A more fluid workforce is the key to digital technologies

Digital transformation and market disruptions have changed the way companies view talent. With planning cycles getting shorter, business needs to be agile, flexible, and adaptable to remain competitive. Agile companies rely on a mixture of permanent employees and independent, freelance, gig, and crowdsourced workers.

The demand for more flexible employees is growing, and staffing and professional-services companies need to adapt to fill these new needs. New processes and technologies are required to overcome the challenges most companies are facing. It is about transforming the platforms and technology to be integrated and flexible.

The time to explore the potential of new technologies is now. This new generation of workers is digital, so staffing and professional-services companies need to reach them on digital platforms. These workers want everything to work the same way as their favorite digital devices. Filling out a stack of paperwork is not appreciated.

There are multiple opportunities to connect with the new fluid workforce:

• Power of data: deploy artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and neural networks to match talent to the best opportunities
• Streamline billing: introduce machine learning for financial automated closing
• Automated processes: eliminate human effort and accelerate processes with Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
• Social chatter: reach the fluid workforce on the platforms they use and aggressively pursue social-media recruiting
• Blockchain: explore blockchain options for fluid-workforce payment and client reconciliation.

Fluid job roles are emerging across all areas, from business development to merger and acquisitions to interim C-level executives. Frontrunners are building robust processes and cultures to support the growth of the fluid workforce.

As technologies such as AI and machine learning expand, there will be a growing demand for fluid workers who can deliver this expertise. Traditional recruiting techniques are not keeping pace with the rate of change. For many companies, this will be a seismic shift in strategies, and they will need help making the change. Staffing and professional-services companies need to prepare by shifting their strategies, operating models, and technology so they are ready to take advantage of this opportunity.

Brian Girouard is EVP, NA Services Industries Leader, at Capgemini and can be reached at brian.girouard@capgemini.com.

Brian Girouard

Expert in Customer Centricity, Digital Customer Experience

My priority is to match the key business challenges of our clients and prospects with our most effective capabilities and solutions.
At Capgemini, I am in charge of our service industries portfolio in North America. This includes clients in the engineering, construction, real estate, professional services, staffing, and other business-services sectors.
My team and I help our clients develop strategies for growth. We work to transform their business processes, improve their approach to cybersecurity, deploy and manage their business applications, and much more.
Some of my recent work includes:
Implementing an enterprise-wide system for a logistics services provider
Developing an application-integration strategy for a global management-consulting firm
Leading the application development, operations, and management of the customer-facing and back-office systems for a large professional-staffing organization.
I joined Capgemini 23 years ago. During my long tenure, I have held global positions in consumer products, agribusiness, retail, and manufacturing.
I have published many articles and reports on the future of supply chain and consumer trends, and on other topics of relevance to the digital shopper. I have shared my insights and provided thought leadership at numerous industry conferences, including Sapphire, JDA Connect, Oracle Open World, and Dreamforce.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my wife at our home in Saint Paul, Minnesota. We are also fond of our lake getaway trips to the Northwoods of Wisconsin.