Rob’s Blog: CWS Summit 2024 - There Takeaways from Day 2

Day 2 of Contingent Workforce Strategies (CWS) Summit hosted by Staffing Industry Analysts opened with a keynote from Laura Gassner Otting.

The session asked the question “What if we could bring everything we are to everything we do”.

Referencing her own life story and introducing a number of other colorful characters including the “4 horsemen of the success apocalypse” Laura asked if we “have the right scorecard (to measure our own success)” or whether we try to live up to measures set by others.

She suggest that we “Can’t be insatiably hungry for someone else’s goals” but by measuring our success against our own goals we are able to deliver in a better outcome for ourselves, those close to us and those we work with and for.

What’s in it for me?

Laura also looked at engagement and motivation in the contingent workforce. While pay is still important to many workers her organizations research founds there are other factors that are important to them that “don’t cost anything”.

She shared that the four factors most important to contingent workers are; Meaning and values (of the organizations), Outside flexibility, Work life alignment and Peer alignment. In many cases these are even bigger motivational factors for the temporary workforce when compared with ‘permanent’ employees.

While the flexibility and work life alignment are consistent with other research it’s interesting that the “work they are doing” and “technology they are using” were absent as these are commonly cited in other research, and in my experience, as significant factors for professional contractors.

AI, data and analytics

Technology, AI and Analytics was one of the discussion tracks of the conference and with a number of sessions on the topic.

One session asked, “How will AI and analytics change how we manage the contingent workforce?”. The answers ranged from how they can enable a more effective program “With predictive analytics we can be better partners” and “(we can define) what makes sense for each department” to how they can support decision making within the business regarding “Location strategy – where to build teams”

AI was referenced in many sessions and the overarching message was that it is no longer a standalone topic but part of everything we do – or as one panelist put it

“Every company is an AI company” just with a different output/product at the end.

In versus Out

A lively session on Challenging The Status Quo revisited the In House v Outsource debate when it comes to managing your contingent workforce.

The in-house argument centered mainly around culture and whether an outsourcer can really “understand the business”. While those who favored outsourcing cited resources, expertise, insights and “all these value-added services” as the core benefits.

While accepting my in-built bias I believe it's easier for an outsourcer to embed in a company culture that an in-house team to acquire and retain the required specialist expertise in projects, tech, suppliers, legal, risk and many more that outsourcers are able invest in based on a wider client and revenue base.

In summary

A more diverse range of topics we covered at the summit than in recent years with a clear focus on the “next generation” in contingent workforce management but with something for all.