DiversityInc: is your contingent talent strategy derailing workforce diversity?

In the wake of social justice movements, many companies made bold commitments to expand and improve their diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives. But while organizations have made important strides for their full-time employees, D&I efforts are often not extended to contingent and temporary workers, whose ranks have swelled during the pandemic.

As more and more organizations pursue a more holistic and comprehensive talent strategy that leans on contingent talent, human capital leaders must rethink how they engage with this growing cohort of non-traditional workers. Doing so will ensure companies continue to attract the best talent, build diverse talent pools and provide the same inclusive experiences across their entire workforce.

The uncertainty of the pandemic and the subsequent labor shortage has only accelerated the shift towards flexible work. According to Randstad Sourceright's recent Talent Trends Quarterly report,   69% of organizations surveyed said they plan to implement a total talent management strategy that integrates both full-time employees and contingent workers this year, with nearly half increasing their budget allocated towards total talent investment.

This shift has forced human capital leaders to rethink how to attract the best contingent talent — from integrating and including those workers, to recruiting diverse and underrepresented talent populations. Although contingent workers don’t often factor into an organization’s diversity and inclusion priorities, it is crucial to account for this segment of workers due to their proven impact of D&I on overall business success.

Read Vaishali Shah's article in DiversityInc  to learn more about growing contingent talent as part of an overall D&I strategy. Then, watch this on-demand webinar, "don't put workforce diversity on the back-burner" for tips from leaders at Cisco and Gilead Sciences on how to prioritize your D&I initiatives.