Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/295251
[ 42 ] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | APRIL 2014 No Longer Temporary A new report outlines a roadmap for leveraging contract workers. By Christopher Dwyer Contingent Labor With the newfound reliance on contingent labor now an accepted slice of a multi-tiered business plan, organizations have found that the simple "fill-and-run" contingent workforce strategy of choosing candidates when or where needed is not the ideal approach to this area. Contingent labor in 2013 was perhaps the most complex supply component that the modern organization leveraged, managed, and utilized. This thought is owed to the fact that that contract talent is split into three very intricate "layers" that each warrant their own specific set of capabilities, processes, strategies, services, and solutions (see sidebar: Contemporary Scope of the Non-Employee Workforce). The need for contract talent is pressing and will continue to rise, but the components of this workforce are growing more complex and require better processes, strategies, and solutions to manage them. Ardent Partners research has determined that that the utilization of contingent labor will increase by nearly 30 percent over the next three years, further cementing the need for more robust capabilities within this arena. It would be easy to dismiss the newfound complexities of contemporary contingent labor, if not for the current marketplace perception of contract talent and what it means for their business plans and achievement of corporate goals and objectives. Ardent Partners research has discovered that 62 percent of organizations cite contingent labor as a vital component in achieving their primary goals and objectives this upcoming year. In the five-plus years since the economic downturn, contract talent has become just as critical as other key components of the average enterprise. There is now recognized value in leveraging a non-employee workforce across enterprise projects and other key internal roles. The contingent workforce is still actively driving corporate value for the modern enterprise and will continue to do so as this type of talent is linked to key organizational objectives. It is no secret that the average workforce is becoming more blended, featuring a mix of traditional employees and contract talent working together for the common good of the greater group. Within this aspect is the rise of "total talent management," a concept that 58 percent of companies in the State of Contingent Workforce Management research survey touted as the top industry-level change to come in the greater scope of contingent workforce management. With contingent labor expected to increase significantly over the next few years, many organizations are focused on utilizing similar strategies and processes from their management of traditional full-time employees into their strategic plan for contract talent. Visibility into overall contingent workforce management is an area that needs improvement for the typical enterprise. Analytics has become one of the more powerful tools in the modern executive's arsenal over the years as the non-employee workforce has evolved. In fact, analytics and reporting rank as critical components of a successful contingent workforce management program as more and more enterprises realize the value of linking contingent workforce data to greater business planning and budgeting. As contract talent continues to be utilized in high-leverage enterprise projects, data and intelligence related to these initiatives becomes more useful in helping understanding total corporate performance. Organizations in this research study echo the vitality of contingent workforce: 51 percent of enterprises believe contingent labor will be relied upon even more in the future as more and more critical enterprise projects utilize this type of talent. As the contingent workforce industry continues to evolve, it becomes critical for enterprises across the globe to build and develop a proper program that can effectively address all layers of contract talent and support the overarching capabilities that link these layers together under a cohesive umbrella and improve performance and corporate value. The contemporary scope of contract talent is rapidly evolving and forcing organizations to institute more complex measures