The Future of Work Is Through Workforce Ecosystems | MIT Sloan Management Review

Although many firms ostensibly view their workforces as both employees and non-employees (e.g., contractors, contingent), legacy talent management practices and workforce strategies often take separate, unintegrated approaches to managing internal and external workers. As a firms’ workforce increasingly crosses internal and external boundaries, this article submits that a more modern workforce management approach is warranted. They call this approach workforce ecosystem – viewing and managing the workforce in a more integrated and holistic manner. Such an approach can help firms better manage four key shifts. Shift 1) More non-employees are doing more work for business (e.g., non-employees are responsible for performing more than 25% of work in the enterprise.) Shift 2) The nature of work is evolving (e.g., work is more short-term, skills-focused, team-based).  Shift 3) There is growing recognition that a diverse and inclusive workforce can deliver more value. Shift 4) Workforce management is becoming more complex. As the number of non-employees increases within a firm’s workforce, adopting a workforce ecosystem approach can enable firms to make an integrated set of talent choices. In case you missed it, here are two posts I made on articles from Harvard Business Review, Rethinking the On-demand Workforce, and Boston Consulting Group,  Building the On-demand Workforce, that provide a few tactics on the topic.