Editor’s Note: Ardent’s resident contingent workforce management (CWM) expert and research director, Christopher Dwyer, is set to launch the exciting next iteration of his annual State of Contingent Workforce Management research study. He encourages you to spend 15 minutes of your time participating in the 2014-2015 State of Contingent Workforce Management online survey by clicking here. It is critical that your voice be heard in this evolving industry. All survey participants will receive a complimentary copy of the resulting research report, which will be available in early October.

Industries change and evolve. The business world reacts. Enterprises that fail to keep up are left in the dust. The cycle repeats, etc.. The contemporary contingent workforce is a perfect example of this concept – it wasn’t too long ago (five or six years ago) that companies across the globe were treating this arena as if it were another simple indirect spend category to manage in a non-strategic manner.

Times have changed and the CWM world is nearing its apex; no longer can the average enterprise force their contract talent management approaches to the backseat of the greater corporate strategy. The upcoming State of Contingent Workforce Management research study, slated for publication this fall, will address several hot-button issues, including:

• The evolution of complex contingent labor. Ever since the “perfect storm” began to rumble within the modern enterprise, CWM program leads have turned their focus to managing SOW-based projects and professional services, perhaps the “hottest” area of this space. Unlike traditional temporary labor, complex contingent labor entails a variety of strategies, including a balance between workforce and spend management principles. The new State of Contingent Workforce Management research report will address next-generation means for how companies are managing this area and related solutions that are paving the way.
• The impact of Ardent’s Contingent Workforce Management Framework. The first iteration of Ardent’s annual State of CWM research report introduced a groundbreaking concept: the Contingent Workforce Management Framework, which has been utilized since its inception in helping enterprises build effective capabilities for managing all facets of modern contingent labor (SOW, services, staffing suppliers, independent contractors, etc.). The 2014-2015 edition of the research report will detail the impact of the Framework and expand its inner-workings to accurately portray how the next great CWM program should be designed.
• The three-year outlook for contingent workforce management. What will the CWM space look like in just a few years? How will enterprises further address the consistent evolution of this industry? What role will technology play in the total impact of contingent labor?
• Total workforce optimization / management, non-traditional workforce sources and the technologies that connect enterprises to talent. Beyond the hot-button issues in the contingent workforce management world are the concepts that will take this space well into the future. New, exciting sources of talent are cropping up all around the average organization, from social networks to extended talent pools to online labor marketplaces, and it is critical to centralize control and management over these non-traditional talent sources. Similarly, the role of total workforce management (total talent management) is gaining more steam within the industry as more and more business professionals attempt to blend strategies and solutions for managing traditional and non-traditional talent.

Click here to participate in the online survey. It’ll only take 15 minutes of your time, and you’ll be helping to shape what will be the landmark contingent workforce management research study of the year.

RELATED ARTICLES

The Age of Socially-Sourced Talent in CWM

The Three Goals Every CWM Program Should Strive For

Procurement’s Evolution (Part IV): Convergence with Contingent Workforce Management

Tagged in: Ardent Partners Research, Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Contingent Workforce