Whether you are starting a new training project or attempting to scale up and conquer a redesign of existing training content, hiring a learning and development team member may not always be the best option. Instead, consider leveraging contingent workers to help see you through the ups and downs ahead.
Related: Pros and Cons of Hiring Contractors vs Employees
Often, projects come and go in cycles, leaving either employee overhead with no return during the slow times or not enough resources during the busy times.
Customizable and scalable outsourced training talent, like our Innovators on Demand®, is the best solution for many of your learning organization’s biggest challenges, including:
Overcapacity
All too often, your learning organization is already working overtime, so how do you respond when your business partners reach out for a new training initiative that is going to require more precious time and resources? Instead of putting the project at risk or frustrating your business partners, bringing on a skilled, onboard-ready contingent worker can help by providing just-in-time support for the project.
Meet Innovator Amy McKenzie. Amy was placed at a major financial advisory firm that was experiencing overcapacity challenges. They weren’t able to meet the instructional design needs of all the training initiatives the company had planned, so they reached out to us for a list of Innovator on Demand® candidates. Amy was selected and has been proven to be such a successful asset to their team that they have extended her contract in anticipation of additional training development needs.
Temporary or Extended Leave of Absence
What do you do when one of your full-time staff members in a critical position within your learning organization announces that they are having a baby? After congratulating the expecting parent, it’s time to start strategizing how to cover for this team member for an extended leave of absence. ttcInnovations received a call from one of our long-term clients with just such a situation last year. While the team member wasn’t going on maternity leave, she was taking an extended leave of absence during a vital stage of a long-term training initiative deployment.
Innovator on Demand® Jenny Decker was able to step right in as project manager to keep the project moving forward while the employee was on leave. The employee was able to rest at ease knowing that Jenny had everything under control.
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Skills Gap
How great would it be to have the perfect list of go-to learning and development experts whenever you need them? Not all learning organizations need a full house of experts on their payroll at all times. The best solution is to have on-call talent only when you need it! Our major online retail client had just such a need — an instructional technology designer who could assist them during the build out and deployment of a new learning management system. When they reached out, we knew just the Innovator who could meet those needs.
Hiring Freeze
A new product is moving through the final test phase. You know this product launch is going to need a major training program to ensure the retail stores are ready to begin marketing this product effectively. Unfortunately, your company has recently implemented a hiring freeze, and the learning and development team is already overcapacity — in fact, you still have one open position that you haven’t been able to fill due to the freeze. Hiring a contract-based resource to provide temporary support ensures that you will have a qualified instructional designer to help fill in the gaps and that the project launch can be supported without the overhead of a full-time employee.
Innovator on Demand® Jennifer Dow recently had an opportunity to fill such a role for one of our newer financial services clients. The organization had a hiring freeze in place while they were doing some restructuring, yet they needed additional support for a program launch. Jennifer stepped right in and was able to help relieve the overflow work of the full-time instructional design team.
Talent Shortage
Your learning organization has been unable to find the right talent for an open instructional designer position. You’ve had a few applicants, but none of them seem quite right for your needs. But wait — the Innovators on Demand® who have been filling the gap thus far could also make great candidates for permanent placement!
We had a similar situation with one of our clients. The client had originally requested an Innovator on Demand® to fill in during the hiring phase. That phase extended to almost a full year, when the client suddenly realized that she had the perfect candidate already in place all along. She contacted us to discuss converting the contract to a full-time placement. The Innovator was amenable, and we knew that this team member really was the best fit for this opening. While we hate to lose a great Innovator on Demand®, we love when a connection between an Innovator and client just works!
Contingent labor continues to grow faster than the labor market as a whole precisely for the reasons listed above. So, whether you are a training manager or the head of HR for a Fortune 500 company, staff augmentation deserves serious attention as part of your workforce planning. It’s here to stay, but we’ve got you covered. With Innovators on Demand®, scaling your learning organization has never been easier!
Tell us your staffing needs and we’ll send you “best fit” candidates within two business days. You’ll get to review and approve each résumé, ensuring total control over who supplements your team. Ramp up as needed and enjoy the benefits of our flexible staff augmentation contracting.
