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Contingent Workforce (CW) Program Game Changers

These forward-thinking contingent workforce management professionals are evolving the global world of contingent work through their innovation, determination, and ability to change the game.

2020 CW Program Game Changers

Adam Barnes

Senior Director Contingent & Technology Labor, Northwestern Mutual

Honoree Profile

Senior Director Contingent and Technology Labor Adam Barnes’ sourcing and procurement team of eight people manages all Northwestern Mutual’s professional service and contingent labor purchases, including the vendors themselves.

Northwestern Mutual recently launched an independent contractor compliance program with a partner. “It is really a different way of managing our labor purchases as far as aggregating the work to one vendor,” Barnes says. It has resulted in both hard and soft savings; instead of managing hundreds of independent contractor contracts individually, they now manage one vendor, which frees the team to focus on more strategic initiatives. It also provides standardized processes for the business and a better experience for ICs in general.

“As an insurance company, we are always looking to mitigate risk and … a compliance partner helps indemnify us against the risks associated with independent contractors,” Barnes says.

Barnes credits his accomplishments in the industry to the people that have managed him in the past and the team currently around him. He has worked in the contingent labor space since 2006, including four years at Northwestern Mutual. “I’m a former athlete and played basketball and baseball in college,” he says. “I know you don’t get anywhere without a team.”

Barnes also supports Northwestern Mutual’s new direct-sourcing model, which is likely to be fully utilized in 2021.