Welcome to the second entry in a four-part series designed to discuss the publication of Ardent Partners’ second annual State of Contingent Workforce Management (CWM) research report. The new study, titled A Guidebook to Managing Non-Traditional Talent, was developed and written by Christopher J. Dwyer as the official “handbook” for those organizations seeking guidance and direction in building effective programs for managing all types of contingent labor. To download the new report, click here, here, here, or here.
Ardent Partners’ new State of CWM (its second year in existence, following the landmark 2013 edition) traverses into new and exciting territory, namely, the world of talent. For years, the average company perceived contingent labor (and all of its forms: traditional temporary labor, complex contingent labor, and independent contractors) in a non-strategic manner, often treating it as a simple, indirect spend category that required a minimal level of procurement, sourcing, and financial prowess.
However, the contemporary scope of CWM finds that organizations have a sharp need for talent, skill sets, and high-quality workers that can fuel innovation and greater business growth. In fact, Ardent’s new research report finds that the need for these skill sets (“the talent wars”) is the top hurdle for the typical enterprise, replacing the need to drive cost savings / cost reductions. This mode of thinking is a pure representation of the transformation within this industry, and, as noted in the State of Contingent Workforce Management research report, this transformation doesn’t just end with a focus on talent…it breaks into new dimensions.
The State of Contingent Workforce Management research study finds that total workforce optimization, or total talent management, bridges the gap between traditional (employees and FTEs) and non-traditional (contract workers, services, contractors, freelancers, etc.) talent and allows an enterprise to manage all skill sets and resources under a single, centralized banner of processes, capabilities, and solutions via collaboration and automation.
The very notion of total workforce optimization is one that elicits various responses from companies across the globe. To truly optimize all enterprise talent (no matter the source), organizations must lock down support, engage executives in a buy-in of the concept, integrate key technologies, and link the expertise of procurement and human resources. No easy task, to be certain, but Best-in-Class companies are beginning to embrace total talent management as a link to the future of the contingent workforce by leveraging specific total workforce optimization capabilities, such as linkage between human resources and procurement capabilities / strategies, direct integration between human capital management and CWM technologies (such as Vendor Management Systems, Managed Service Providers, Talent Acquisition, and Recruitment Process Outsourcing), and an executive team that is not only “sold” on the idea of a total workforce optimization / total talent management strategy / approach, but actively provides resources and support when needed.
RELATED ARTICLES
Your Guidebook to Contingent Workforce Management, Part I: Engagement Evolution
The New State is Here: The Evolution of Contingent Workforce Management
Three Talent Management Capabilities That Matter
The Age of Socially-Sourced Talent in CWM
Total Talent Management: Revolutionary Concept…or Impossible Strategy?
