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With a flexible staffing model, businesses of any size can always be ready to engage the right talent, with the right skills, at the right time. It’s clear many employers today recognize this strategy can be a source of competitive advantage, too. According to Robert Half’s State of U.S. Hiring Survey, 63% of employers plan to increase the number of contract professionals on their teams in the first half of 2025. Many companies use flexible staffing strategies to manage fluctuating workloads, access specialized skills and keep priority projects moving forward. It’s also an approach that allows their core team members to focus on the work they do best and adds the most value to the business. If you’re not familiar with flexible staffing, this post can help you get up to speed. It explains what this model is and why it’s especially relevant in today’s business environment. It also outlines several benefits you can realize by using this approach as an ongoing strategy.

What is a flexible staffing model?

A flexible staffing model, also known as a scalable talent model, involves supplementing your permanent staff with contract professionals and consultants and tapping third-party resources for support and expertise for as long as your business needs them. This staffing approach allows you to adjust the composition of your workforce strategically. You can scale your team up or down swiftly and with ease to meet evolving business demands. And if your needs are ongoing, you can even engage contract professionals for full-time roles. While working with consultants is an aspect of flexible staffing, not all organizations that use contract professionals to support their business require these resources. However, when you need professionals who can provide high-level strategic insights, or customized teams with specialized skill sets to help drive transformation projects, consulting solutions can help you meet your business goals.

How can flexible staffing create a strategic advantage?

View the report now A flexible staffing model can help organizations respond with more agility to economic uncertainty, shifting consumer behaviors and market dynamics, technological change, and more. A rigid workforce structure can hinder business growth. But with a flexible staffing approach, organizations can optimize resources, scale more efficiently and increase their overall resilience. With rising labor costs and increased demand for specialized skills—especially in areas like AI, cybersecurity, and finance and accounting—businesses can’t always afford or justify full-time hires for every role. Also, they may not have the time to conduct or wait for the results of a formal hiring process. Research for Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report found that 91% of employers are having difficulty locating skilled talent available for hire. A flexible staffing strategy lets companies shorten the path to securing the talent they need most urgently. They can also avoid the potential downsides of prolonged understaffing. For example, our workplace research found that 42% of managers have grappled with employee burnout due to leaving roles open for too long. Read the latest Demand for Skilled Talent report

More ways contract professionals can add value

As we’ve established, hiring contract professionals is a way for your company to address critical business needs without making long-term commitments. However, know that many companies do end up hiring contract professionals for full-time roles. A contract engagement is like an extended job interview. But it’s even more thorough because you can observe how professionals perform in your unique work environment and see firsthand how they interact with your core team and the value they can provide. Even if you don’t want to hire them on a full-time basis, contract professionals can work with you for as long as needed to help you: Manage seasonal business fluctuations Adapt to rapid business growth Cover employee leaves or absences Enhancing digital transformation efforts is another way contract professionals can support a business. For example, during enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementations, companies need professionals with deep technical expertise, project management experience and change management capabilities. Instead of overburdening their existing staff or making costly full-time hires for these project-based needs, businesses can turn to contract professionals and consultants to help them execute their initiatives efficiently while minimizing disruptions to their everyday operations.

Additional reasons to use a flexible staffing model

Still not sure about the benefits of flexible staffing? Here are two more reasons to consider adopting this approach and using it as an ongoing strategy: Cost efficiency and resource optimization Hiring contract professionals can help your business convert fixed personnel costs into variable expenses. Instead of committing to full-time salaries and benefits, you can allocate resources efficiently by paying only for the expertise you need, when you need it. A flexible staffing model also reduces expenses related to recruiting, onboarding and training, while minimizing overtime costs for your existing staff. Enhanced employee retention and productivity Bringing contract professionals into your organization to share workloads can alleviate pressure on your permanent staff. It also gives your core team more time to focus on developing their expertise in high-value areas, which can help foster greater engagement and career growth. When employees see that business leadership is prioritizing their well-being, helping them achieve better work-life balance and supporting their professional development, it can help improve their job satisfaction and enhance retention. In a Robert Half survey, 86% of workers said the ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance is tied to their job satisfaction, while 77% said fair workloads is a key factor.

Develop and deploy a flexible staffing strategy—with help from Robert Half

Get hiring help Robert Half can help you look at all your staffing needs from a big-picture perspective. We can advise you on what mix of talent solutions your business needs, including contract professionals, permanent staff, project resources and consulting solutions. We can even help you find remote employees with access to virtual workspaces and secure virtual private network (VPN) connections. After assessing your situation and identifying your needs, we can move quickly to help cut your hiring process from weeks to days—or, in some cases, hours. Robert Half gives you the gift of time as you navigate today’s challenging business environment. Our recruiting professionals handle all the details of hiring, including interviews, technical skills evaluations and soft skills reviews. They can also help determine if a candidate is likely to thrive in your unique organizational culture. Ready to adopt a flexible staffing strategy for your business? Robert Half is here to help. Contact us today to tell us about your hiring needs.