{"id":1709,"date":"2022-01-26T04:00:07","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T09:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futureofworkexchange.com\/?p=1709"},"modified":"2022-01-26T07:08:59","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T12:08:59","slug":"1709","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futureofworkexchange.com\/2022\/01\/26\/1709\/","title":{"rendered":"The Extended Workforce is a Cornerstone of the Future of Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past several months, I have been focused on (amongst many other research findings) a key statistic in Future of Work Exchange<\/em> research: 47% of the average organization\u2019s total workforce is considered \u201cextended\u201d or \u201cnon-employee.\u201d This means that nearly half of the staff surrounding you (or, of course, working remotely) is comprised of temporary staff, SOW-based labor or professional services, gig workers, independent contractors, freelancers, etc.<\/p>\n

Back in 2014, based on the trajectory of the growth of the contingent workforce, Ardent Partners had boldly predicted that it was a matter of when<\/em>, not if, this workforce comprised half of the average company\u2019s total staff. \u201cAccelerants\u201d along the way, particularly the growth<\/a> of digital staffing, advanced Vendor Management Systems, Managed Service Providers expanding their breadth of offerings, and direct sourcing, all played vital roles in pushing the extended workforce to where it is today.<\/p>\n

Of course, the pandemic played a role, too, in that more and more businesses found that the best way to be agile, and the best way to scale their workforce up and down as the market dictated, was to heavily-involve extended talent into their organizations. Future of Work Exchange<\/em> research found that 82% of enterprises derived true workforce scalability and flexibility from extended talent throughout 2020 and 2021, with another 70% of businesses stating that the extended workforce assisted them with \u201cbusiness continuity\u201d initiatives in the face of uncertain economic times.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: the extended workforce wasn\u2019t just a way for businesses to leverage on-demand talent when and where they needed it\u2026it was a way for enterprises to survive and thrive<\/em> when the world was in utter chaos.<\/p>\n

There are other critical aspects related to work optimization that were accelerated due to pandemic times, including remote and hybrid work becoming table stakes, DE&I becoming more integrated into core talent acquisition initiatives, and the rise of the empathy-led, inclusive workplace. These are all crucial attributes of the Future of Work that have been, since this site launched, significant conversation pieces around how enterprises effectively get work done.<\/p>\n

Think about it: the Future of Work movement has always followed, amongst other key focal areas, a considerably powerful mantra. Optimize how work is done<\/em>. In both the good times and the bad, non-employee talent has been there to help businesses maintain continuity, support resiliency efforts, and, most importantly, serve as a talent-fueled boost to true workforce scalability. Getting work done today means tapping into the very strategies that support Best-in-Class extended workforce management, including:<\/p>\n