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[ 4 ] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | MAY 2014 One of the best things to come out of the recession is the rise of contingent labor. Silver lining perhaps, but its growth is undeniable. Only 12 to 14 percent of the average total workforce was considered contingent pre-recession in 2007-2008, according to Christopher Dwyer, research director for Ardent Partners. Fast forward to 2014 and that number skyrockets to 26 percent. It's apparent that during the tough economic times, organizations found value in supplementing their workforce with contract labor. These workers are able to fill the gap and bring a hard-to-find level of expertise for specialty projects without the expense of a full-time worker. Ardent Partners report that contingent labor is set to increase by 30 percent over the next three years—with 62 percent of respondents finding contingent workers a vital part of their workforce. That's the main reason we deem them the king of the workforce on our cover. While the benefits of working with contract workers are tangible, there are challenges that come along with managing them. Inside these pages, you'll find the guidelines you need to make contingent labor work for your organization. If you are considering leveraging a managed service program (MSP) provider for your contingent labor, be sure to review our annual Baker's Dozen Customer Satisfaction Rankings on page 12. You'll find out what firm tops 2014's list as rated by their customers, and can learn more about the services they provide to see if they are indeed a good fit for your organization. Perhaps a total workforce solution—managing both full-time and part-time workers under the same umbrella—is already on your radar. In fact, Ardent Partners finds this solution to be the top development for this industry. In a recent survey, 57 percent of respondents said they think the industry will evolve into a total workforce solution in the next two years because of the total visibility and performance tracking that it offers. Advice on this and other industry trends can be found in Sometimes It Is Rocket Science on page 8. Another consideration is how the small to mid-size market can ride the MSP tide. While SMBs can equally benefit from the visibility, cost savings, and compliance that MSP delivers, scalability is often the issue. Getting Into The Game on page 29 offers some unique solutions for making it work. We also examine the often-tricky nature of managing statement-of-work (SOW). SOWs are those highly skilled workers that are brought on to complete specific projects, working on a freelance basis. But they can be tough to classify and pricing structures vary depending on the nature of the project. Declaring Independent Workers on page 25 gives an outline on how to classify your workers, and Too Much to Manage? on page 30 argues that a vendor management system delivers compliance, consistency, efficiency, visibility, and auditability for SOW workers. Looks like this king will be reigning supreme for years to come. Editor's Note CEO: Elliot H. Clark Elliot.Clark@SharedXpertise.com Editorial Director: Bill Hatton Bill.Hatton@SharedXpertise.com Executive Editor: Debbie Bolla Debbie.Bolla@SharedXpertise.com Managing Publisher: Gale Tedeschi Gale.Tedeschi@SharedXpertise.com Publisher: Bill MacRae Bill.MacRae@SharedXpertise.com Vice President of Research: Larry Basinait Larry.Basinait@SharedXpertise.com Associate Editor: Audrey Roth Audrey.Roth@SharedXpertise.com Webmaster: Michael Fernandez webmaster@SharedXpertise.com Subscription services: For subscriptions, renewals, changes, and back issues, e-mail subscriptions@SharedXpertise.com. About HRO Today magazine HRO Today Magazine [ISSN #1541-3551] is published [10x] by SharedXpertise, LLC © 2014. All Rights reserved. URL: www.HROToday.com. Editorial correspondence and press releases: Debbie Bolla, Executive Editor, SharedXpertise, 123 S. Broad Street, Suite 1930, Philadelphia, PA 19109 or editorial@ SharedXpertise.com. All letters should include the writer's e-mail address and/or phone number. Business and advertising correspondence: SharedXpertise, 123 S. Broad Street, Suite 1930, Philadelphia, PA 19109, 215-606-9520. Subscriber services: SharedXpertise, 123 S. Broad Street, Suite 1930, Philadelphia, PA 19109, 215-606-9520, Fax: 276-800-2701 or e-mail subscriptions@SharedXpertise.com. Reprints: Contact Foster Printing Service, 866-879-9144 or sales@fosterprinting.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to SharedXpertise, 123 S. Broad Street, Suite 1930, Philadelphia, PA 19109. Fax: 276-800- 2701. Canada post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. This magazine cover is printed on 80# Influence Recycled gloss and the inside pages on 50# Influence Recycled gloss, both with 10% post-consumer recycled content. Debbie Bolla Executive Editor All Hail to the King