7 Reasons Why Only Relying on Part-Time Workers May Not Be Efficient Anymore

Part-time Workers vs Casual/Gig Workers

The modern business landscape is characterised by rapid changes, technological advancements, and evolving workforce dynamics. As a result, traditional employment models are being reshaped, and businesses are turning to casual workers to meet their staffing needs. So what is the difference between casual workers compared to part-timers?

Traditional part time workers and gig workers are distinct in terms of their employment arrangements, where traditional part-time workers are typically still considered as contract staff while gig workers akin to freelancers (but also different), provide more flexibility towards both the employers as well as the workers.

While both part-time workers and gig workers have their merits, we’ve compiled 5 compelling reasons why your business should start leveraging the gig economy in Singapore.

1) On-Demand Manpower With Low Lead Time

On many occasions, businesses find themselves in need of urgent manpower at the very last minute. This could be due to various factors from employees calling in sick, no shows, or due to unforeseen circumstances leading to a need of extra manpower. Finding an eligible and capable workforce to fill this gap in such a short time is daunting and costly.

However, with flexible workers, there’s a ready pool that is accessible to be activated within a short lead time. It is possible to find the manpower you need in 1 - 2 days.

Scenario: A Retail  company is participating in the annual IT fair in 2 days and they’re seeing that the pre-registration for their promotion exceeds initial forecasts. Seeing that there is a possibility of high turn ups, they’re looking to deploy more Event Helpers to help with the rise in demand. Leveraging flexible casual workers, they’re able to find the manpower they need for their event to run smoothly.

Did you know?
There is a rise in need of on-demand manpower with lead times decreasing over the years. We have managed to hit a fulfilment percentage of 83% for our clients that needed urgent manpower within 1 - 2 days lead time.
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2) Better Cost Efficiency

Hiring casual gig workers can be a cost-effective solution for businesses, especially when compared to maintaining a workforce of part-time employees.

Freelance workers operate on a project basis, allowing businesses to pay only for the work completed during the time of deployment. This flexibility in payment aligns labour costs with the actual output and helps businesses optimise their budgets, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty and seasonal demands.

The cost savings associated with hiring gig workers extend beyond payroll expenses. Businesses can also reduce overhead costs related to office space, equipment, and utilities as these workers are only deployed when needed. This optimises your business spending by reducing wastage and increasing spending efficiency.
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3) Highly Adaptable Labour

Given the nature of gig work, workers tend to bounce around different industries and jobs as they’re not contracted to a job. This exposes them to a wide array of experience and skills which can then be tapped in to get useful insights. These workers are also highly adaptable and they’ve honed soft skills through their experience which makes them highly valuable in the gig economy.

When dealing with blue-collar gig jobs, there is a need for the jobs to be easily picked up. These jobs do not usually require niche skills or prior experience to perform. Gig workers are usually familiarised with basic operation processes and expectations within the first few hours of their first day on the gig itself.

In the event that there is a need for casual workers with niche skills or training, proper screening and training processes can also be put in place to facilitate this.

Scenario: A chain of supermarkets were looking to deploy casual workers as Grocery Shoppers for their ecommerce orders. This requires the gig workers to be proficient in using their system to view, pick, and complete orders. There are also processes that workers are required to familiarise themselves with. Given the frequency and headcount needed per day, they decided to outsource the training process to us to manage. We have trained over 7,000 Grocery Shoppers with an average fulfilment rate of 90% for the gig.

Did you know?
According to our data, 90% of our gig workers return to work for gigs that they were previously deployed to. This decreases the need to retrain workers and it helps companies build a dependable recurring gig workforce.
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4) Build An Agile Blended Workforce

There are many ways to leverage the gig economy, depending on the needs of your business.
Businesses can choose to engage gig workers on a project-by-project basis, scaling their workforce up or down according to their needs. Some companies integrate gig workers into their daily manpower needs, building a blended workforce that is agile and highly adaptable.

Scenario: Company A runs multiple events throughout the year and the manpower needed is highly dependent on the number of exhibitors and guests attending the event. They depend on flexible gig workers during these event periods, building a dependable and recurring blended workforce.
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5) Access A Diverse Pool Of Untapped Workforce

The gig economy provides businesses with access to a diverse pool of flexible gig workers. This means that businesses have access to a database of flexible casual workers with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. The demographics of these workers are highly unique which does not overlap with your part-time, full-time, and contract workforce.

Many of these casual workers are individuals that are only able to commit to work according to their schedule. This extends to stay-home-mums, senior workers, students, employed adults looking to earn a side income, and frictional unemployed workers.

Some part-time jobs require a minimum commitment per week which may not be ideal for individuals in this demographic. They are looking for something they can do constantly or sporadically in their free time which is sometimes limited to only a couple of hours.

In conclusion, while part-time workers continue to play an essential role in many businesses, the rise of gig workers presents an opportunity for companies to optimise hiring efficiency, access a diverse demographic of job seekers, reduce costs, and stay agile in an ever-changing business landscape. 

Integrating the gig economy as a core component of your business workforce strategy enables you to tap into the strengths of both part-time employees and gig workers to create a well-rounded and adaptable workforce. This hybrid approach allows companies to stay ahead in a dynamic, competitive, and ever-changing recruitment landscape.

The benefits of enabling or integrating a flexible gig workforce can be easily done with the help of the FastGig team. As the only platform in Singapore that offers a one-stop fully managed service for employers looking to explore the benefits of gig workers, our solution ensures your business gets the manpower you need hassle-free. We manage the sourcing, screening, onboarding, attendance, and payroll so you don’t have to.

Get in touch with us here and we’ll assign a dedicated account manager to assist you personally.