Canadian organizations intend to hire more fraction in 2023
From SeasonedPros.ca Insights Lab
It is often said that people are an organization’s greatest asset. This is particularly true for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Demographic changes and rapid transformations in workplace culture in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have made talent acquisition a big challenge for many businesses.
Workers on the move
A recent survey by consulting firm Robert Half found that half of all working Canadians are looking for a new job in 2023. That trend has risen 31 percent over the previous six months.
The same poll found that 90 percent of Canadian employers face challenges finding the right talent to fill roles in their organizations.
All of this adds up to a “war for talent” for organizations that need people to keep projects rolling and achieve growth goals.
Fractional talent to the rescue
One workforce trend emerging to address the labour crunch is on-demand fractional talent.
Fractional talent refers to experienced business professionals who work as independent contractors. They are called fractional because they can work within the organization at a fraction of the time and cost.
With full-time candidates in short supply, companies are looking to the open market and hiring contract talent to fill gaps.
For a small business, fractional talent can be hired on a part-time, interim basis or project basis, without the long-term commitments of a full-time hire.
Robert Half found that 65% of Canadian organizations intend to hire more contract professionals in 2023. This trend is particularly pronounced in professional legal, finance and accounting sectors.
Fractional talent comes in all shapes and sizes
Independent talent can deliver leadership, experience and subject matter expertise to an organization.
They can be C-suite executives who are brought in to bridge a leadership gap or specialists in areas like marketing, business development, HR, project management, IT and customer engagement.
These professionals also bring highly specialized knowledge in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and environmental sustainability and governance.
Organizations that tap independent talent into teams or leadership roles on a temporary basis or a long-term contract.
Speed and flexibility
Speed of hiring is a big part of the fractional appeal. Independent are already set up as contractors and looking for projects, the search-to-hire cycle is shortened.
Because these fractional contractors are highly experienced, they are prepared to hit the ground running once they start the job. This minimizes the on-board and training time and expense.
This means projects get rolling faster and organizations can grow.
Conclusion
Dramatic changes in the workplace and demographic changes have created a race to attract and retain for top-notch talent. Organizations still need good people to grow and keep projects on track.
Independent fractional talent is an innovative solution to fill gaps and infuse an organization with deep experience without the costs and challenges of hiring full-time.
SeasonedPros.ca is an on-demand business talent source. Clients with an immediate need for experienced talent trust us to source professionals for fractional, interim and part-time roles. Each professional in our national database has 20 + years of business experience. We provide our clients 2-4 four vetted professionals in 10 business days or less.