Back in mid-August, the CPO Rising and Ardent Partners teams asked for the world’s participation in our second annual State of Contingent Workforce Management research survey. On the heels of last year’s landmark report and nearly a year of consistent coverage of the contingent workforce management (CWM) technology market, hot new trends and concepts, and the evolving scope of CWM programs, we’re excited to announce that the new “state” is here and publishing imminently.
Today’s CPO Rising article is meant to serve as an official “teaser” for the second annual State of Contingent Workforce Management research report and offer some “sneak peek” highlights of the new research study. The research team at Ardent, and especially me (the report author J), are tremendously excited about this new report and are eager to share it with the world soon enough.
There are, amongst many other aspects, three attributes of this report that will certainly impact the greater CWM industry, including:
- Definitive, market-shifting research on the current and future perception of the many talent sources available today. A major difference between the contingent workforce of just a few years ago and the contingent workforce of today? Talent sources. Online labor marketplaces, freelancer networks, social media and social networks, private talent pools…the world of non-traditional talent has many fresh and new sources of labor. How to wade through them? Stay tuned.
- Specific guidance on perhaps the most evolutionary component of contemporary CWM: total workforce optimization. The realm of total workforce optimization (aka total talent management) has been a concept that has sparked numerous debate over the last year or two, as the idea of “blending” traditional and non-traditional workforce management under the same program may seem to be an impossible strategy for many enterprises. As difficult as it may be to transform two separate strategies into one, centralized approach, the benefits of total workforce optimization are clear, including the perfect alignment of required skill sets and open projects with the talent that best fits the initiative. The State of Contingent Workforce Management report will deep-dive into this concept even further.
- The alignment between technology evolution and the expansion of contingent workforce management programs. Another significant difference in today’s CWM world? The level in which contingent workforce solutions have evolved and the impact they’ve had on enhancing and expanding CWM programs. Agile analytics and business intelligence capabilities, mobile applications, support and automation of complex contingent labor management (i.e., SOW), blending of talent acquisition and supplier management functionalities, integration of social media into contingent workforce management…these advents have certainly transformed how business executives manage and approach non-traditional workforce management, and the upcoming State of Contingent Workforce Management research study will further address the evolution of these technology solutions.
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