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21 Thoughts for 2021: Future of Work Edition

General Insights Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 05/03/2021

Below we have 21 thoughts for 2021 related to the Future of Work:

Whether or not you despise terms such as “new normal” or “next normal,” most of 2021 for businesses will be spent dealing with 2020-esque issues on top of adapting to a “changed” world of work.
To that effect, is it time for businesses to create a “Chief New Normal Officer” role?
Before we even get started on technology and innovation, no business should be thinking about the optimization impact of automation without first reevaluating their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
And, speaking of D&I, this idea traverses beyond merely checking a box: in 2021, more so than ever before, diversity and inclusion will be true competitive drivers in an increasingly-globalized economy.
And let’s talk about that economy: businesses must know the difference between a weirdly-strong stock market and the reality of unemployment on the ground, and how this major gap will continue to affect the scalability of hiring in the first half of 2021.
That word, scalability, means so much more than ever before. Businesses must equate scalability with agility if they want to thrive in yet another uncertain and unprecedented year.
Procurement, meet HR. HR, meet procurement. Let’s make 2021 the year of true total talent management by blending the best attributes of each function!
Pre-pandemic, direct sourcing was perhaps the hottest topic in the world of talent. Mid-pandemic, it proved to be an invaluable strategy in the face of hiring uncertainty. In 2021, direct sourcing continues this push…and every organization should implement some measure of talent pool development if they haven’t done so already.
Also, on that topic: businesses should understand that direct sourcing automation (i.e., true direct sourcing platforms) and branded direct sourcing services (ala MSP-like services) will be the solutions that push direct sourcing even further in the year ahead.
Supply chain disruptions were expected to occur even before the pandemic hit due to escalating trade tensions around the world. With the pandemic’s unprecedented disruptions upsetting the world’s global supply chain, there were major lessons to be learned. Old-school and traditional supply chains are now primed for touchless, agile, and AI-led processes to improve the overall flow of goods and products.
Another ramification of the pandemic? “The biggest remote work experiment in global history.” Now that we’re nearly 10 months removed from the initial shock of the “work-from-anywhere” approach, businesses are finding that productivity hasn’t waned, but rather been enhanced due to a lack of unnecessary in-person meetings, long commutes, etc.
And there’s so much more to the remote work revolution than just acceptance and implementation of WFH approaches: embracing the work-from-anywhere model is just the initial step. Business leaders must optimize the remote work infrastructure through unified communications and more innovative collaborative tools, like virtual reality. While I’m not advocating for every business to create video-game-like VR environments for their workplaces, slowly integrating similar technologies into the remote infrastructure should help boost the overall employee experience, even if they’re at home.
Speaking of business leaders: leadership must change in 2021. It’s not an option. 2020 was an unprecedented year (take a shot, those still playing 2020 bingo!) and many facets of traditional corporate leadership were tested beyond their limits. Flexibility and empathy should be the foundational elements of business leadership not just in 2021, but also moving forward.
I understand that it can be difficult for business leaders to give more of their patience in the year ahead. However, the one common element of the pandemic was that it affected everyone…meaning that white-collar and blue-collar workers alike experienced similar hardships, such as a lack of daycare due to remote or closed schools. Talent is a company’s #1 competitive differentiator, so: business leaders, do what you can to lead with an empathetic approach if you want to keep that talent.
The “talent experience” was an incredible facet of the pre-pandemic business world, and, if there’s one attribute of life in 2019 that should make a return to 2021 it’s the overall experience of all types of work (both FTEs and non-employees). Individuals with unique or advanced skillsets will have amazing opportunities as the world gets back to a steady state; therefore, it is imperative that businesses do all that they can do to keep their highly-valued workers on-board through robust talent experience efforts.
There’s another concept with the word “talent” in it that is oft-overlooked: talent sustainability. Businesses already understand the value of both agility and flexibility in regard to their staffing and workforce initiatives. However, what happens if principles such as talent redeployment, talent pools, and direct sourcing become even more integrated into the realm of agile talent? The answer: a sustainable, “redeployable,” and agile stream of talent that is leveraged as needed in a dynamic manner.
The elephant in the conference room: do businesses mandate that their employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available for their age group (besides the front line, of course)? Can businesses even mandate something like this? Expect this conversation to occur soon if it hasn’t yet already.
We haven’t even discussed data yet! Wow. Well, to no one’s surprise: data and intelligence are going to be critical in a post-COVID world. Businesses must do whatever they can, and, of course, harness the power of innovation and automation, to gain as much visibility into their total workforce as possible. Not only is “total talent intelligence” a gateway to the realm of total talent management, but it will also help business leaders (hello HR, hello procurement) understand where their workers are, what they are working on, and any compliance risks that are apparent. Also, in a public health-conscious environment, businesses can leverage total talent intelligence to move on-site work to remote if needed (and vice versa) and measure global locations in relation to virus hotspots and more.
Another discussion about data: in 2019, news regarding artificial intelligence and machine learning ruled the business realm. This, of course, took a backseat over the past year. Businesses lightly understood the value of bringing AI into how they execute strategic talent, staffing, and workforce decisions, however, 2021 is the year that AI is fully ensconced into both contingent workforce management and talent acquisition. Businesses must harness the power of AI to better understand how to attract passive candidates, the markets in which to target, and the variability around skillsets and expertise around the world.
If you read the news (how can you not?), the early weeks of 2021 are literally an extension of 2020. However, the one major difference: there is more hope. There is optimism. The fantastic Angela Rasmussen said on Twitter: there is a light at the top as we continue to climb up from the dark well that was 2020. There will be hard work ahead, but we must keep climbing. We know these times will soon get better, that the darkness will subside. It’ll just take some time; and, that is what business leaders around the globe must drill into their minds: that we’ve already spent nearly a year living in the strangest of times and that the end is in sight. Hope and optimism can be incredible levers when the collective personal, social, and business realms are already exhausted.
Finally: if there’s anything that we learned from 2020, it’s that businesses should expect the unexpected, that the steady ground we seek from the past is still a bit shaky from the experiences of the past 12 months. Innovative thinking can be a force to get through these challenging times. Looking ahead, the Future of Work movement has so much to offer from strategic, talent, staffing, technology, and business transformation perspectives. In 2021, businesses will get back to doing what they do best: optimizing how work is done.

The Future of Total Talent Management

Contingent Workforce Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/30/2021

Back in 2016, I wrote and developed a research study called The Modern Guide to Total Talent Management, which included this passage:

The very simple argument for building or developing a total talent management program (defined by Ardent as the standardized and centralized program for engaging, acquiring, sourcing, and managing all types of talent via linked procurement and human capital processes, integrated contingent workforce management and human capital management systems, and utilization of total talent intelligence) that can be stripped down to a primary advantage: the contemporary talent supply chain is diverse, multifaceted, and spread across numerous sources (both legacy and fresh). Thus, the businesses that can effectively find, engage, source, and ultimately manage this talent under a centralized program will be rewarded with the visibility to execute far superior business decisions in a real-time manner. Relative to the adoption and implementation of total talent programs, it is no wonder that while only 16% of organizations have this type of program in place today, a majority (58%) expect to make total talent management a reality within the next two years.

Over the past few years, Ardent’s deep collection of contingent workforce management (CWM) and talent acquisition research data reflects a similar refrain: companies believes in the concepts and ideals behind total workforce management (a phrase I use interchangeably with “total talent management”), understand its value and impact, and even anticipate having the ability to build such a program within a matter of just 18 months or two years.

So, here we are, in 2020 (albeit a very strange year, indeed), and Ardent’s research reflects similar messaging around the notion of total talent management. Why is this the case? A few reasons come to mind, including:

Most obvious: a global pandemic disrupting all HR-, talent-, and procurement-related operations.
A misalignment within talent engagement and talent acquisition processes (contingent workforce management included).
A great divide between functional units, such as procurement. HR/human capital management, and talent acquisition, and;
A lack of the proper solutions and technology to bring together the core pieces of total talent management.

The foundational elements of total talent management include a total talent network, integrated procurement/HR/CWM competencies, integrated contingent workforce and HR technology, and total talent intelligence (gleaned from the aforementioned integrated capabilities and platforms). The benefit: real-time decision-making when it comes to talent, resulting in a truly agile workforce.

It may be a running joke that 2020 is one of the worst years on record, however, if anything, businesses must look to the experiences of the past seven or eight months and use this knowledge to better understand how they manage the many facets of their workforce to not only get work done, but drive overall better business outcomes. Total talent management is often a polarizing topic because of what seems like its core limitations: there are serious compliance concerns for treating non-employees like FTEs, procurement-led CWM programs will never fully understand or buy into hardcore human capital concepts such as succession planning, an inability to offer across-the-board reskilling/upskilling opportunities, etc.

However, the very future of total talent management depends on how well we’ve adapted to these uncertain times, and, most importantly, how agile we can transform our businesses based on this knowledge. Total talent management isn’t the same set of ideals it was just a few years ago, but rather takes into account the innovation within the workforce management technology landscape, the new strategies that can help businesses tap into new and deeper channels of talent, and the adaptation to new staffing/workforce trends.

With this in mind, the future of total talent management hinges on:

The success of direct sourcing programs and initiatives and how businesses continue to drive incredible value from talent pools. (And, to a larger extent, how candidates from these talent pools are widely reflected in enterprise recruitment streams).
The enhancement of diversity and inclusion initiatives to bolster innovation and bring new voices into the organization.
Procurement and HR working together for the greater good of business agility.
The ability for business leaders to tap into total talent intelligence that is a true, real-time representation of the total workforce (via data gleaned from HRIS, VMS, ATS, etc. platforms).
Capabilities for scaling learning and development across types of workers.

I’ll reiterate a phrase I’ve been saying for years: total talent management is for real. Businesses just need to reimagine its foundational components, understand the technological aspects involved, prioritize the collection of total talent data, and, most importantly, begin to build a culture of change around all attributes of talent. We’ve learned one incredibly useful aspect from a strange 2020: agility is crucial, thus, agile talent is critical. Total talent management, for most organizations, may still be months (or years) away, however, its underlying elements are what will assist in driving true workforce agility now (in challenging times) and in the future.

The Value of Total Talent Intelligence

Contingent Workforce Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/26/2021

Back in early 2012, I began work on what would be perhaps the industry’s first large-scale research study on “total talent management,” an initiative that is also known as “total workforce management.” Back then, while businesses understood the true value proposition of such a program, the vast majority of enterprises could not picture a way to tightly-integrate core human capital and contingent workforce capabilities and systems in such a way to make the program viable. Eight years may have passed since I formulated those initial thoughts on TTM/TWM, however, the underlying principles remain the same: there is clearly a need for total talent management, but its components are akin to organizational and technological puzzle pieces.

Ardent Partners defines total talent management and total workforce management as the standardized and centralized means for engaging, sourcing, and managing all types of enterprise talent under a single banner program. The fundamental principles of total workforce management include integrated procurement and HR competencies and systems, prioritization of visibility into the total talent pool (FTEs, contingent workers, gig workers, freelancers, independent contractors, professional services, etc.), and streamlined and standardized means for engaging and acquiring all types of talent. As the contingent workforce continues to rise (43% of all talent today is considered non-employee or contingent, according to Ardent’s State of Contingent Workforce Management research study), total workforce management initiatives, of course, become more critical.

Thinking about integrations, cross-functional coordination, blending core HR and contingent workforce management competencies, etc. can be maddening, for sure. This is why, especially in today’s strange 2020, businesses should consider taking a much more streamlined path and prioritize total talent intelligence as an initial cornerstone for what could blossom into full-blown total talent management in the months and years to come. In essence, total talent intelligence gleans valuable worker-based insights from both FTEs and non-employees by harnessing collective data from Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), Vendor Management Systems (VMS), time and attendance solutions, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), Freelancer Management System (FMS), and similar platforms to gain the deepest possible view into an organization’s total talent pool. There are several reasons to prioritize total talent intelligence today:

In an age when worker health and safety is paramount, businesses need to know where you workers are at all times. Although many portions of the globe are in much different situations now than they were months ago, the initial weeks of the pandemic caused many an executive to panic regarding where their workers were situated, what they were working on, and, most importantly, their relative health and safety. Total talent intelligence allows businesses to pinpoint which workers are currently sitting in hotspots (or geographical locations that might soon become high-risk zones) and act accordingly (shifting work to different regions, placing workers in remote work setups, etc.).
Total talent intelligence begets workforce agility. Sometimes lost in the overarching discussion of total talent management is the very underlying purpose of this program: driving towards the ability to make workforce- and talent-related decisions in near-real-time. Having intelligence into the business’ total talent pool allows business leaders and hiring managers to very quickly understand how to approach a new project or initiative given the depth of expertise and skillsets within the greater organization (including, yes, both FTEs and non-employees). This level of intelligence and its associated, enhanced reactions are paramount in the quest for true workforce agility.
Businesses can better understand the true complexity of its workforce’s expertise. Pertinent to the above bullet, we are living in a skillset-led world. Ardent’s upcoming Direct Sourcing Toolkit research study finds that 72% of businesses are fixated on new and evolving skills. Executives today understand that the next influential project or initiative may not be completely supported, driven, and/or managed by existing full-time workers or other in-house resources, especially considering the quick-paced advancements occurring in the world of technology and automation. Total talent intelligence enables business leaders to truly understand the depth of its total available resources and expertise, allowing them to begin developing an approach for the evolving skillsets that they may need in the future.
Total talent intelligence can enhance diversity and inclusion initiatives. Enterprises are (finally) learning that the deepest talent pool is a diverse talent pool. Diversity and inclusion initiatives often involve several pieces of the organization working in unison, however, a key strategy in understanding a business’ true diversity is harnessing total talent intelligence to understand the relative makeup of the organization’s total workforce (such as employee demographics). This intelligence, of course, must be leveraged into talent-based decision-making to enhance future D&I initiatives.
Businesses that have experienced (and will continue to experience) massive shifts in remote work will require deeper intelligence for workforce planning and performance measurement. Although the world will soon return to some semblance of traditional office life, today’s workplace environment is still mired in social distancing measures (some pundits peg that metropolis-level offices, such as those in New York City, are average 7%-to-10% capacity today, with those in suburban locales at twice that level). This can be incredibly difficult on managers and executives that are used to in-person interactions to gauge worker performance. As more one-on-ones and reviews shift to a remote setting, these leaders will have to become more reliant on “business outcomes” for performance measurement in lieu of traditional benchmarks. Total talent intelligence can provide excellent perspectives on total worker output and the work performed by both FTEs and non-employees.

Total talent management and total workforce management are still incredibly valuable concepts that will one day become widely-adopted. In fact, Ardent’s research finds that upwards of 75% of businesses today expect to implement such a program within the next five years. Businesses must look at total talent intelligence as a critical area from which to start and an arena from which to drive short- and long-term value independent of bigger total talent management initiatives.

The Link Between Mental Health and the Future of Work

Business Leadership Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/16/2021

Even though it seems as if time passed by both slowly and quickly during the past, very strange 12 months, it’s not that difficult to remember the days immediately preceding the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic (and, for us in the States, the days just prior to the President announcing a national State of Emergency). Many of us may have spent the weekend beforehand spending time with loved ones in a restaurant or movie theater, or perhaps enjoying a night out with friends at a crowded bar.

Within a matter of days, those activities were shelved and the world as we knew it was changed nearly instantaneously. For individuals with mental health issues (which affect 26% of all adults in the United States, according to the National Institute of Health), the toll was much greater: unheralded anxiety due to uncertainty, loneliness, and a constant barrage of negative headlines of the unfolding calamity.

Compounded by global economic disruption, massive layoffs and furloughs in specific industries, and a general sense of vagueness regarding the progression of the pandemic, talented workers with mental health issues needed flexibility more than ever over the past year. While it is only human to support these individuals with care and support, there is a greater link between mental health and the Future of Work…one that is founded on the limitless potential of empathy in how businesses address how work is done.

Empathy and Flexibility as Critical Future of Work Attributes

If there’s one thing that we learned over the past year (and let’s be honest: we’ve learned MANY things, from how to bake bread, the importance of video conferencing mastery, and much more), it’s that the pandemic’s disruptions lead to an interesting development: many of the Future of Work movement’s evolving principles, including remote work, digital transformation, and non-technological strategies, were accelerated.

Businesses quickly learned how to collaborate across distributed workforces/teams, while others experienced first-hand the value of automation in business locations that couldn’t allow for more than a small percentage of on-site work at a given time. In looking at the less obvious accelerants, however, there is one that has taken on greater meaning and impact in the face of the myriad changes the business world has collectively experienced: the rise of empathy and flexibility.

The collective trauma left in the pandemic’s wake affected nearly every individual in some profound manner, a joint sense of struggle that opened pathways for business leaders and managers to employ different modes of leadership. For example, working parents faced with a sudden lack of daycare or school needed both the actual and emotional support of their leaders to contend with a series of new challenges, while the dramatic shift to remote work ruptured the once-delicate work/life balance and required those same leaders to be more flexible in how they managed their staff.

Mental Health’s Role in the Future of Work

The issues detailed above sat on top of the already-critical issues faced by the tens of millions of workers with mental health issues. A worker with anxiety or depression (or both) could now contend with burnout due to taking on additional new roles in the age of social distancing, as many more workers with more severe mental health challenges are still forced to traverse the complicated pathways left behind by how to be productive while various modes of worry plague their minds, even now a year later. Too, the pandemic itself triggered a new “wave” of individuals who experienced mental illness for the first time, compounding the greater issue at-hand.

What does this mean for the Future of Work movement, you know, the set of attributes that describe how a business optimizes its talent, technology, and strategy to best get work done? Well, it all boils down to fusing mental health and employee wellbeing into greater workforce, staffing, and work optimization strategies, much like how diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are becoming table stakes for how business address projects, staff roles, and find top-tier talent.

Addressing mental health, as well as employee wellness and wellbeing, must be melded into other foundational workforce strategies, similar to how new technology and new talent acquisition approaches (such as direct sourcing) have become key pieces of the Future of Work puzzle. The very essence of the Future of Work movement is to optimize how work is done and enhance the productivity of both talent and technology. Mental health is a critical factor in just how productive, creative, and innovative the workforce can be in how work is addressed and ultimately optimized.

As business leaders continue to prioritize the “basics” of supporting worker mental health (via empathy and flexibility), the following actions will be critical in the year ahead:

Push employee wellbeing up the priority list for 2021.
Offer an open and inclusive culture for those workers that need to speak their minds.
Cultivate an environment in which all workers, regardless of position, feel “physiologically safe.”
Prioritize the human connections between leaders and their staff (such as scheduling more video conferences).
Institute flexible policies that discourage worker burnout and allow for enhanced productivity.
Restructure paid time off (PTO) policies to ensure that workers can take the time they need to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

The Workforce Trends that Will Shape 2021: Part One

Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/09/2021

Over the past several weeks, I’ve written about the various contingent workforce, staffing, and Future of Work attributes that could contribute to the way businesses will operate a year from now. Taking into account the very strange days of 2020, combined with the anticipated growth in the utilization of non-employee talent, businesses now understand that there are many dynamic forces at play that will shape their outlook and success in 2021 (and beyond).

I had the opportunity chat with various contingent workforce, staffing, and HR technology leaders about the key trends that will shape the year ahead:

Brian Hoffmeyer, SVP of Market Strategies, Beeline

“After the crazy year that was 2020, it’s hard to predict what 2021 will hold, and, if I could do so accurately, I’d likely be a talking head on a network news show! Anyway, that said, I do think that we will continue to see growth in the contingent workforce, that’s already happening now and there’s no reason for that not to continue; companies realize that they can get the talent that they need faster and in a less-risky way; that’s incredibly important right now. The other trend that we’re seeing – and one that is imperative – is the need to create a contingent diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. D, E, and I matter – and drives better business performance – so you need to set goals for your contingent labor program (including workers on your statements of work!) and measure your performance against them.”

Neha Goel, VP of Marketing, Utmost

“I think most people in HR, Procurement, and IT realize that COVID has been a disruptive force that has accelerated workforce trends that were already in play: greater digitization and automation, more demand for external workers, a growing prioritization of diversity, and an increased reliance on remote work. These themes, combined with (likely) continued market uncertainty, mean that organizations need a more holistic view of their workforce options, i.e. their entire talent base (skills, capabilities, locations, costs, availability) so they can make informed decisions about the best resources to get work done. I think in 2021, enterprises will make investments in these areas to drive, in the short-term, agility, resilience, operational efficiency, and cost savings. In the long-term, these investments will have the potential to deliver better experiences for the workers themselves and increased productivity for the business.”

Allison Robinson, CEO and Founder, The Mom Project

“Obviously the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has changed the landscape of the modern workplace indefinitely. Employees have more flexibility than ever before, and it’s the responsibility of the employer to continue to support and facilitate productivity and communication across all facets of the organization in this new remote workforce.”

“The increase in remote work has been a welcome shift for many, but has also added burdens to some, especially for those juggling a myriad of responsibilities ranging from childcare to virtual schooling. Organizations must remain empathetic and supportive of this ‘new normal’ by creating clear and effective means of communication, so all employees are encouraged to speak up and feel supported having their voice heard.”

“The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is something no one predicted, and no one has experience trying to navigate, so it’s more important now than ever that organizations and business leaders lead with empathy first and foremost. Employees are balancing an endless list of responsibilities all within their homes, so organizations and managers need to remain flexible in order to allow employees to meet all of the demands amidst this ‘new normal.’”

Fang Chang, SVP of Product, Coupa Software

“Procurement organizations around the world are working with their valued service providers and contingent labor pools to prepare for 2021. We are seeing elevated levels of empathy for factors such as increasing spend to diverse service providers and the need to work from anywhere. While empathetic, customers also recognize the importance of being diligent throughout 2021 and beyond in the continual assessment of risk factors that may negatively impact their business brand or bottom line.”

Kevin Akeroyd, CEO, PRO Unlimited

“There will be a continued preference of knowledge, specialized-skilled, white-collared workers to work on a contingent basis and not FTE. In most industries, this is already at 40% of the total workforce, and most Fortune 1000 companies have strategies to get that to 50%-to-60% in the next several years. This will be a career choice for millions of high-end members of the workforce, which will radically accelerate the complexities and importance of this segment. Companies will need to not only navigate these evolving areas at a rapid pace, but to also expertly address localization, globalization, changing regulatory and labor laws, remote work, and D&I, among others.

The notion of things like the “Gig Economy” are going to dramatically expand across virtually all categories of the skilled workforce, and in many industries, those leaders will have more contingent workers than FTEs. In addition, as the spend under management continues to expand, representing hundreds of billions of dollars per year with double-digit inefficiencies/over-payment, it will be mission critical for the C-suite to be more involved. This literally already is, and will become more so, a massive Earnings Per Share driver. Historically, the selection and management of outsourcing a company’s contingent workforce management program has been relegated as “tactical” and pushed fairly far down the organization’s org chart. This is radically and rapidly changing as the CHRO, CFO, CPO, and CIO are now playing a much greater role in the decision to not only outsource the non-employee management function, but also to deploy a technological ecosystem to harness software, machine-based learning, data, and intelligence to drive their businesses forward as part of their overall Future of the Workforce and Human Capital strategies.”

Catherine Candland, President, nextSource

“Since COVID, we have seen approximately 30-to-40% freelancer population increase in our client accounts. While our clients tell us that they originally engaged these individuals to achieve more flexibility and reduce costs in a period of uncertainty, they also cite a higher level of up-to-date skills and ready availability as reasons for continuing to drive towards a higher mix of freelancers in their overall workforce composition.”

“The notion that individuals accept temporary work as a means to get their foot in the door has been proven to no longer apply. In this unsettled environment, non-employee professionals, such as IT workers, are frequently engaged on multi-year assignments. Recent research indicates that a quarter of traditional employees remain with the same firm for less than that. Surveys of our EOR Associate employees indicate that many choose to work as non-employees for higher pay while their spouse works for healthcare benefits and lower pay.”

Jody Greenstone Miller, Founder and CEO, Business Talent Group

“Workforce agility and a holistic approach to talent management are more important than ever before, as companies pivot from ad-hoc solutions put in place at the start of the pandemic toward long-term recovery and growth. Establishing and easily accessible and reliable pool of skilled talent at the ready—like BTG’s marketplace of on-demand management consultants, subject matter experts, and project managers—positions companies to take advantage of fleeting opportunities and tackle urgent short-term needs while staying focused on the bigger picture.”

“The combination of project-based work, remote work, and on-demand talent provides a faster way to impact diversity within your organization. We are seeing that a remote work environment allows companies to access a wider candidate pool while reducing location bias. Project-based engagements focus heavily on the specific skills needed for success and provide a lower-risk way to bring talent on board, and, thus, can be an effective part of a diversity and inclusion initiative.”

Praneeth Patlola, Chief Product Officer, WillHire

“In recent years, the HR tech industry has gone through a huge transformation to adopt people analytics and bring a data-driven approach. The latest technologies of internal talent mobility have enabled organizations with better intelligence to increase retention and enabling the workforce to shift roles internally. While enterprises have invested in DE&I strategies, and also build metrics from sourcing to offboarding and re-engagements, most of it seems to have covered only for the full-time employee workforce and completely leaving out the contract workforce. Not surprisingly, many organizations still have challenges for accuracy around headcount and have never tracked talent diversity in the non-employee workforce. Even a bigger challenge is the non-employee workforce masked under SOW; there is less information on skill and other metrics. In 2020, we have seen enterprises recognizing the importance of total talent analytics, which includes the non-employee workforce to address this gap on metrics and centralized talent pools, while building the pathway for total talent intelligence. Given the pace at which the HR tech industry is moving, and the contingent labor space has picked the heat on direct sourcing, there is a definite possibility for seeing several uses cases in 2021 for total talent intelligence.”

Web 3.0 Is Here to Disrupt the Way We Work

Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/20/2023

The next generation of digital technology is here. Web 3.0 is on the horizon and it’s poised to have a significant Future of Work impact due to its revolutionary nature. Web 3.0 is defined as the integration of blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and augmented reality, with the convergence of these advanced digital solutions presenting an innovative transformation for the modern business.

The advent of Web 3.0 is not just a natural evolution of the internet at scale, but rather a calling for a new era of decentralization, automation, and intelligence exchange.

A crucial impact area of Web 3.0 is workforce decentralization. By integrating blockchain, professionals will have more control over their personal data, profiles, and accolades, and thus, will be able to monetize their skillsets via decentralized platforms linked by blockchain technology. By being more empowered and autonomous, the non-employee workforce will be enabled with more control, as well as new and more opportunities, for freelance, contract, and gig-based work and positions.

This autonomous, digitally-enabled decentralization would, in essence, catalyze a boundaryless and frictionless stream of work opportunities matching with available talent and expertise…a true Future of Work disruptor that would transform the way we think about recruitment, hiring, and talent acquisition.

Another impact of Web 3.0 on the Future of Work is the automation of tactical and repetitive tasks. With the integration of AI, robotics and other automated systems will be able to perform menial and repetitive activity, freeing up human workers to focus on more creative and strategic work, a boon for efficiency and productivity.

The promise of Web 3.0 also revolves around the idea of transformative data exchange, with IoT concepts driving seamless sharing of critical data between enterprise devices, platforms, and systems. In a remote-work-driven business arena, this is a crucial element in enabling workers, no matter where they may be, to drive decision-making by leveraging real-time enterprise data. Too, this quashes much of the concern of the distributed workforce: giving on-demand, enterprise-grade access to data via Web 3.0 technology convergence means that workers will always be robustly interconnected to their peers, colleagues, and leaders no matter the workplace model.

There are some concerns that these technological advancements may negatively impact the global workforce, displacing some jobs and roles (and even creating income disparity). It will be incumbent on enterprises and government entities to invest the time and resources for reskilling and upskilling initiatives that would ensure that workers are prepared for a new digital age with the proper and aligned skillsets to adapt.

The future of the Future of Work is based on many factors (as we detailed recently). Web 3.0 and its digital experience will prove to be a major disruptor for the world of work and talent.

Web 3.0 Is Here to Disrupt the Way We Work

Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/18/2023

The advent of Web 3.0 is not just a natural evolution of the internet at scale, but rather a calling for a new era of decentralization, automation, and intelligence exchange.

The future of the Future of Work is based on many factors (as we detailed yesterday). Web 3.0 and its digital experience will prove to be a major disruptor for the world of work and talent.

The Future of Work is Magnetic: PRO Unlimited Rebrands to Magnit

Solution Providers Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 09/15/2022

Magnets are colloquially known for their attractiveness properties, drawing metal (well, iron) objects and substances within its field. For the contemporary business in 2022, the very notion of “attraction” is a desirable trait: these enterprises cannot thrive in uncertain economic times, and especially facing a volatile labor market, without some crucial level of allure to its culture, workplace, and overall brand that can effectively attract top-tier talent and skillsets.

This morning, veteran integrated workforce management system PRO Unlimited, known across the globe for its powerful Managed Service Provider (MSP) offerings and Best-in-Class Vendor Management System (VMS), announced that it has rebranded itself under the new name Magnit. The new brand reflects the solution’s overall commitment to being a magnetic force in how businesses leverage its innovative technology to draw people to work in an effective manner.

“The new name, Magnit, reflects both the evolution of our industry and how far PRO Unlimited has come as the industry-leading integrated workforce management platform,” said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of Magnit. “Magnit is a reflection of our vision for the evolution of work. It also aligns with our position as the company of record in how businesses attract, engage, and source top-tier talent that tightly aligns with their goals and objectives. This is an exciting new chapter that will culminate in Magnit realizing PRO’s original goal: serve as a true, end-to-end platform comprised of modern software, proven expertise and world-class data and intelligence for workforce management.”

Perhaps the most critical facet of the rebrand is how the provider is approaching its end-to-end offerings: the move to Magnit is not just a simple rebrand, but rather a culmination of two years’ worth of consistent market activity, including acquisitions (WillHire, GRI, Workforce Logiq), partnerships (eightfold, Ceridian, etc.), and new product launches (Direct Source PRO, NorthStar, etc.). The new brand is an opportunity for the company to cohesively blend all of its core products and services under a unified architecture within a single brand.

It is expected that, over the next six months, any fragmentation of offerings will be streamlined and integrated under the new Magnit brand. This is a key attribute of the rebrand, as the company counts several “buckets” of products just within the data/analytics space, with ENGAGE Talent, Envision Analytics, and NorthStar (as well as its RatePoint offering) soon to be merged into a more interconnected solution.

Magnit will continue to work towards its “platform vision,” as laid out by PRO Unlimited back in 2020. With an array of innovation at its fingertips, Magnit is an ideal position to capitalize on an evolving business arena that requires top-tier skillsets to thrive; the rebrand can be considered a catalyst for the organization to continue its innovative work in becoming a platform of choice for not just the extended workforce, but also a source of agility for enterprises across the globe.

“The move to the Magnit brand represents the next bold age for our integrated workforce management platform,” said Vidhya Srinivasan, chief marketing officer at Magnit. “Both the name itself and our new logo echoes our core vision: augment the next evolution in workforce management by drawing people together through modern software and a commitment to the evolution of work. Magnit will be a powerful force for our clients, partners, and suppliers as we link businesses to the agile talent they require to thrive during these dynamic times.”

The definition of a magnet does not just mention the attraction of other metal- or iron-containing objects; it also includes the alignment of itself in an external magnetic field. For Magnit, this means one thing: the solution is positioned to align itself as a centerpiece in how businesses not only find the talent they need, but how they truly optimize how work is done.

If You Don’t Have a Chief People Officer, Now Is The Time to Hire One

Business Leadership HR by Christopher J. Dwyer on 04/07/2022

The “Chief People Officer” isn’t exactly a new type of leadership position, but it doesn’t necessarily have the same history as the Chief Finance Officer or Chief Procurement Officer. At the end of the day, however, this “newer” role may be the most critical for enterprises as we exit and “enter” an intricate period in business history.

Many organizations believe that the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Chief People Officer are essentially the same role; while some businesses’ job descriptions of these positions may be one in the same, we are beginning a phase in corporate America that requires more than HR responsibilities in a CPO role…

…which brings us to the topic at hand: if you don’t have a Chief People Officer, you need one.

Let’s review what’s happening in businesses across the country (and the world) right now:

Over the past several months, an average of four million workers have voluntarily left their organizations in a movement called (as we all know by now) “The Great Resignation.”
While the above may seem like it’s linked to compensation, it’s actually a “Talent Revolution” in which professionals desire joy, flexibility, and more purposeful work.
The rate of globalization, combined with an uncertain labor market and pandemic-fueled volatility, means that enterprises need to “future-proof” their operations by harnessing the power of data and artificial intelligence.
There is now, more than ever before, a laser-like focus on just how flexible organizations can be in regard to its workforce, technology, and overall business thinking, and;
Most importantly, it’s an enterprise’s people that will lead them to the next great era of innovation and success.

Executive HR roles are now focused on developing a proper workforce culture while balancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives, on top of extreme staffing shortages that have long been a hallmark of the economic recovery phase during these pandemic times. To throw even more into the equation, particularly how to combat The Greatest Resignation, develop a flexible workplace environment, foster purpose across the staff, and introduce next-generation analytics into the fold, well, it’s clear that there needs to be a role that blends HR-oriented expertise with a progressive series of skillsets that can transform the greater organization from technology, intelligence, and talent-led perspectives. (I’m fully aware that many organizations blend the CHRO and CPO roles into one, and the enterprises that do this effectively converge many of the best capabilities of each position for maximum value.)

The Future of Work in 2022 dictates that enterprises reimagine how they get work done, especially considering the fundamental transformations happening within the realms of talent, technology, and overall business thinking. The Chief People Officer can be a catalyst for “rebooting” the very notions of work, helping the greater organization foster a dynamic culture of inclusivity and flexibility while preparing it for the ongoing transformations happening today:

The Chief People Officer role can be the champion of all things related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) by advancing initiatives that may be “stuck” in other functions due to a focus on business operations (and staffing shortages).
Many of today’s CPO roles center around data and intelligence; in a business arena that runs on insights, the Chief People Officer can be incredibly impactful by leveraging predictive analytics, AI, scenario-building, candidate assessment and validation tools, and other progressive analytics platforms to formulate a workforce strategy that is founded on intelligence (a powerful initiative that translates into better alignment between the greater organization’s culture and available candidates).
A Chief People Officer can be a “coach’s coach” for conscious leadership, empathy-led management, and other “human” elements of the next-generation business leader. There’s been so much discussion lately (ahem) regarding the emotional elements of the workforce and how leaders should be in tune with those as it seeks to better manage its staff. As such, the CPO can effectively measure the emotional facets of the enterprise staff, communicate shortcomings and issues to leadership, and develop a plan to ensure human needs are met in the future.
A formidable task, for sure, but the Chief People Officer can be critically valuable in spearheading talent retention efforts. The United States is actively averaging 4+ million resignations since November of last year; if the CPO can tap into what is haunting workers and their ambitions, it can be an invaluable resource for remedying major issues that are causing talent to up and leave the enterprise. The Chief People Officer can be adept at solving employee burnout problems, developing enhanced career development plans, and pinpointing areas of growth
Most importantly, the Chief People Officer of 2022 can be a dynamic executive leader that can influence how work is ultimately done. What is the best pathway ahead during today’s unique pandemic times? What is the best remote or hybrid work structure for the organization? How does the business combat The Great Resignation? What’s the ideal means of investing in the workforce from career development and emotional perspectives? How can the enterprise better leverage data, intelligence, and insights to execute enhanced and educated hiring decisions?

Reimagining Services Procurement (Upcoming Webinar)

Uncategorized by Christopher J. Dwyer on 03/22/2022

The professional services market is estimated to encompass upwards of $5 trillion annually and only shows signs of increasing as global enterprises continue to integrate project-based work into their overall scope of operations.

External services are often considered a linchpin to organizational success. Businesses frequently require specialized and unique support that necessitates the sourcing of a wide range of professionally delivered services and SOW-based labor, the vast majority of which are often purchased and managed situationally. Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange (FOWX) estimates that as little as 30% or less of business services spend is actually and actively accounted for in foundational enterprise planning, budgeting, and forecasting, which elicits two critical questions: 1) how can organizations possibly be confident that they are achieving the best value on this expenditure? and 2) why has it been so hard for MSP programs to gain traction in facilitating SOW-based services/labor when their infrastructure would seem to be so ideally adaptable to the underlying problem statement?

Those services procurement programs which are anchored in a bolder vision from the outset (beyond cost savings) are much more likely to be sustainably successful because they are designed from the point of view of the business and not through the narrower prism of a buy-to-pay lens. The services procurement paradigm of a decade ago, when MSPs started to see the revenue potential in this area, is long gone. Today’s services procurement paradigm needs to follow a much more progressive pattern, one that is founded on “how work gets done” rather than “how we can structure the sourcing activity to reduce the prices paid?”

I’m incredibly excited to join Sarah-Jayne (SJ) Aldridge (Senior Director Services, European Sourcing, Visa) and Paul Vincent, EVP and Head of the Global Services Procurement Practice at Randstad Sourceright, for an exclusive webcast on Tuesday, March 29 at 11am ET (one week from today!); the event will feature a Q&A panel discussion to learn what is really required for services procurement success and how managed services programs (MSPs) can be oriented to deliver these requirements.

Click here or on the image below to save your spot for next week’s event. Hope to see you there!

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