Just last week, I had the opportunity to join Atrium and their Chief Revenue Officer, Brad Martin, for an exclusive webcast focused not only on the 2025 trends that will shape the Future of Work, but also the impact of the Managed Service Provider (MSP) model on those areas in the months ahead. Today’s article is the first of a two-part series that will recap Brad and I’s discussion.
The “Strategic” Contingent Workforce Program: A Major Priority for 2025
Nearly 65% of organizations (as discovered by Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research) state that they plan to develop a more strategic foundation around their contingent workforce programs in 2025. As the extended workforce marches to its 50% threshold (49.7% of the average organization’s total workforce is now considered non-employee), it is critical that businesses take a more deliberate pathway towards managing this type of talent in lieu of leveraging traditional, archaic, and “tactical” approaches that undermine the greater impact of the contingent workforce.
Strategies such as consistent procurement/HR/talent acquisition collaboration, the adoption of expanded talent channels (“omni-channel talent acquisition”), and a deliberate push towards optimizing CWM as a more visible realm of the business are all approaches that can truly push the extended workforce program into more progressive ground. This evolution demands a fundamental shift in how organizations view and value their contingent workforce, moving from a cost-center mindset to recognizing it as a strategic driver of innovation and competitive advantage.
Success in this new paradigm requires executive-level championship and clear alignment between workforce strategy and broader business objectives. Organizations that fail to evolve their contingent workforce management approaches risk falling behind in the race for talent and missing crucial opportunities for business transformation.
