Unlocking the Flexible Workforce: Converting Energy into Dollars

In the wake of major conferences like SIA and HR Tech, this month’s theme was translating the current “massive energy” around the flexible workforce into greater financial investment. The central theme of the discussion was how providers can move beyond transactional sales to become strategic partners who can unlock and manage large enterprise budgets.

The New Reality: AI, Downsizing, and a Call to Action

Matthew kicked us off with a look at the current market dynamics, highlighting a critical trend:

• AI and Downsizing: The prevailing view is that AI is creating more downsizing, which, in turn, is driving a surge in the need for contractors.

• The Contingent Shift: The speaker warned that traditional staffing should be “pretty scared,” but those who are specialized and can effectively manage a budget are positioned for safety and success.

Matthew then quickly summarized common frustrations and challenges heard from enterprise clients:

The Three Keys to Success: Educate, Empower, Execute

Matthew introduced the “3E process” to overcome every flexible talent challenge.

From Our Experts

Sarah Musgrove of The Bench: The Human Connection and Nimble Service

Drawing on her long-term relationship with a Fortune 50 company, Sarah emphasized two key factors for her success in scaling marketing talent:

1. Be Nimble and Flexible: The ability to “meet them where their business is at” and grow as the client’s needs evolve.

2. The Human Connection: This is the “secret sauce.” The Bench is not a “help-yourself talent marketplace.” Instead, every client has a dedicated internal employee who manages the account, understands the key players, work styles, and personalities, ensuring better placements. She concluded that “nothing… replaces that human connection.”

Connor Heaney of CXC Global: Adding Value and Service Excellence

Connor tackled the idea of “partnership,” arguing that the term is “overused and overdone” because a service provider is fundamentally not equal to the client who is paying them. His approach focuses on:

• Adding Value and Building Trust: The first principle is to be a “valued provider,” not an equal partner.

• True Flexibility is Listening: It’s about understanding the client’s problem and being willing and able to go the extra mile to solve it compared to competitors.

• Servicing the Hell Out of It: After winning the deal, it’s about service excellence, going above and beyond “at any cost, as long as you can make a profit.”

• Earning the Trust: He likened it to any life relationship: trust must be earned every day, as “no one has a right to anything.” This ethos has led CXC to a 35% CAGR over six years and $300 million ARR in Europe.

Tony Buffum: Proactive Planning and the Mindset Shift

Tony addressed how to get enterprise programs to the $100 million-plus scale, stressing that the initial use of marketplaces is often a “bandaid” for a reactive need. To scale, enterprises must move to a strategic level.

The Critical Time: Q4 Planning

Tony identified the current period (August to November) as the critical time for strategic impact:

• August/September: Enterprises lock in 18–24 month goals, objectives, and strategies.

• Right Now: Organizations are setting budgets for the next year.

• November: Budgets are translated into a workforce plan.

This is the window to influence decision-makers. When flexible talent is an afterthought, it gets a small, reactive budget. When it’s built into the strategic plan, it allows for a larger budget and the necessary flexibility to deal with market uncertainty (a common word in planning).

Talent Access vs. Talent Ownership

The major shift required for scale is moving from acquiring and owning talent to accessing talent.

• The Win: The goal is simply to “get the talent they need to deploy, when they need to deploy it.”

• Abundance Mentality: This allows companies to use more of their budget and quickly mobilize talent for unforeseen needs, such as hiring expertise for an instant trend like the ChatGPT rollout.

   

Tony concluded that vendors must get the ears of executive leaders to help them understand that this is a mindset shift, not just a tool. The value proposition is speed, targeted engagement (“just for what you need”), and managing on skills rather than a full-time fit.