Talent acquisition, graduate hiring and early careers, succession and mobility, talent management, employee engagement, and leadership capability are all critical elements of a modern talent strategy and are on the agenda for most, if not all, HR and C-suite executives.  

Consider this: Do companies genuinely know the size, capability, tenure, risk factors, benefits, and cost of their extended workforce? By extended workforce, we mean those who sit outside the bounds of direct employment: contingent workers, contractors, consultants and labour hire. 

According to Staffing Industry Analysts 2024 research, 10 – 30% of the workforce in organisations today are contingent workers (an average of 22%).  The same research indicates that within the next 5 years this will be 15 – 40% contingent (average of 30%).  Everest Group, State of the Market 2023 research outlines that 70% of executives expect their contingent workforce will grow over the next 2 years.   

At The Human Collaborative, we see that HR and C-Suite executives have visibility of their employee hiring but lack total visibility of this important workforce cohort, the invisible contingent workforce.   

While this flexible workforce provides businesses with agility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, a looming concern is the lack of visibility of contingent workers and the associated risks.  

How can this be the case in today’s world where so much data and information is at our fingertips? 

It is frustrating that, despite the continued rise of contingent workers in a modern workforce, very few companies have the expertise, capability, processes and systems to harness this critical source of capability and capacity.  The tangled accountabilities often are tossed around an organisation like a hot potato – between HR, Procurement and Business Leaders – while the recipe for success lies in the collaboration between all three.  

  This year alone, numerous talent-related events have been attended by talent leaders across different industry sectors, and these events have included relevant insights, information, and, to a great extent, future-thinking content.  However, and it’s a big however, there is very little discussion or mention of the contingent workforce.  So, either everyone has their head in the sand (oh and we all know that some do) or they know the importance of their holistic workforce, but genuinely do not know how to tackle the challenges and leverage the opportunities of an effective contingent workforce strategy.  

One of The Human Collaborative trusted partners, Noel Barrett, Vice President for Contingent Workforce Solutions in APAC at KellyOCG shared his view that broadly, there is a solid understanding amongst most HR and Talent Acquisition professionals that the composition of a workforce is more complex than it ever has been. Of the shift in organisations towards a mixture of permanent and non-permanent hiring, Noel said,

“Business operations have changed, and the significant impact and value that the non-employee workforce can contribute to the success, productivity and sustainability of organisations, is often thought to be immeasurable. But it can be measured!” Noel stressed the importance of a “holistic talent strategy, directly linked to the strategic objectives of the organisation.” 

The first step forward with a Contingent Workforce program is to gain visibility.  As Noel described, “This will help all stakeholder groups in the organisation bring both a wide angle and granular view of a total workforce, allowing leadership to make informed and strategic workforce decisions that positively impact the business.”  Furthermore, Noel shares, “The question in many organisations is still the ownership of the overall workforce strategy. We continue working with organisations to uncover and design strategic programs for the invisible workforce.” 

We at The Human Collaborative know that companies that have visibility of and then harness the capabilities of the contingent workforce are more likely to achieve greater business outcomes.  How do we know this? Through our work with our clients, using our decades of experience in contingent workforce strategy and operations.  

Is your organisation grappling with the reality of an invisible workforce?  Do not struggle anymore.

Contact us today, learn more about the work we do below, and look at the work we did with Optus to help find their invisible workforce.