As the non-employee workforce continues to grow, more enterprises are subsequently finding incredible value through the utilization of freelancers, independent contractors, temporary workers, and professional services. However, with this growth is an added responsibility to develop and implement stronger contingent workforce management (CWM) programs that can effectively handle a “balancing act” of various performance and efficiency attributes.

CWM programs have consistently balanced multiple priorities over the years, including costs, visibility, quality, and compliance. The balancing act continues in 2018, although the focal areas have shifted considerably in only a year (after nearly a decade of “cost savings” as the top focal area, both visibility and compliance have come out on top in previous incarnations of Ardent’s annual State of Contingent Workforce Management research series). As highlighted below, today’s CWM programs have four main focal areas for enhancement, improvement, and continued growth/expansion.

1. Enhance overall talent engagement strategies. Talent engagement, as discussed earlier in this report, is the core area of development for any modern business. Talent is, of course, the average enterprise’s prime competitive differentiator, and, as such, talent engagement strategies must account for developments in online staffing (i.e., online talent platforms), changes in generational workforce culture (i.e. Millennials and Gen Z), and the general desire to become a more agile enterprise.
2. Improve Statement-of-Work (SOW) and services procurement/management. SOW and services, referred to as “complex contingent labor” by Ardent Partners, often represents the largest “slice” of any company’s total contingent workforce pool (typically by both headcount and dollars). Legal services, financial services, consultants, and other types of services generate a great deal of spend within the average enterprise, and, to effectively gain visibility into this vast arena and better manage the projects associated with such services, businesses are actively attempting to improve this area via technological support [like Vendor Management System (VMS) technology] or outsourced, third-party assistance (like Managed Service Providers).
3. Better harness business data and intelligence. Business intelligence and the greater strategy known as “Big Data” have contributed to the data renaissance of recent years. In the world of talent and workforce management, “total talent data” is incredibly valuable to assist organizations in executing better-educated talent-based decisions when new projects or initiatives arise. In fact, the very concept of “total workforce management” hinges on the ability to gain total talent visibility. By harnessing data from various systems, including VMS, RPO, eProcurement, and HRIS, and/or enhancing or augmenting it with machine learning, today’s enterprises will be well-positioned to thrive in the new world of work by tapping into on-demand talent that fits the exact requirements of business projects and initiatives.
4. Leverage more innovative technology. Innovation is at hand in nearly every facet of modern business. However, it may be the new world of work that benefits the most from the hottest innovations at hand:
   1. Artificial intelligence is actively mimicking human thinking, helping to push chat-bots into the realm of everyday operational use and transforming enterprises into seamless and holistic machines.
   2. Machine learning, as discussed in the third bullet above, is enhancing the depth and power of data-led insights across a vast repository of systems within the contemporary enterprise, providing real-time insights, on-demand intelligence, and the necessary data to predict talent shortfalls, develop future scenarios, and help business leaders understand the true depth of their talent pools.
   3. Next-era technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), which are still penetrating the consumer world, can have tremendous value in the new world of work. AR can help remote workers enhance collaboration with workers at business headquarters, or even help recruiters and hiring managers give prospective candidates a “taste” of the workplace culture, not to mention assisting with onboarding and training.

Learn more about the evolution of contingent workforce management by downloading the new State of Contingent Workforce Management research study, which also includes deep discussions of the Future of Work, innovation, and other thoughts related to the new world of work.

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Tagged in: Ardent Partners Research, Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Contingent Workforce, Innovation, Predictions, Process, Strategy, Technology