The Rise of the Invisible Workforce
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Future of Work

The Rise of the Invisible Workforce

20 September 2023 / Report

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CEO Insight Minute: How Can C-Suite Leaders Manage an Invisible Workforce?

Video

CEO Insight Minute: How Can C-Suite Leaders Manage an Invisible Workforce?

To effectively benefit from an independent workforce, businesses must move from a tactical to a strategic approach.

Contingent workers are a vital source of skills and flexible labor. However, within large businesses, the hiring and oversight of these external workers is often split between different functions, regions, and hiring managers, providing poor oversight, inefficient use of resources, and difficulty in strategic planning.

Trusted Insights for What's Ahead™

  • While contingent workers are an increasingly important source of skilled and flexible labor, companies often struggle to exactly know the size, composition, and deployment of this group. This often leads to a tactical, piecemeal approach, with insufficient focus on risks like hidden labor costs, protecting intellectual property, or financial penalties and higher labor costs if regulators judge external workers are permanent employees.
  • To effectively deploy these external workers, companies need to take a strategic and integrated approach, based on three foundations: strategic governance; integrated workforce planning; and clear guidelines for managers to ensure transparency, consistency, and compliance with
    regulation such as national and EU laws for temporary workers and a new directive protecting gig workers on digital labor platforms.
  • An integrated and strategic workforce approach requires cross function cooperation and a unified approach that includes: a clear definition of who your contingent workers are and who has oversight responsibility; comprehensive data on these workers, especially noting tactical or strategic roles and if they hold critical or future focused skills; and consideration of technology-based solutions for global compliance on data and security.

Contingent workers are a vital source of skills and flexible labor. However, within large businesses, the hiring and oversight of these external workers is often split between different functions, regions, and hiring managers, providing poor oversight, inefficient use of resources, and difficulty in strategic planning.

Trusted Insights for What's Ahead™

  • While contingent workers are an increasingly important source of skilled and flexible labor, companies often struggle to exactly know the size, composition, and deployment of this group. This often leads to a tactical, piecemeal approach, with insufficient focus on risks like hidden labor costs, protecting intellectual property, or financial penalties and higher labor costs if regulators judge external workers are permanent employees.
  • To effectively deploy these external workers, companies need to take a strategic and integrated approach, based on three foundations: strategic governance; integrated workforce planning; and clear guidelines for managers to ensure transparency, consistency, and compliance with
    regulation such as national and EU laws for temporary workers and a new directive protecting gig workers on digital labor platforms.
  • An integrated and strategic workforce approach requires cross function cooperation and a unified approach that includes: a clear definition of who your contingent workers are and who has oversight responsibility; comprehensive data on these workers, especially noting tactical or strategic roles and if they hold critical or future focused skills; and consideration of technology-based solutions for global compliance on data and security.
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Author

Marion Devine

Marion Devine Marion Devine

Principal Researcher, Human Capital, Europe
The Conference Board

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