Better safe than sorry!

Blended workforce models are on their way. Is your Sales Team ready?

My colleagues here at Gi Group Holding published a research report called Flex the Mould a couple of months back. It looks at how workforce structure, design and planning are having to evolve (increasingly rapidly) as disruptive forces impact the global labour market.

And when I say this, you might ask What’s going on? Should I be concerned? The answer is YES. But not in the context of worry or panic, rather in acknowledging that factors like skills shortages, rapid technological advancement, integration of robotics into work processes and geopolitical challenges have all changed the way we need to scout, recruit and retain the best talent in our teams. And this applies across entire organisations, even though in this article I want to focus on my colleagues in sales and the work they are doing.

So if we look at how businesses are currently implementing blended (or fluid) workforce models (mixing permanent, temporary, freelance and outsourced talent) in the sales sector, there are three key challenges that come to mind:

Maintaining Consistent Customer Experience Blended teams often involve workers with different levels of product knowledge, loyalty and access to systems. Ensuring that customers receive a seamless, brand-aligned experience across all touchpoints—whether they interact with a full-time account manager or a contracted sales rep—can be difficult. In this area, successful, disruption-resilient sales teams (their leadership) will need to invest in consistent communication efforts to make sure that access to necessary information is given across all roles (regardless of whether internal vs. external) to ensure the customer does not feel any impact from the blended team model.

Data Integration and Performance Tracking Sales operations depend heavily on CRM data, conversion metrics and customer insights. When multiple workforce types use different tools or reporting processes, data silos emerge. This makes it hard to evaluate performance, forecast accurately or reward results fairly. So again, in our future blended model teams, we have to plan for a tolerable, impactful degree of openness in information and data sharing so that employees can monitor trends and gather critical insights regardless of their contractual standing (unless, of course, confidentiality provisions in contracts place limits on information disclosure).

Alignment, Culture and Compliance Temporary or outsourced staff may not fully share the company’s culture or compliance mindset. Aligning all contributors with internal sales ethics, pricing policies and market regulations requires structured onboarding and continuous oversight. On top of that, leaders of blended teams in sales can also take steps to ensure inclusion of employees across types of employment arrangements. Some of the most effective ways, so far, include set-up and active use of shared learning and communication spaces (including CRM dashboards); embedding common values and ethical standards in all contracts and work agreements ensuring that temp or gig workers alongside permanent staff know that they represent the organisation and its overarching values in their day-to-day behaviour; and use of peer recognition and active inclusion models across employee categories. By celebrating and recognising the achievements of gig workers or agency sales teams just as you would internal employees, you build team cohesion across the blended workforce that your business will increasingly need.

These are just some first steps from my end. Development of blended workforce models is on the tip of the tongues of many in our teams at Gi Group Holding and it will likely remain there for the foreseeable future, as demand for blended team models grows. At the moment, market data from sources like Capgemini Research Institute show that only 8% of jobs in sales and marketing (in organisations they surveyed) have so far been filled by fluid workers, but this will soon change. With markets like India and the US leading "fluid workforce adoption" at the quickest rates (at the country level), the rest of us will need to pick up pace in catching them. The best way to do this is to ensure employees understand that they are part of the team no matter what type of work arrangement they have and no matter what approved methods they use to deliver results. In the end, it’s the results that matter.