Cris Robinson

Cris Robinson has been in the talent space for over 20 years, starting at a contract security firm to working at a managed service provider to her current role as director of LinkedIn’s global contingent workforce (CW) program. Today, she oversees a program that boasts a presence in over 40 countries and includes small business compliance, a CW business partner program and a DE&I program.

As the world began to return to in-office work after the pandemic, Robinson saw an opportunity to engage more contingent workers and spearheaded a remote-first contractor initiative in the US. In under two years, the program has resulted in 84% of contractors working remotely, a 33% increase in contractors staying for the full duration of their assignment and increased engagement among women and Black and Latino workers.

Moving forward, Robinson sees multiple avenues to strengthen and grow the program, including leveraging total talent to build agility in the organization’s extended workforce, expanding eLearning knowledge programs for all internal program users and continued investment in LinkedIn’s CW business partner program. Noting that CW taxonomy is different at various companies — and even between different internal departments — she also has her eye on standardizing definitions to increase effective communication between LinkedIn and its partner companies. Most importantly, Robinson aims to continue leading with a skills-first approach to help engage a wider, more diverse talent pool.