John Yuva, Author at The Future of Work Exchange

Rethinking Executive Talent: Why Fractional Leadership Is Gaining Ground

Business Leadership Talent by John Yuva on 10/15/2026

The Future of Work is shaped by several evolving workplace trends. We’ve spoken about many of them on The Future of Work Exchange and CPO Rising websites. Today, we’re revisiting the topic of the fractional executive, which is a game-changing role for organizations lacking executive expertise.

The fractional executive serves as a flexible and on-demand approach to talent acquisition. Whether it’s a role such as a chief marketing officer (CMO) or chief procurement officer (CPO), businesses now have scalable talent options to execute critical programs and initiatives.

Consider the fractional CPO. Small- to medium-sized enterprises (those with less than $50 million in revenue) that lack a mature or formal procurement department can source the services of a fractional CPO who provides similar expertise as a permanent executive but at a lower cost. Whether it’s a part-time or project-based position, businesses can secure this essential role and its associated insights, making it attainable for any sized organization.

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AI Needs Humans in the Loop: The Next Phase of Workforce Technology

Direct Sourcing Talent Acquisition by John Yuva on 10/01/2026

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming part of the workforce technology landscape, but the most effective applications may not be the ones that attempt to remove people from the process. Instead, AI is increasingly being positioned as a capability that can augment workflows, improve decision-making, and give leaders better information while preserving human judgment.

That distinction is becoming especially important as organizations navigate an increasingly crowded AI market, said Atrium’s VP of Enterprise Solutions, Kelly Couto, who was recently featured on a Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) Podcast with FOWX Managing Director Christopher Dwyer.

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Direct Sourcing Moves Into Its Next Generation

Direct Sourcing Talent Acquisition by John Yuva on 09/24/2026

Direct sourcing is hardly a new concept, but its role in the extended workforce continues to evolve. What began as an emerging strategy for accessing known talent populations has become an increasingly important component of broader workforce programs. As Atrium’s VP of Enterprise Solutions, Kelly Couto, discussed during a recent Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) Podcast, featuring FOWX Managing Director Christopher Dwyer, the opportunity is no longer simply about creating a direct talent pool. It is about understanding how that pool fits alongside suppliers, early talent, managed services, and other workforce channels.

For organizations managing large contingent workforces, that distinction matters.

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Workforce Orchestration Unlocked: Elevating Services to Drive Enterprise Value

Contingent Workforce Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 09/17/2026

The extended workforce has become too important for organizations to manage through disconnected programs and isolated service providers. With contingent talent representing roughly 48% to 49% of the workforce in many industries, organizations increasingly need a more strategic approach to managing how work gets done. The challenge is not simply finding talent, as was pointed out during a recent Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) Podcast, featuring FOWX Managing Director Christopher Dwyer and Atrium’s VP of Enterprise Solutions, Kelly Couto. It’s about understanding where talent is needed, which workforce models make sense, and how different services can work together to create measurable business value.

That is where workforce orchestration is emerging as an important concept.

The modern workforce ecosystem includes a growing range of services, including managed service programs, employer of record and agent of record models, recruitment process outsourcing, embedded recruiting, early talent programs, direct sourcing, and SOW engagements. Rather than viewing these offerings as competing alternatives, Couto said organizations can increasingly treat them as components of a broader workforce strategy.

The starting point, however, should not be the technology or the service. It should be the business objective. As Couto explained, organizations need to begin by defining what success looks like and then identifying where they can create the greatest impact. That could mean examining specific labor categories, expanding into multiple workforce areas, adding embedded recruitment resources, launching an RPO program, strengthening an early talent strategy, or implementing an MSP that brings multiple elements together.

This strategy-first approach matters because every organization arrives with a different workforce environment. Some may already have sophisticated internal technology and established workflows. Others may have adopted new AI tools without fully understanding how those technologies fit into their broader ecosystem.

The role of services is therefore changing, noted Couto. Services can increasingly act as the connective layer between people, process, data, and technology. Rather than simply executing transactions or supplying talent, service providers can help organizations understand their current environment, identify gaps, determine where technology can create value, and build a phased strategy for improvement. That creates a more flexible model for workforce transformation. Couto emphasized that an organization does not necessarily need to overhaul every component of its workforce strategy at once. It can identify a high-impact area, create measurable results, and then expand into adjacent areas as the operating model matures.

This is particularly important as workforce strategies become more complex. Procurement, HR, talent acquisition, and business leaders increasingly need to coordinate around the same workforce objectives. They must understand supplier performance, talent availability, workforce costs, compliance, technology capabilities, and the employee and worker experience. Technology can provide important capabilities, said Couto, but technology alone cannot determine the right operating model.

That is why workforce orchestration is becoming increasingly relevant. The objective is not simply to deploy more tools or add more services. It is to connect the right capabilities around clearly defined business outcomes.

Couto shared that the organizations that make the greatest progress may not be those with the most technology or the largest number of workforce programs. They may be the organizations that understand how their workforce ecosystem fits together and can continuously adjust it as business needs change. The future of workforce management will require more than talent acquisition, staffing, or technology in isolation. It will require orchestration across all three.

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The Future of Contingent Workforce Management Is Orchestration

Artificial Intelligence Contingent Workforce Talent Acquisition Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 09/10/2026

The contingent workforce has become too important to manage as a collection of isolated transactions. Organizations are balancing fluctuating demand, specialized skills, constrained budgets, supplier relationships, compliance requirements, and growing expectations around workforce flexibility. As a result, contingent workforce leaders are increasingly being asked to do more than fill openings. They are being asked to orchestrate talent, technology, suppliers, and business requirements around broader workforce outcomes.

That shift was a central theme during a recent Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) Podcast, featuring Cristin Monnich, Head of Services for Worksuite. Monnich highlighted a fundamental change in how organizations should think about external talent: not simply as labor to procure when internal capacity falls short, but as a strategic source of skills, relationships, flexibility, and competitive advantage.

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Beyond “When in Doubt, Use EOR”: A Smarter Approach to Worker Classification

Contingent Workforce Talent Talent Acquisition by John Yuva on 08/27/2026

Worker classification has become one of the more complex challenges facing organizations that rely on independent contractors, freelancers, and other forms of contingent talent. Shifting regulations, varying state requirements, and high-profile misclassification cases have created an environment where companies can be tempted to take the safest-looking path: classify more workers as employees or use an Employer of Record (EOR) model whenever there is uncertainty. However, during a recent Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) Podcast, Cristin Monnich, Head of Services for Worksuite, explained that excessive caution can create its own costs and talent risks.

Compliance Requires More Than Choosing the Safest Option

The fundamental challenge is determining how a worker should actually be classified. An independent contractor operating as an independent business is fundamentally different from an individual who functions as part of a company’s internal workforce. Treating those two situations the same can create problems for both the organization and the worker. Monnich argues that organizations need to become more intentional about understanding the distinction between an EOR and an Agent of Record (AOR) model. An AOR can be appropriate when an individual is legitimately operating as an independent business, while an EOR is designed for situations where a worker is functioning more like an employee. Forcing an independent worker into an employee structure can create additional costs and potentially cause the organization to lose valuable talent.

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From Coverage to Coordination: Designing the Future Healthcare Workforce

Artificial Intelligence Talent Acquisition Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 08/20/2026

The healthcare workforce is undergoing a fundamental transformation. What was once largely a staffing and fulfillment challenge has become a broader question of workforce orchestration. Health systems must balance limited clinical talent, complex credentialing requirements, fluctuating demand, financial pressure, and the need to provide an experience that attracts and retains skilled professionals. During a recent Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) Podcast, David Durbin, President of Trio Workforce Solutions, said that as those challenges intensify, organizations are looking for ways to gain greater visibility into their talent and make better decisions about how work gets done.

Durbin describes this evolution through the idea of orchestration. Health systems may already have significant investments in workforce management, scheduling, talent acquisition, and other technologies, but those systems do not always provide a unified view. The result can be fragmented information and limited visibility into the choices available to leaders when a workforce need emerges. A more orchestrated approach begins with the talent an organization already has. If clinicians within a health system have additional capacity, an internal resource pool or agency can potentially provide an alternative to immediately seeking external workers. And if internal resources cannot meet the need, the organization can then expand its search to external talent and staffing partners. The objective is to make those options visible and allow leaders to determine the most appropriate solution based on the situation.

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Removing Friction: The New Priority for Healthcare Workforce Management

Artificial Intelligence Talent Acquisition Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 08/13/2026

Healthcare has always been one of the most essential parts of the workforce, but the way health systems manage talent is changing rapidly. For years, workforce management often centered on a straightforward objective: fill an open position. Today, that approach is no longer sufficient. Health systems are increasingly focused on understanding the workforce they have, identifying where additional talent is needed, and determining how to deploy people at the right time and cost. During a recent Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) Podcast, David Durbin, President of Trio Workforce Solutions, spoke about the state of the healthcare workforce, the ever-present challenge of “friction,” the impact of AI on talent acquisition, and more.

Friction Defines Healthcare Workforce Management

One word captures the current state of healthcare workforce management: friction. Durbin said that friction exists throughout the ecosystem, from clinicians seeking opportunities and health systems attempting to fill critical roles to agencies supporting healthcare talent.

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Direct Sourcing and the Extended Workforce Become Strategic Business Advantages

Artificial Intelligence Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 08/06/2026

The extended workforce has evolved far beyond its traditional role as a flexible labor pool used to address temporary staffing shortages. Today, contingent workers, freelancers, consultants, project teams, and specialized service providers represent a strategic component of enterprise talent strategy. As organizations confront ongoing skills shortages, economic uncertainty, and accelerating technological change, external talent has become an essential source of business agility.

At the center of this transformation is direct sourcing.

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Talent Orchestration and Next Generation Talent Acquisition Redefine Workforce Planning

Artificial Intelligence Technology and Innovation by John Yuva on 07/23/2026

The metrics that defined talent acquisition for many years, such as speed to hire, cost per hire, and the ability to fill open requisitions, remain important but lack the insight for today’s workforce complexity. Organizations now have access to full-time employees, contingent workers, independent contractors, project specialists, alumni, retirees, interns, and AI-powered digital workers. The challenge is no longer simply filling jobs. It is determining the best way to complete work.

During a recent Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) webcast, “The New Rules of Talent Strategy,” hosted by Christopher Dwyer, Managing Director of FOWX, an expert panel of talent and workforce leaders explored how talent orchestration and next-generation talent acquisition are redefining workforce planning. Panelists included Lori Hock, CEO of Opptly; Kelly Couto, VP of Enterprise Solutions at Atrium; Kevin Leete, MSP Solutions Executive at Allegis Global Solutions; Robin Sanders, Chief Revenue Officer at TalentProcure; Archer Smith, SVP and Head of Strategic Partnerships at AMS; and Vanessa Miller, Global Director of Product Strategy at Allegis Global Solutions.

The group discussed how the shift in talent acquisition is driving a fundamental evolution in talent strategy. Modern organizations are moving beyond transactional recruiting toward talent orchestration, a more comprehensive approach that aligns workforce planning, technology, business objectives, and skills intelligence to identify the right resources for every business need.

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