In today’s rapidly evolving workforce landscape, traditional workforce models are being redefined. The rise of contingent workers—those who aren’t direct employees but still play a crucial role in today’s workforce—means organisations need to think differently about talent. But many still don’t.
Sue Howse sat down with contingent workforce expert Dennis Dragatogiannis to explore how businesses can better manage their non-employee workforce. With over 20 years of experience across multinationals in the Asia Pacific region, Dennis had a few home truths to share—and even more opportunities to uncover.
The Changing Nature of Work
The conversation kicks off with a critical observation: hybrid work, automation, and AI are transforming the workforce. As a result, organisations are becoming increasingly reliant on flexible workers to fill skills gaps and meet project demand.
“Contingent workers are no longer sitting on the sidelines,” Dennis explains. “They’re becoming a strategic asset. But most organisations still aren’t treating them that way.”
What’s the Problem?
Despite the growing dependency on contingent workers, many business leaders don’t understand the full spectrum of what that workforce includes agency contractors, consultants, fixed-term staff, independent experts, statement-of-work engagements, and more.
“Most execs see non-employees as a cost, not a capability. The spend is fragmented, the procurement is decentralised, and talent gets brought in through back channels and networks with no oversight or consistency. It’s not strategic, and a lot of value gets lost.”
Why Definitions Matter
One of the recurring challenges Dennis sees is that organisations don’t define their non-employee workers clearly.
“You might have hourly contractors, fixed-term workers, consultants on outcome-based contracts, or those buried in ambiguous Statements of Work,” he explains. “Without a clear taxonomy or templates, it becomes guesswork. That leads to compliance issues, inconsistent pricing, and no visibility into who’s doing what.”
For example, when statements of work (SoWs) aren’t clear or measurable, businesses don’t know what value they’re supposed to receive—or how to chase it when it’s missed. That’s money and time down the drain.
The Middle Ground: Independent Consultants
There’s a growing group that’s neither agency contractor nor SoWs: the independent consultant.
“They often bring in high-value skills quickly, but come with risks if not properly onboarded,” says Dennis. “Are they sole traders? Do they have insurance? Are you paying double margin through a third party?”
This middle zone offers huge benefits—access to scarce skills, fast delivery, and agility—but can also be a compliance and cost minefield without the right structure in place.
HR vs Procurement: The Classic Tug of War
One of the key themes in the discussion is the ongoing friction between HR and procurement when it comes to managing contingent workers. HR typically leads the recruitment and ongoing talent management of the permanent workforce; procurement often leads the contracts and supplier management of companies who provide contingent workers. The result? Fragmentation.
“Contingent workforce is often ‘orphaned’ within the organisation,” Dennis explains. “Spend is hidden in different departments, the same skill is bought from different vendors at wildly different prices, and there’s no one with end-to-end visibility.”
Both Sue and Dennis agree: the solution is a unified contingent workforce program—people who understand both talent and commercials and can take a whole-of-workforce view.
Building Visibility and Maturity
For organisations ready to move forward, Dennis highlights the first step: awareness.
“Once HR leaders start to ask, ‘Who else is delivering work here?’—you can start building skills taxonomies, analysing contingent spend profiles, and comparing it to permanent workforce data,” he says. “Then you can actually build a strategy.”
Key to this is data. Not inconsistent spreadsheets. Not emails. Real data.
“Technology must be an enabler, not an afterthought,” Dennis insists. “You have a database for everything else—why not for your workforce? It’s scary how many businesses don’t know who’s working for them.”
Technology: Picking the Right Tools
When it comes to technology, many organisations jump straight to the question: “Which Vendor Management System (VMS) should we use?”
Dennis thinks they’re asking the wrong question.
“The real question is: why don’t you have a way to track this already? Whether it’s through your HRIS or a fit-for-purpose solution, you need a data-rich, centralised view of your workforce—permanent and non-permanent.”
Whether you have the business case to implement a VMS or utilise your HRIS and other talent or procurement technologies, once you have this visibility, you can start answering strategic questions: What are our current skills? Where are the gaps? How do we reskill, redeploy, or engage talent faster?
Getting Buy-In: Start with the Business Case
Of course, building a program takes investment. Which means it needs a business case. According to Dennis, the most common mistake is skipping the first step: creating a solid business case and securing the mandate to drive the change needed.
“You can have the world’s best business case, but if you don’t have the right sponsor, it won’t get off the ground.”
His advice? Start by identifying the decision-makers, uncover the internal enablers or blockers, and then build a case around:
- The cost of the current state (leakage, inefficiencies)
- The risks of inaction (non-compliance, project delays, bad hiring)
- The commercial opportunity (right people, right price, right time)
Bring in the CFO
A strong ally in this journey? The CFO.
“If you speak their language—value, data, outcomes—they’ll be a powerful champion,” says Dennis. “They can also help challenge some of the legacy buying behaviours and support change.”
But again, it starts with education: “It’s not a procurement project, it’s a strategic business imperative. You’re giving the organisation choices, visibility, and the ability to act in real time.”
Where to Start
If your business is just beginning this journey, Dennis recommends three first steps:
- Identify the deal-makers and deal-breakers. Who’s likely to champion this? Who’s likely to resist? Start having honest conversations.
- Secure the mandate. Get decision-makers on board early. Understand their priorities and pain points.
- Build a phased plan. This might include a pilot program, technology roadmap, taxonomy development, and capability uplift for your HR and procurement teams.
Final Word: It’s All About People
At the end of the day, this isn’t just about cost control or compliance.
“It’s about getting the right people, in the right seats, at the right time, for the right price,” Dennis says. “That’s what supports delivery, innovation, and growth. That’s what a whole-of-workforce strategy is really about.”
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