Veritude "New Normal" Study Indicates Hiring of Contingent Knowledge Workers Expected to Increase

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - July 29, 2009) - Veritude, a leading staffing services provider, today announced that its "New Normal" primary research study indicated that 45 percent of polled organizations anticipate hiring temporary workers as part of their current and future workforces. The research also found that 25 percent of organizations plan to increase temporary IT and professional hiring in the near future.

"The current economy has forced almost every company to reexamine and restructure their hiring and staffing models," said Tom Hart, executive vice president of Veritude. "Hiring qualified temporary knowledge workers gives companies more flexibility as well as opportunities to reduce costs, which are important factors in any economy." Hart continued, "Our research uncovered that many organizations have used the current economic lull to redefine the composition of their workforces. It's particularly interesting to note how contingent workers are now being deployed in more targeted, specialized ways."

Benefits of a Temporary Workforce

As organizations right-size their businesses, the process can be vastly simplified by adding contingent workers -- especially in concert with a temp-to-permanent strategy. In fact, respondents to Veritude's study recognize the benefits of a temporary strategy include more flexibility to scale workforces to match demand (33 percent), the ability to handle seasonal fluctuations (30 percent), and the ability to use a "try before you buy" approach. One in five executives also reported that the high unemployment rate has resulted in more qualified temporary workers.

Hart said, "In the emerging post-recession workforce model, it's all about maximizing the value of every personnel spend -- and the way contingent workers are deployed will reflect this focus. Hiring temporary workers can reduce overall hiring risk and augment a company's core workforce with specialized skills. This is particularly critical among professional and IT job categories, where the abundance of available job candidates has done little to quell the need for the right talent."

Temp workers are a fundamental part of the re-evaluation of how work gets done, but companies are still most concerned with making the right hire, not just any hire. To further improve temporary hiring effectiveness, many companies are moving away from the fragmented model of working with multiple temp agencies to using a Managed Service Program (MSP).

MSP providers, like Veritude, can streamline processes, reduce costs, and alleviate the substantial risks and administrative burdens inherent in managing multiple staffing vendors. Veritude's MSP program provides a single reliable source of contact through dedicated on-site management and manages the entire lifecycle of the hires, including sourcing and screening IT and professional candidates, on-boarding, tracking hours, managing payroll and off-boarding. This approach also ensures that customers receive the full benefits of Veritude's extensive industry expertise.

More information is available in Veritude's research report titled "The New Normal: Recession Response and Workforce Planning." The complimentary report is available for download at http://www.veritude.com.

About Veritude

Veritude offers a full suite of temporary staffing, direct hire, and managed services programs. It partners with a wide range of clients in a variety of industries to develop and deliver workforce solutions that adapt to changing business and demographic realities. Veritude's unrelenting commitment to outstanding customer support and candidate quality offers competitive advantages to clients and rewarding career opportunities to associates. Visit www.veritude.com or call 1-800-597-5537 for more information.