Buyers of Contingent Labor Should Expect to Pay More

It’s no longer a buyer’s market.

As the economy improves, the buyer of contingent labor no longer has the upper hand. It was quite a different story during the recession. Buyers had the pick of the crop, margins were down, talent was available and suppliers of contingent labor were hurting.

That has changed. As things improve,  demand for workers especially in IT and healthcare is growing and wages are going up. The difficulty in recruiting talent and increase in wages has resulted in increased costs for staffing firms. So buyers should expect both a tougher negotiation and to pay more for contingent workers. .

In 2011, Staffing Industry Analysts conducted a survey looking into staffing companies’ attitudes, practices and strategies. The results show that staffing suppliers are beefing up their staff; including retaining and developing their internal workers. Items like costs and cash-flows have taken a back seat on the agenda.

Some buyers (no names will be mentioned) are feeling that they are not being catered to the same way they were in the past. The market has changed, and attitudes are different. Staffing firms are unashamedly going after new business as it’s more worthwhile than pandering to clients wanting to keep costs down.

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