CWS 3.0: November 19, 2014

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CW managers: Become strategic to stay relevant

The evolving world of work is a hot topic both in the US and abroad, and I’ve spoken several times on the subject recently. My talks have focused not only on how the contingent workforce is becoming a more critical component of how work gets done, but also how the role of contingent workforce management continues to evolve.

I have written about the need to approach the workforce from a strategic standpoint as opposed to a tactical one and how doing so is a necessary step to take a program — not to mention your career — to the next level. In short, suppliers and buyers alike need to understand the contingent workforce, and by extension the CW manager role, is still not treated as relevant at the enterprise level at many companies. This is borne out in hundreds of discussions with senior leaders at provider organizations and contingent workforce managers from across the globe.

That’s why the tactical versus strategic topic is so critical. The war for talent has been a discussion point for the last 20 years, and with the current climate — economic, demographic, social, generational, technological and legislative — this war will leave distinct winners and losers. The company best able to leverage different modes of engagement and be courageous enough to engage workers where they are and how they want to be engaged — and be less tied to traditional employment arrangements — will be the victor.

That’s why it’s critical to move beyond short-term and shortsighted tactical solutions to strategic problems. Cost savings are important, but in the end, they’re not going to provide the basis for a sustainable solution. Process improvement is critical to the success of the program, it’s just table stakes and is to be expected.

In order to win the fight for relevance, all industry players need to move beyond our silos and the us-versus-them mentality, which may service short-term interests but not provide the long-term solution we so often talk about. Together as an industry ecosystem, we need to evangelize how contingent work can make the difference between success or failure in your organization down the road. We are at a unique point in time to fundamentally change the way our kids and our grandkids work. It’s up to all of us to make sure we don’t miss this opportunity in pursuit of erroneous goals.