CW managers are growing in popularity. Gone are the days when these professionals had to explain what they were doing and what contingent workforce management meant. Today, this well-educated group of CW managers is in demand looking for the next step for themselves and often their programs. So as is common elsewhere in the staffing industry, turnover among those managing the programs is rather high. But it’s not like these folks are switching careers, instead they leave to start up a new program somewhere else or to tackle another spend category within their own company. This turnover creates a constant need for more education at varying levels of CW management.

As CW program managers move to other roles, they bring with them expectations on how a CW program should be managed. This may have something to do with why we are seeing more RFPs for services inclusive of statement-of-work (SOW) and global implementations. If you managed a program that was global and included SOW it makes sense you want to start off with that kind of program in your next job.

So this movement of CW managers is expanding the arena which in turn raises questions on program size and complexity. Is bigger better? If a program is very complex, questions arise such as whether the management of the program as a whole should be separate or whether individual specialists should manage the different deliverables. Specialization becomes less important as your program team gains more experience with the various components of the program. This allows the CW team to learn and develop a career path that can keep them engaged for the long term.

Many are passionate about the management of the contingent workforce, and that passion has been built up from years of learning about the industry and honing best practices to run the best program in town. This passion is something that lingers among attendees of our CWS Summit and CW Risk forum. It is a great experience talking with peers who are knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, those who will share their experiences and war stories so that other may learn and succeed taking the profession to a whole new level.

To help the growing need for more education on this topic is Staffing Industry Analysts’ Certified Contingent Workforce Professional program. This year there will be more of a buzz as we unveil the details at our conferences. At your end, keep your expectations high to increase the exposure of your teams. If they are educated, armed and professional, it will be easier to expand programs and be noticed by executive leadership as best-in-class CW management professionals.