Font Size:
EMPLOYEES VERSUS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: THE APPLICATION OF PRE-EMPTIVE LINEAR GOAL PROGRAMMING TO FIND A SUITABLE STAFFING MODEL
Last modified: 2014-06-26
Abstract
The skills held by the workforce of Technical Engineering Design (TED) companies are the value proposition that TED firms sell to their clients. TED firms typically use a mixed workforce of employees and independent contractors to provide flexibility in resizing their workforce, as customer demand for their services fluctuates. The workforce configuration used affects the daily, strategic and financial sustainability of TED firms, while influencing their competitiveness in winning tenders for new projects. This study developed a pre-emptive linear goal programming model to determine how employment positions should be staffed using employees and/or independent contractors for a local South African division of a global TED firm. A total of 9 dimensions were identified to evaluate the current workforce. The primary dimensions of significance were the corruption risk associated with a skilled position, strategic importance of a skill to the firm, the perceived value of intellectual property held by an employee, and skill retention costs. This study was able to determine a good workforce model of employees and independent contractors, aligned with the specific constraints and strategic workforce objectives that management of the TED firm wished to achieve.
Full Text:
PDF