Our “Talent Expert Series” on FOWX features podcast excerpts of today’s Future of Work thought leaders who appear on The Future of Work Exchange Podcast. The series continues with an excerpt from Season 7, Episode 14 featuring Jen Torney, Global Vice President of Client Experience and Partnerships for Talent Solution TAPFIN, and Brian Hoffmeyer, SVP of Market Strategies for Beeline, as they discuss talent trends and strategies for 2024.

Click to listen to the full interview. Note that this excerpt has been edited for readability.

Chris Dwyer: Jen and Brian, thank you so much for joining me today. Before we jump into 2024, what surprised you most about 2023?

Brian Hoffmeyer: Good question. It means you think we’ve been doing this for so long that nothing surprises us anymore. One interesting thing is that Beeline is pushing heavily into what we call the mid-market, which are smaller companies with under a billion in corporate revenue. What’s been surprising and educational are the needs of mid-market companies and how similar they are to larger enterprises we’ve worked with around contingent labor. The mid-market is using more contingent labor and looking to balance cost, quality, and how long it takes to find people. So, there are similarities there. Equally interesting is how the mid-market is looking for this very turnkey, fast-to-deploy, nimble solution. That’s been very educational for everyone.

Jen Torney: Those are great points, Brian. Two things surprised me most. The first was a disappointment. With the legislation we saw in 2023 around affirmative action and the pace of change around diversity, the attention toward it is evolving. Thankfully, there are a lot of champions in the industry making sure there’s still a focus on diversity.

The second was the chaos of the economy and the impact on our clients’ workforces. There were layoffs, then rehiring, then layoffs. It’s never been that unpredictable. It was a lot of change, which shouldn’t be all that surprising with the last couple of years we’ve had. But the unpredictability that happened was interesting.

CD: As we move through 2024, what are your biggest predictions for the year?

BH: We’re going to see real total talent management start to happen and I’m excited about that. I also believe we’re going to see an AI correction if you will, where companies are realizing that the providers they’re relying on are not using AI in the right way and exposing them to risk. And because areas like large language models (LLMs) are growing so quickly in a variety of industries, we can expect some form of regulation put around them. This is already occurring in the EU.

JT: I couldn’t agree more on the AI aspect. There’s a sort of false understanding of what providers are even doing with AI. There’s a lot of hyperbole. In terms of predictions, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and say there won’t be a recession … but maybe a slow recovery. I may very well be wrong. It might still be a tricky year. I do think there’s going to be more mergers and acquisitions activity. We’re already seeing some acquisitions. In this type of economy, with the 2023 books closed, there will be more acquisitions in the market.  

CD: I have dual questions here. Where do both technology and services go in 2024? We’ll begin with Jen and managed services.   

JT: I’ll be so bold as to say some of the work we’ve been doing with our partners, Beeline specifically, will begin to converge and intertwine with what we do with our core technology partners. Some of the direction that MSPs are going is becoming more outcome-based focused and less processing management. We have so much expertise to lend and truly believe that organizations are seeking advisory direction and support — particularly on supply and procurement strategy. In addition to recommending a supplier, it’s more about how you are buying and understanding the right strategy to engage and achieve the most value for what you’re trying to drive toward. That’s going to be a big but slow shift.

BH: We’ve started this evolution of who Beeline is because of the new things we have rolling out. We have products that are available to serve parts of the market we have never had before. That will continue. It’s part of what we want to be, which is offering great experiences and products for every persona involved in contingent labor. We’re already doing that with Beeline Professional, our solution for the mid-market, as well as some of the work we’re doing with suppliers that I’m incredibly excited about.      

CD: We’ve talked about what surprised us and some 2024 predictions. Let’s close with what each of you would to see most in 2024 — not what you expect to happen — but what you would most like to see.

JT: I have two. The first is I’d like to see Beeline top its 80s party from the CWS Summit. Very much looking forward to that. My real honest answer, and not to sound beauty pageantry, is I’d love to see more world peace. 2023 was a volatile year concerning civil unrest. There’s nothing more I’d like to see than some of that quiet down. I know that’s probably not realistic to see it completely resolved, but that’s my utopian answer.

BH: Challenge accepted for the Beeline party. My answer was going to be similar. The word I’d use is normalcy. We had two-and-a-half years of the pandemic. And 2023 with economic uncertainty, the war in Ukraine for the last few years, and what’s going on in Gaza. We’re now in a year of a political presidential election cycle that’s going to be horrible, no matter what side you’re on. I would just like to see normalcy and civility. I’ve always loved the saying, “moderation in all things, including moderation.”