- The extended workforce, or workers who are not classified as employees, has become a more critical part of how many businesses operate
- However, the arrangement can also make it more likely that these workers will be excluded from company strategies
- Steps leaders can take to better incorporate the extended workforce into their goals and planning
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Businesses need to be more aware of the impact of extended workforces on their operations and how their strategies can better incorporate them, the CEO of a vendor management system provider argues in a recent article for Fast Company.
Doug Leeby, CEO of Beeline, says the extended workforce encompasses anyone who contributes to a business’s operations but is not classified as an employee. These can include independent contractors, gig workers, freelancers, consultants, and seasonal help.
People working in this capacity can include benefits such as greater flexibility, while businesses can more easily connect with workers with the necessary skill sets and scale their operations as needed. However, the extended workforce is often overlooked when it comes to business efforts to improve their productivity and profits.
Leeby says businesses can assess their current workforce to determine how prominent their extended workforce is and how they contribute to the company’s culture and goals. He suggests that leadership responsibilities include communicating with these workers about their value to the business, ensuring that human resources practices incorporate extended workforce as an essential part of the business, encouraging cooperation between full-time and extended workforce, and making sure that the extended workforce is not excluded.
