The world of work is constantly changing, becoming more consumer-led and digital-led. With on average 41.5% of a modern workforce made up of non-employees, contingent talent is more crucial than ever. This stat alone demonstrates the growing need for an agile workforce. Organisations need to adapt to the evolving work environment by putting talent at the forefront of their business and embracing new technology to enable them to drive organisational growth and give them a competitive advantage.
In this final instalment of our state of contingent workforce management blog series, we explore the ways a business can share the benefits experienced by the best-in-class contingent workforce management (CWM) performers (as explored in our second instalment of this series) through a number of approaches that combine a relative balance of strategies, solutions, mindsets and competencies.
General contingent workforce management recommendations
To truly benefit from the inherent power within a contingent workforce management (CWM) programme, businesses must reimagine how they engage and acquire talent and address how work is done.
Taken and summarised from 'The State of Contingent Workforce Management 2018-2019: The Pursuit of an Agile Workforce' report, the following recommendations are to designed to help maximise productivity and value across all aspects of CWM as organisations continue to work towards a better alignment of employee and non-employee talent within this shifting world of work.
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Establish a culture of enterprise flexibility
Although the new world of work is driven by innovative approaches to both talent and technology, truly preparing for continuous solutions and the transformation of business processes and operations starts by simply establishing a culture of “flexibility” across the organisation: flexible thinking in terms of how work is done, flexible talent engagement that promotes depth and quality over costs/budgets, and flexible insights that support agile decision-making.
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Educate key internal stakeholders on the value of centralised SOW and services management
The world of work may be evolving rapidly, but the principles of SOW and services remain the same. Internal stakeholder resistance and a general lack of administrative focus have an adverse effect on the significant cost and visibility benefits of proper SOW/services management. Resistance to SOW and services under the CWM programme banner puts the monitoring and tracking of project-based spend or key delivery dates and milestones at great risk.
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Embrace the business-shifting changes of the new world of work
It can be easy for the veteran business leader to disregard global changes and while it is true that not every new strategy or new platform goes according to plan, these executives must acknowledge that this new world of work is formed from the basis of transformational thinking and innovative technology. The ability to manage the convergence of agility, talent, and technology in the world of work can deliver better business outcomes.
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Promote agility as the key benefit of an enhanced CWM operation
The drive for agility is real: 81% of today’s businesses want to be more agile. Contingent workforce management today can bring true strategic value, as developments in talent engagement strategies, analytics and reporting will enable greater planning, control, and visibility. The end result: the ability to make better business decisions that support long-term strategies.
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Understand that any CWM transformation project requires a multi-phased approach
It can be exciting when businesses realise the great value of new technology and new solutions in building a more agile workforce and ultimately, a more agile business. However, they must first master the more traditional elements of CWM, such as staffing supplier management and SOW/services management before developing a plan to integrate next-generation technologies.
Next-level recommendations
The businesses that have adapted to the new world of work and its key elements are ready for what the future will bring them. The following points of guidance will assist these organisations in continuing to drive innovative strategies for talent attraction, acquisition and engagement and in turn, achieve business objectives and maximise business outcomes:
- Develop a long-term talent acquisition strategy that accounts for an increased use of digital staffing
- Plan for near or complete digital transformation within a three-year window
- Prepare for “moderate” utilisation of artificial intelligence
How can I put these recommendations into practice?
The above points are for key consideration and if you want explore their true value in attaining a more agile workforce and building highly successful contingent workforce programs, download our 'State of Contingent Workforce Management 2018-2019: The Pursuit of an Agile Workforce' report, produced in collaboration with Ardent Partners research and analysts.
The report examines the recommendations in greater depth enabling you to effectively plan for the changing world of work. The report also provides insights to the talent experience and external factors shaping the world of work.
Further reading
If you haven’t read the first two installments of our ‘State of Contingent Workforce Management’ blog series you can find them below.
In our first blog ‘The evolution of work: moving towards a digital, agile future’ we investigate the impact digital technology and innovation are having on the world of work.
In the second blog ‘Best-in-class contingent workforce management’ we look at key learnings from the approaches and strategies employed by the very best in the CWM world and at the same time gives you credible benchmarking data in which to make comparisons to your own CWM programme.
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