Press Room

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – August 22, 2002 – The Staffing Group of Spherion Corporation (formerly Interim Services), a leading provider of workforce solutions, recommends that companies re-examine current hiring practices and incorporate flexible staffing options in order to remain competitive in today’s market. Focusing on implementing the right talent strategy, particularly in the current economic conditions, can become the key to business stability, flexibility and cost management.

Gary Peck, president of Spherion Staffing, explains, “As the economy begins its recovery, it is vital that business leaders and HR experts do not retreat to pre-recession hiring and staffing practices because they are now facing a very different set of economic and employment circumstances. Businesses must use this time to carefully examine their usage of fixed and variable employees in order to gain greater control over employment expenses.”

Labor costs, which include compensation, recruitment and benefits expenditures, can constitute more than 50 percent of corporate spending, according to the Saratoga^SM Institute, a human capital benchmarking organization and subsidiary of Spherion. Incorporating flexible staffing options helps to alleviate fixed expenses by creating flexible employment costs, allowing the company to make adjustments as demand fluctuates in the economic recovery. 

“When flexible workers, managed staff or outsourcing accounts for a higher percentage of an overall workforce, the business itself has greater overall flexibility,” Peck said. “This flexibility, to grow, slow down, ramp up or cut back, is crucial to successfully navigating the internal and external forces that affect business operations.”

Given the high interest in flexible work among talented individuals, there is little difference in the quality and skills between flexible and full-time workers. Companies that incorporate a larger percentage of contingent staffing can expect even greater flexibility and variability without compromising the quality or productivity of their workforce.

Spherion recommends the use of a flexible workforce in the current market for the following reasons:

• As the economy recovers, businesses nationwide can expect higher turnover rates among their newer hires. Flexible workers can help keep business running smoothly while companies establish a long-term hiring strategy.

   

• The use of flexible staffing allows companies to address current workforce needs while taking the time to properly evaluate candidates and hire the right people for full-time positions.  

   

• Creating flexible staff  “buffer zones” will protect the core workforce from the consequences of productivity slowdowns.

   

• Staffing firms focus on optimally managing the flexible workforce to allow companies to focus attention on their full-time, core workforce. The result: higher productivity and employee morale.

   

Flexible staffing has become an attractive employment choice for workers as well. Many job seekers are turning to flexible employment as a career alternative because it offers many benefits such as competitive pay, training opportunities, medical coverage, stock purchase plans and the ability to work on a variety of assignments at different companies.

“We find that flexible staffing offers a wide range of benefits for both companies and workers alike,” Peck said. “Flexible employment is continuing to become a more popular career path because job responsibilities, desired skill levels and compensation mirror that of similar full-time positions, but offer more flexibility.” 

Underscoring the need to leverage internal and external resources is the diminishing workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that during 2002, 6.5 million baby boomers become eligible for retirement, decreasing the entire workforce by several percentage points. This thinning of the American workforce will continue as more and more baby boomers retire and the number of 35- to 44-year olds declines by 15 percent over the next 15 years. Flexible workers can help to fill the voids left by this mass exodus and help companies shield their full-time workforce from future cuts.

“As the American workforce shrinks and skilled and qualified employees once again grow scarce, companies must build employment foundations that protect the full-time workforce,” Peck said. “To safeguard a workforce and its employee loyalty in the highly competitive employment market to come, businesses should consider increasing the use of flexible staffing to insulate their core workforce from headcount adjustments due to the demand fluctuations that are typical during recoveries.”

For more than 55 years, Spherion Staffing has provided businesses with unique and innovative staffing solutions by supplying highly qualified administrative and industrial talent, designing customized on-site management solutions and increasing recruitment and workforce efficiency.

About Spherion

Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN) provides Recruitment, Outsourcing and Technology services. As part of the Company’s Recruitment division, the Staffing Group offers flexible and temp-to-hire assignments, as well as direct hire placements for office professional and light industrial staffing needs. The Staffing Group also provides comprehensive on-site workforce management solutions through its On-Premise^SM and CallSource Plus^SM services . Founded in 1946, with operations in the North America , Europe and Asia/Pacific, Spherion helps companies efficiently plan, acquire and optimize talent to improve their bottom line. Visit the Company’s Web site at www.spherionstaffing.com.