services. As a fully-fledged professional accounting & advisory firm with the capability to provide blended business solutions, we offer a combination of professional secondments, recruitment, advisory, outsourcing and compliance services to clients.”

Tang added, “PRS was born against the backdrop of the evolution of talent acquisition and role requirements. To meet these needs, PRS provides qualified and experienced consultants to satisfy clients’ project or backfill needs. Seasoned and experienced candidates park their employment with BDO, which creates a roster of high-quality talents (“consultants”). From this roster, clients can hire qualified consultants for projects that require specific skills and experiences; and change the team mix, as required, at different stages of an on-going project.”

HR matchmaking

Regarding matchmaking candidates with client needs, Tang noted, “This is not a blind date, we do not just present candidates who are available and send them out—hoping for the best. For every opportunity that comes in, it’s essential to adopt a consultative approach. We request a meeting with the client to better understand their challenges and issues on top of their initial service requirements. Then we act as a matchmaker between the client and the ideal candidate(s).” She added, “It may sometimes also be the case that the company does not require a people solution, but rather some form of business transformation or process improvement. This might include outsourcing, restructuring, process automation, digitalisation, system implementations or upgrades.”

In short, consultative matchmakers can help to validate and address specific HR requirements, and then offer the most appropriate and practical solutions.

Benefits for HR

PRS aims to make HR practitioners’ lives easier by freeing up the time they spend on temporary and permanent recruitment—allowing them to spend less time on transactional tasks and more time on strategic functions. Tang explained, “We aim to provide all-rounded project support so that HR can focus on strategic planning and assist decision-makers in business growth.”

BDO’s capacity as a professional accounting and advisory firm allows PRS to go beyond the capabilities of traditional recruitment agencies. The organisation delivers blended solutions to drive projects forward by leveraging a broad spectrum of professional service offerings, along with its expertise in compliance, advisory, and consultancy services in various industry/service lines.

Flexibility key
With the emergence of the gig economy, shifts in business modes, changes in regulatory landscapes and the increasing number of talents seeking flexibility over stability in their careers—the workforce is shifting from permanent roles to non-permanent roles. HR must adopt more flexible hiring models, which can also help to reduce operational costs, e.g. a company only needs an office space just sufficient to accommodate the core workforce. While it is essential to engage talents throughout the organisation, savings may also be derived in terms of alternative benefits and training packages provided to non-permanent staff.

To manage this spectrum of staffing options, BDO’s Professional Resources Solutions provides a talent mall platform to assist hiring managers to identify qualified resources for new projects as well as backfilling open positions on a short-to-medium-term basis. Jobseekers can also rely on the platform to find organisations and projects that allow them to best leverage their capabilities, skills and experience.