A recurring theme within the scope of the modern contingent workforce program is “talent first.” With more and more freelance, contract, and non-traditional talent holding the skill sets required for enterprises to gain competitive edges and drive true business value, the next-generation contingent workforce management (CWM) program centers not only around spend management, but talent management, as well.
Ardent Partners recently developed the “360-Degree Contingent Workforce Management Program,” a concept that leverages key competencies from the Contingent Workforce Management Framework to help enterprises build a multi-faceted, multi-layered program that can effectively address the intricate nuances of contemporary contingent workforce management.
One key area of the 360-Degree CWM Program, talent management, is fast-becoming just as critical a measure as spend or supplier management. For enterprises to truly traverse the vast complexities of modern contingent workforce management and ensure that they are driving value out of their talent, they should look to the following capabilities:
- Social media strategy / approach for finding and engaging new talent. Social media remains an ideal, modernized tool for finding and engaging contract talent. Enterprise can harness the power of social platforms such as LinkedIn or Twitter to find trends that match the greater organization’s corporate idealogy, and then dig a bit to find subject matter experts or freelancers that could possibly be utilized in a contract or temporary position.
- Formalized program for bringing retirees and alumni into the enterprise on a contract basis. While traveling last week, I found myself standing in a long security line at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. The gentleman behind me, a 60-something former CFO from Tennessee, struck up a conversation and told me that even though he retired a few years ago, his old company still relies on him once a quarter to fly out and assist in critical financial projects. The theme here is that, sometimes, the best talent is comprised of those individuals that had once made their way through the enterprise. Companies that formalize processes regarding the utilization of these resources are the ones that avoid common risks (labor compliance! Spend visibility!) that befall organizations that have a strong emotional link to contract talent that is “already known.”
- Capability to forecast talent (talent forecasting). In baseball, each team maintains a bullpen of pitchers that can be utilized at any point in the game for situational reasons (right-handed batter, number of men on base, etc.), and even big-league managers are fast-becoming known for embracing Big Data. In the business world, understanding future situations (upcoming projects, significant initiatives, etc.) and specific needs for talent can help enterprises accurately forecast…which can go a long ways towards being better-prepared when those projects pop up and aligning the right resources.
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