One of the most profound changes the pandemic brought to the business world has been the transition from work conducted in offices and physical locations to work performed remotely, which in most cases has meant the worker’s home. Thanks to the internet — and video conferencing, work collaboration and cloud computing technologies — businesses across all sectors of the economy have found ways to adapt their daily work processes such that their employees and contingent workers can carry out their duties in a less centralized way. For IT staffing firms, this means a re-evaluation of both what and how IT talent is delivered to clients, as well as how best to organize and lead their internal staff teams.

First, let’s look at some current data on remote work. According to SIA’s January 2021 Pulse Survey, an average of 83% of IT temporary workers supplied by US staffing firms were working remotely as opposed to at the client’s office location. This statistic was roughly the same as in SIA’s October 2020 Pulse Survey, which found 78% of IT temporary workers were remote and another 12% split time between remote and the client’s office location. Interestingly, IT staffing firms reported a similar share of internal staff were working remotely: 83% of internal staff were working remotely in January, while 85% of internal staff did so in October, with an additional 12% splitting time between remote and office.

Looking ahead, when pandemic recedes and lockdown requirements lift, the trillion-dollar question is (especially for the commercial real estate industry) what will the “new normal” look like for the business world? Clearly, the current success of remote operations suggests that heightened levels of remote work will likely persist into the future. IT staffing firms were asked this question in summer 2020 in SIA’s annual Staffing Company Survey, and the median forecast was that 50% of IT temporary workers are likely to be working remotely for clients after the pandemic ends. This represents a level five times greater than the 10% of IT temporary workers working remotely prior to the pandemic, as shown in the graph below.

Median Share of IT Temporary Workers Working Remotely

What might this mean for IT staffing firms? The rise of remote work for temporary workers means that the marketplace has likely become larger and more complex, as IT talent has a larger universe of potential assignments to choose from, and vice versa, employers have a larger pool of talent to attract and select from. For IT staffing firms, as the limitations of geography are broken, this could provide open doors to service new clients in new geographies, as well as to recruit talent from new locations, and even new countries. On the flip side, as geographic barriers lessen, new sources of competition may emerge to challenge a staffing firm’s existing book of business. The rise in complexity may also bring opportunities for IT staffing firms to serve as consultants and business partners that can advise clients on their talent options and strategies. Lastly, advancing technology and the aforementioned market complexity is given rise to greater use of internal-based talent platforms that allow greater self-service for both talent and employers to find each other in a more automated fashion. SIA recently published reports on the Talent Platform Landscape and Talent Platform Workforce, and will soon publish a report on temporary staffing platforms used by staffing firms.

IT staffing firm leaders also find themselves in a dynamic environment when it comes to hiring, managing and motivating their own internal staff teams, which will likely involve greater use of remote work practices even after the pandemic. Executives have the challenge of reaping the benefits of remote work (including greater access to talent) while also needing to foster engagement, connection and a shared company culture across their internal teams. A practical guide for staffing executives can be found in SIA’s Best Practices in Remote Working for Staffing Firms.

While the IT staffing industry has always been home to some of the most daring, creative and entrepreneurial business leaders, the present situation may mark one of the most dynamic inflection points in the history of the industry. And as always, those industry leaders that are best able to identify and capitalize on opportunities will position themselves for potentially massive growth for their organizations and impact to the world.