Editor’s Note: Today’s article is yet another indicator of the evolution of the non-employee workforce. If you don’t have lunch plans for this afternoon, be sure to check out Ardent’s resident contingent workforce management (“CWM”) expert and research director, Christopher J. Dwyer, guest on a complimentary webinar at noon ET. The event, which is hosted and sponsored by online talent platform and Freelancer Management System (“FMS”) provider Work Market, will tackle a variety of interesting aspects of today’s non-employee workforce. Click here to register.
Sports are a fantastic way to “check out” from the world in front of us and enjoy rooting for our favorite teams and players. And, if your local team happens to be making a deep playoff run, it’s even more reason to become invested (we Bostonians have no reason to complain about sports, as you may have heard).
It’s the middle of May, and there are two major sports seasons in the midst of the playoffs (NBA and NHL). However, there is only one team in both leagues that has the potential to make history: the Golden State Warriors. On the cusp of the greatest season in NBA history, let’s take a look at what CWM programs (and other business functions) can learn from the Warriors:
- Like Steph Curry, the eventual MVP of the program (whether it’s technology or an executive role) may take time to develop. It’s easy to look at Curry now as one of the greatest shooters in basketball history, not to mention the fact that he just scored his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award (the NBA’s first-ever unanimous one, to boot). Curry has left a blazing mark on the league over the past few years, and there’s no doubt that his future is incredibly bright, especially considering the Warriors’ continued domination through the playoffs. However, it took Curry several full seasons before realizing his domination. For CWM programs today, the MVP won’t always be front-and-center and producing at this moment, whether it’s a core technology solution (i.e., Vendor Management System, FMS, etc.), functional role (i.e., VP of Human Resources, Chief Procurement Officer, etc.), or the program itself. Technology implementation and integration take time to develop, executive champions often needs months (often years) to boost the strategic importance of non-employee workforce management, and, CWM programs themselves are often intricate and require hundreds of “moving parts” syncing perfectly to eventually capture (and manage) the vast majority of an enterprise’s independent talent. Curry was drafted in 2009 and showed flashes of brilliance during injury-plagued early seasons … however, at this moment, there’s no question that his greatness only took time to truly develop.
- A shift in thinking can often have tremendous results. The Golden State Warriors employ a unique strategy called “small ball,” which promotes speed and agility over physical strength and height. This has allowed them to put “Lineups of Death” on the court; according to FiveThirtyEight, the Warriors’ most popular lineup of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green scored the most points per offensive chance (1.26) of any five-man unit in the NBA, and allowed the 13th-fewest points (0.83). Thus far, no team has been able to fully stop the “Lineups of Death” and the results have shown. For CWM programs, a creative strategy can revolutionize how talent is engaged and ultimately managed. Employing a unique strategy by mixing-and-matching talent sources, instituting new forms of collaboration (beyond just procurement and HR working together), and “blending” technology platforms can be the creative spark that a program needs to drive true value from its non-employee workforce.
- GSW’s “quest for history” is an ideal model to follow. Every basketball fan remembers the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls, who won a record 72 games in the regular season (along with a combined 87-13 mark including the playoffs, another record). The Warriors seemed to falter late in the regular season in matching the Bulls’ record regular season, but they accomplished it on the last day of the season and on their 73rd game. The only way to truly top the Bulls? By winning the title this year. Many critics panned coach Steve Kerr’s strategy of “going for it” and choosing not to rest his players when the top playoff seed was locked up. The lesson here: when greatness is ahead, keep a foot on the gas pedal. The non-employee workforce space is consistently evolving, transforming the way work is done and giving businesses new talent options and management structures. For those CWM programs that want to slow down and not embrace the future, this could be the wrong move. Although some stakeholders may not want to grasp the availability of new technologies, platforms, and talent sources, the best way for today’s enterprises to tap into truly elite talent (and integrate that talent in a quest for global competition) is to never look back and strive for “history.”
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