A flexible workforce plays a crucial role in business success, even in the current period of economic uncertainty and global financial crisis, according to Professor Jutta Rump, director of the Institute for Employment and Employability (IEE).

Rump says: “We mustn’t fool ourselves. The longer the crisis lasts, the more frequently companies will resort to redundancies. This is a constant and imminent threat hanging over our heads.”

Rump urges companies to “ensure they have a committed and qualified workforce” even in times of crisis and that they refrain from immediately resorting to redundancies. She adds that it would also make sense to recruit strong candidates with specialist skills “from outside” on a temporary basis to deploy in projects where the core workforce may lack the relevant know-how and expertise.

Rump also recommends that companies should actively involve temporary staffing agencies in their strategic planning at an early stage and not only react when they are on the lookout for qualified employees.