These are people that could be:

• generating revenue
• representing your company
•  selling your products
• supporting your customers
• enabling your business operations
• creating new innovative differentiating solutions for your customers
• saving lives
• as highlighted in recent pandemic times, make up many of the 1st line workers!

On average, 43% of an organisations worker spend is on external workforce. They are a part of an organisation’s total workforce.

Why is it then, in many organisations, no one owns the external workforce area?

My theory is, the external workforce touches so many different areas of your business, it is hard to find 1 owner.

There is a change happening which is building momentum. The C Suite has started to recognise the need to have an external workforce program in play and include it within their total workforce strategy.

Due to the complexities and not being able to specifically say one area owns the external workforce, some organisations are starting to create a new business unit within an organisation which is tasked to own and focus on total workforce management. 

We are also starting to see more organisations adopt Vendor Management System (VMS) technology, which enables a business to efficiently source, engage and manage the external workforce. The VMS is like an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for Suppliers and can cover all external workforce requirements (Contingent, Statement of Work, Outsourced).

So, to all my friends in the C Suite, in your next company meeting ask how many external workers you have, what do they do for your organisation, and is there a program in place that manages that part of your workforce?

“Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing.” – Peter Drucker