workforce agility in uncertain times: impact on finance teams.

Finance teams are under pressure in 2025, and workforce agility is becoming an increasingly important solution. Between budget freezes, shifting compliance demands, and mounting workloads, leaders are turning to flexible staffing models that augment permanent roles with temporary staff to maintain performance without increasing headcount.

Agile workforces allow firms to quickly adapt to changing business priorities while reducing risk and maintaining continuity. This strategy was crucial for stability during the pandemic – and amid ongoing uncertainty, agile finance workforces have become a new normal.

why workforce agility matters in finance.

Today, 1 in 3 finance organizations rely on flexible staffing models that blend temporary and contract labor with a core workforce of full-time professionals. This is becoming especially crucial as 83% of finance leaders report a talent shortage that threatens organizational stability.

With a gig economy expected to triple by 2032, scalable talent models can help finance leaders tap into diverse talent pools that meet workers where they are. This not only reduces workloads on full-time staff, but also helps source talent with in-demand skill sets in data analysis, digital transformation, and more.

workforce agility reduces pressure on full-time finance teams

Across finance and accounting roles, unpredictable project loads are the norm. Finance professionals may put in 65 hours a week during tax season, and other projects such as audits and M&A can create peaks in demand. In uncertain economies, market volatility can increase demand for forecasts and strategic insights to inform decision-making.

Flexible staffing can help support accounting teams during busy season, and meet demand for projects that fall outside of the scope of day-to-day operations.

temporary workers bring new skill sets

Digital transformation and a complex regulatory environment create increased demand for skills like ERP implementation and compliance reporting. AI and automation are also revolutionizing the industry, changing the nature of many finance roles. Yet, almost three-fourths of finance leaders report skills shortages, especially in data analytics and critical thinking.

Temporary and contract workers offer a new talent pool for in-demand skills, allowing leaders to bridge knowledge gaps and upskill their core workforce.

additional support reduces attrition risk

Today, 83% of workers see work-life balance as their most important motivator – and finance’s reputation for long hours is driving away new talent. Tax and accounting firm Sassetti has adopted a firmwide program designed to reduce the maximum workload to 50 hours a week during busy season, and many others are following suit.

Part of that effort involves outsourcing additional work to temporary and contingent staff to ensure core staff aren’t overworked and to reduce the risk of attrition during surges in demand.

However, workforce agility is about more than hiring volume – it’s also about strategically filling roles based on your organization's talent gaps.

strategic roles for contract finance professionals.

Finance workers are often expected to wear many hats to meet evolving organizational demand. In some cases, it’s a good opportunity to learn new skills – but in other cases, it can spread teams thin. Building a successful agile workforce involves evaluating skills gaps in your current workforce to understand how temporary workers can have the greatest impact on operational and project success.

operational roles

Temporary workers can offer ongoing support for operational roles, freeing up your core for project-based work. This can include contingent workers such as:

• Interim controllers to help manage day-to-day accounting operations
• Payroll specialists to ensure timely, compliant processing
• FP&A consultants for strategic planning and analysis

The ongoing nature of these roles makes them a perfect fit for temp-to-hire strategies, as they allow employers to evaluate the value of additional workers in day-to-day operations.

project-based hires

Organizations with efficient, highly skilled operational teams may find it more useful to hire specialized workers for project-based roles. This can include things like:

• Financial coordinators and data analysts for audit prep
• Regulatory compliance experts for SEC reporting
• Data scientists for risk modeling

Project-based hires can be particularly useful for non-standard projects that fall outside of normal operations. This includes things like digital transformation initiatives, where a specialized combination of tech and finance talent is crucial.

how to enable workforce agility with a scalable finance talent model.

Charles Handy’s “Age of Unreason” lays out a labor framework for scalable talent that’s increasingly relevant in today’s economic landscape. It relies on three sets of workers: a core team of full-time employees, a flexible team of temporary staff, and a “contractual fringe” that includes partnerships with other organizations.

This keeps the fixed cost of full-time workers down, while allowing for spikes in variable workforce spending during peak demand. It also reduces the risk of future layoffs when market demand dips.

However, temporary staff and permanent workers don’t have to be exclusive categories. Instead, leaders can use temp-to-hire approaches to evaluate the full-time potential of temporary and fractional workers on the job. This gives employers a testing ground for future full-time staff to reduce the risk of making the wrong hire.

best practices for a scalable finance workforce.

Workforce agility is a significant competitive advantage, but it can also be tricky to navigate. Effective talent models rely on strategies that lay the groundwork for success, including:

Knowledge transfer between perm and contract staff: Onboarding and training strategies that include temporary staff will position them for success. Enlisting temporary staff for tasks like process documentation can improve existing procedures, and make it easier to evaluate their potential for full-time roles.

Use agile planning and digital workflow tools: Tools like Randstad’s talent intelligence can help you map the skills on your team for agile planning that responds to market trends. Digital workflow tools can standardize how you hire, manage, and pay contract talent to reduce the administrative burden on payroll teams.

Protect compliance and audit trail integrity: Clear documentation for all financial processes is crucial, regardless of who performs them. Standardized templates and workflow systems that capture approvals and process steps help maintain audit trail integrity.

Staffing partners like Randstad can help you evaluate your current workforce and tap into a labor pool of pre-authorized talent, ensuring fast, compliant hiring for full-time and temporary roles alike.

the future of finance work is agile.

As finance faces increasingly complex demands, the most competitive firms won’t be the ones with the largest teams, but those with the most adaptable workforce. Amid an ongoing talent shortage, temporary and contract talent pools can offer the skills, resources, and expertise that new technologies and unpredictable workloads demand.

For agile workforce solutions tailored to your needs, start a conversation with one of our talent experts today.