Remote contract work is becoming the new norm in the wake of global events. So much so that now, 16% of firms only bring on workers through remote means. Are you ready to get involved in this process by bringing in more contractors?
You will want to centralise your hiring process to ensure a well-organised hiring process, but do you know how? If you are unsure, read on for advice that will help you to boost your global supply network. Global remote workers are the workers of the future, so what have you got to lose?
Identify Your Needs First
Before you start work on your global supply chains, you should examine your reasons for doing exactly that. As you continue, you should compare the steps you take to these needs. This prevents extraneous work and wastage from affecting your attempts to hire.
Another benefit this gives you is the ability to communicate what your intentions are to potential stakeholders. This way, when you start the centralization process, you will have more buy-in from your colleagues and superiors. It will prevent bottlenecks or hesitation, allowing you to move forward with very few issues.
When you know what you need, make sure to let others know so they can help you:
Communicate the Changes
When attempting to centralize your global industry supply, you should make sure everybody knows all the steps that are to happen. Aim to work in a way that is open, honest, and transparent. By communicating in such a way, others will trust you to continue the project without the need to micromanage or ask persistent questions.
Such openness can also cover you if things start to go wrong and you need a paper trail. This way, you can have the assurance that everyone had the information they needed to prevent any problems on their end.
Finally, if everyone is an open book then you can begin to learn from how others handle situations:
Learn From Experience
Before you centralize your contractor global supply network, you should take a look at the existing organization. Such large businesses have many different moving parts, each with a legacy of self-learning.
Talk to the people with expertise in each of these areas of the company. Their experience over several years is likely to be invaluable as you try to establish a centrally-managed hiring process.
If you do not, you are likely to find out the hard way that every area you work with has its nuances. Even if you are not replacing the role of these areas, you should aim to have an understanding of how they function. As a manager, you should try to do this as you integrate all facets of the supply chain into your work.
There is also the chance that in these other areas there will be people with a strong understanding of their current environment. Be aware that centralization may cause them to rethink their careers. So, it would be good to pick their brains before they have the opportunity to leave for greener pastures.
Other people in your company can also help you understand the deals and contracts that are already in place:
Analyze Your Existing Relationships
The relationships that your company, or your sources, have built up over the years could be beneficial to you. Then again, they may be dead weight. When looking at where you get your contractors from, take a look at all your sources and see if others exist.
You may find that some of your sources are in place because of legacy relationships with other areas of the chain. Or, there may be other reasons for the chain to not include better deals. It may be that some will not function after you make changes to align yourself with a centralized global supply chain management system.
You should empower yourself to make or renew contracts with external suppliers as and when is necessary. This will make sure that your global industrial supply is both well-managed and inexpensive.
Avoid Disruption Through Multisourcing
When building your global supply chains, make sure not to put all your eggs in one basket. You should ensure that you at least have available connections should your primary suppliers fail.
In the modern world, global supply chains can be beset by several different external forces. Global conflict, pandemics, and other issues can cause bottlenecking or supply problems at any time.
This also helps you if you ever have a much higher need for any contractors in a particular field. You can have the assurance that more of them will be able to apply if you open up the floodgates a little further.
Be Agile
During the process to centralize your global supply network, you should expect things to go wrong. Unforeseen problems will crop up, or you will learn that you have made an error somewhere in the process.
You should prepare to roll with these punches and iterate your centralization process. When something goes wrong, step back, introspect on what went wrong, and come back with a solution that allows you to grow.
You will realize fast that there will be issues with an oversupply of potential contractor CVs, as well as shortages in other areas. Many solutions exist for you to resolve these issues, and experts have written about this issue at length elsewhere. So, with a little bit of research, you should be able to prevent problems as soon as they crop up.
More on Global Supply Chains
After reading this, you should now have a much higher level of understanding when it comes to contractor global supply chains. Still, there is always more to learn, and you could always do with a helping hand. Lucky for you, we are here to offer you professional consultancy when it comes to Contractor Management.
Our team has expertise on local and overseas options, as well as how best to integrate them into your existing workforce. If you want more information, do not hesitate to get in touch. So, let us know your needs today.
