With the growing use of technology however, we risk becoming overloaded with information. At what point do these productivity tools become a distraction?

Using technology to streamline processes

It’s the main driver for technology implementation – automating processes to free up time.

For organisations working with their supply chain, this balance of ensuring technology can optimise their processes whilst ensuring it does not in itself become a distraction, is often tricky.

Reducing the chain in your contingent hire process

Technology can also help to alleviate potential delays in the approval process, for tasks such as hiring contingent workers. With multiple stakeholders such as the Hiring Manager, cost approval manager, recruitment agencies and candidates – technology can help speed up the hire process by making each stage easier for stakeholders to execute their roles.

As technology is developed however, a great deal of consideration needs to go into what each stakeholder needs to see at each stage of the process. If they are included in a stage where they do not necessarily need to provide input, this could become a greater distraction than the time saved using the system.

“When planning to implement recruitment management systems, it’s important to consider the user experience. Too many notifications and they will become disengaged with the system.”

– Richard Hanson, Linx Client Services Director

Striking the right balance with automated notifications

Technology provides a greater ability to communicate with users. But understanding when to utilise these automated messages and to which stakeholders, can make the difference between users finding the system helpful or a hindrance.

Careful consideration needs to be taken to identify which processes need automated messages, such seeking approval to hire from a Line Manager, and which processes should be managed within the system without the need for additional communication.

Sometimes providing users with the ability to switch these features on and off themselves can address this potential information overload. Only by thorough understanding of where the processes stalls without these timely notifications however, can the process be as optimised as possible with limited distraction.

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They may brush off the dust periodically and check the processes are still fit for purpose, but it’s only when those plans need to be put into action that you can really test their effectiveness.

We take a look at what lessons the global pandemic has taught us about business continuity.

Test, test and then test your contingency plans again

Of course, contingency plans are tested before they are officially signed off. But it’s important to test them in a replicated environment as close as possible to a potential real-life situation.

Perhaps that means evacuating a construction site to see how your supply chain reacts to the situation. Checking that processes are actioned as swiftly and accurately as possible when there are several different contracting companies on-site.

If you rely heavily on technology, it may be an idea to power down the main server and see the impact on the day-to-day running of your business operations. Do those contingency measures you have in place with your technology suppliers work effectively?

“It’s important to keep the conversation flowing. During the toughest times, clients will remember how well you communicated with them.”

– Richard Hanson, Linx Client Services Director

Allow for some flex

For many organisations who switched to home working, the pandemic tested whether there was the right level of technology in the business. Did all colleagues have a mobile device they could continue to perform their operations with? How were those critical customer support phonelines diverted outside of the building to effectively manage an increase in call volume?

For businesses continuing to deliver services, such as infrastructure projects and essential works, worker availability was also putto the test. Did their recruitment supply chain provide the flexibility to supply more labour where needed to manage self-isolation and shielding?

Keep the communication channels switched on and flowing

One thing which has been all too clear to see during this changing landscape, is that communication is crucial.

When normal business operations are disrupted having a clear line of communication with your clients and stakeholders is essential.

This often means having trusted technology systems that ensure processes such as recruitment resourcing can continue to operate without disruption. By automating these business-critical processes, organisations can minimise the risk of any breakdown in service.

It’s important however to keep the conversation going, whether that’s to reassure clients that your operations are mostly unimpacted, or to advise them of necessary changes. Regular updates explaining how you’re adapting and any interim measures you’ve put in place, are the key to maintaining a good working relationship.

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For some businesses though the radical change to the industry landscape at the peak of the global pandemic, identified opportunities to diversify and strategically target emerging markets to reposition their organisation – moving away perhaps from sectors that had traditionally provided a core revenue stream for their business.

As organisations begin to regroup and review their future plans, it provides a great opportunity to consider how well positioned their supply chain is to support their changing needs.

“When reviewing your recruitment supply chain, it’s crucial that you’re choosing suppliers that are flexible in the short-term, but also responsive to the bigger picture.”

– Richard Hanson, Linx Client Services Director

As organisations begin to consider where they see their business in the next five years, they may identify that their recruitment requirements will also change.

The role of a centrally outsourced workforce management partner should be to work strategically to map out the future talent acquisition requirements and ensure suppliers are able to meet these challenges face on.

Factors such as potential skill shortages and legislation changes will also need to be considered – ensuring solutions are available to build talent pools and react to any changes in the market.

Crucially though, organisations need to know that their recruitment supply chain is responsive enough to continue to deliver a consistent supply of suitably qualified and skilled candidates to a level required to meet their future plans.

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For Project Managers leading large-scale frameworks, extensive travel to and from site; into head office for formal reviews and out and about seeing suppliers; means interacting with lots of different people, in lots of different locations. As COVID-19 began to impact businesses one of the first practices put in place was to minimise business travel – meaning using video technology instead to virtually meet and manage projects. Did this lack of face-to-face interaction incur project delays though? Did relationships suffer because of it? Where client-supplier relationships had already been built, this technology allowed Project Managers to continue to deliver services to the same high level – on-time and without any significant repercussions.

“Recent events have highlighted the need to have agile processes, backed up by technology that can autonomously manage workflow.”

– Natalie Baines, Linx Operations Manager

Whilst strong communication skills should always be high up on the list of skills organisations look for in Project Managers, this new virtual way of working needs to encompass more than just being able to manage a team remotely.

To ensure adequate staffing levels, the Project Manager may also need to engage contingent labour remotely. Utilising video technology to support the temporary labour hire process can work side-by-side with an application tracking system (ATS) or vendor management system (VMS) – ensuring contractors can be sourced and onboarded quickly and efficiently.

Whilst the focus for Project Managers is often identifying agile ways of working to deliver projects on-time and in-cost; this focus on refining the finer details must also transfer to back of house processes such as recruitment and supply chain management if organisations are to remain responsive enough to deliver the same high quality projects regardless of working restrictions.

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As we began to climb to the peak of the virus the Government encouraged businesses to send their colleagues to work from home wherever possible – resulting in pictures across the media of deserted cities and near-empty trains.

It’s certainly factually correct to say that without technology, businesses would not have been able to remain so agile during this global pandemic. With the Office for National Statistics identifying that 86% of those who worked from home in April reporting COVID-19 as the reason, technology’s role in keeping businesses moving became all too clear.

As Teams calls and catch ups over Zoom became the new way of life, businesses also began to put their technology systems and processes to the ultimate test. For businesses managing their recruitment resourcing through an applicant tracking system (ATS) or vendor management system (VMS) this temporary relocation from a shared office space was achieved somewhat autonomously. Provided clear processes had been built into the workforce management system, the geographical location of colleagues bared little impact on ensuring the process could continue without complications.

The wide-scale adoption of video calling also supported the hiring process remotely – with businesses choosing to hold interviews virtually. By utilising technology, they could reduce any potential delay in selecting suitable applicants – ensuring that time-to-hire did not increase, which could incur additional resource costs. For businesses managing a large volume of temporary contractors, technology helped ensure that the sudden increase in demand for critical projects could still be met with the correct level of resourcing.

The massive disruption COVID-19 has had on businesses, certainly highlights the need to ensure that systems and processes can remain uninterrupted even when a global pandemic is at its peak. For businesses who had to play catch up to attempt to quickly implement the technology they needed to ensure their business remained able to deliver services to their clients, COVID-19 delivered a clear message – business processes must be led by the right technology, running streamlined processes.

Reference: Office for National Statistics April 2020

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