In tough economic times, businesses adopt ever-more innovative approaches to established business processes such as resourcing and funding, which was evident at a recent round-table I attended on business growth and innovation, hosted by the Institute of Directors (IoD).
I believe one of my company's key approaches to growth it our innovative approach to resourcing. Being a small company it can be a struggle to compete with larger firms for the top talent so supplementing our core nucleus of talented staff with team members from our pool of 1000+ freelance associates provides us with the additional knowledge and skills needed to successfully accomplish a project, as and when we require it, without the stress of managing a significant step up in overheads.
I also believe that it means we can be more ambitious with our growth plans and react to new opportunities quicker. This is really key in the compliance industry as our clients rely on us, both for the reassurance that their systems and processes are compliant and providing good outcomes, and to provide remediation if consumer detriment is found. Neither of these can afford to be delayed, particularly in the face of increased regulatory scrutiny.
There are challenges with using this type of resourcing model. Often the ones who play in the subcontractor market are people who are coming to an age in their life where they want to have a different lifestyle, so you are reliant on a small sector of the population and the demand for their specialist skills and knowledge is already quite high.
However, our associates contribute a huge amount of experience and enthusiasm to TCC, with many returning contract after contract to help us deliver the exceptional service that TCC prides its self on. We recognise that that good working relationships involve reciprocal action and have worked hard to create an inclusive environment where associates can grow and achieve their own career goals, which in turn, brings additional skills into the company.