White Papers

Aberdeen Benchmark Report 2009: Contract Labor

Best In Class Contingent Labor Strategies for 2010 and Beyond

With economic recovery around the corner, businesses must manage the complex and growing contingent workforce to not only achieve business goals, but strategize for the oncoming demand. This research from Aberdeen benchmarks the performance of 200 companies with respect to contingent workforce management. The study found the adherent risks of managing contingent labor, particularly independent contractors, must be mitigated, while delivering performance across areas like time, cost, and compliance with labor policies and employment law.

Contract Labor Management: Superior Workforce Strategies for a Demanding Environment  

With the nation facing the toughest economic times since The Great Depression, enterprises are being forced to reevaluate current labor needs and implement alternative workforce strategies to drive performance without sacrificing time, cost, or quality. Download the latest research on contract labor, and in particular the risks and challenges for managing the growing sector of independent contractors.  

MBO Partners White Papers

E-Verify Requirements for Contractors

Jointly published by Michael Best & Friedrich LLP and MBO Partners, this paper explores E-Verification requirements for government contractors in light of Executive Order 13456 signed by President Bush on June 6, 2008. From the paper: "In addition to registering with E-Verify, independent contractors who use E-Verify must be thoroughly trained in appropriate, legally required E-Verify procedures and policies. Failure to use the program appropriately can lead to penalties, including monetary fines, expulsion from the E-Verify program and debarment from federal contracting."

Freelance Workers: Individual and Corporate Perspectives
Non-traditional, or "contingent," workers represent a substantial portion of the U.S. workforce. These workers—known as freelancers, independent contractors, or consultants—provide services in project-based work assignments that are understood not to be "permanent" positions. This paper discusses the seeds of this emergence by looking at the evolving state of career independence from the perspective of large businesses and the independent contractors they engage.

Human Capital Institute White Papers

The following are white papers developed by the Human Capital Institute as part of the Contract Talent Research Practice Area or the Contingent Workforce Management learning track, sponsored by MBO Partners and six other co-sponsors.

The ROI in Enterprise Contract Talent Management

From May through August 2009, the Human Capital Institute (HCI) conducted extensive research to understand whether organizations are realizing a return on their investment (ROI) in centralized contingent and contract talent management, and if so, how. The key findings, which are sure to interest and even surprise many Human Resources professionals, are summarized in this paper. HCI strongly recommended organizations move toward enterprise, centrally managed and technology-enabled CWM. Specific to companies like MBO Partners, the research concluded, “Among users of Independent Contractor Engagement Specialists (ICES) and/or Portable Employer of Record (PER) services who track cost savings, almost half (48 percent) have experienced significant cost savings greater than 15 percent.”

The State of Contract Talent Management and the Role of HR

According to a new study, over 90% of organizations surveyed use contract talent, and 34% said use has increased in the past three years. The composition of the contract workforce is changing; more than half are skilled consultants performing mission critical functions. The study indicates HR and procurement will need to collaborate to manage contract talent strategically.

Dark Side of the Moon: Do You Really Know Your Contract Workforce?

The use of contract workers has grown fivefold since the 1980's. Ten years ago a contract worker may have simply been a temp from a staffing agency, but the implications of the contingent workforce had taken a radical turn in the past decade. Globalization and the flattening of the world economy, the aging of the US workforce, and the demand for increased flexibility and mobility are are only some of the factors that are driving change. Know the future of your workforce, and plan for your human capital initiatives. Featuring Dana Shaw with Staffing Industry Analysts. 

After the Fall of Chimes: The Impact on Vendor Management

Before its bankruptcy in January 2008, Ensemble Chimes Global (Chimes) was the largest provider of Vendor Management System (VMS) technology used to manage contract talent. The bankruptcy raised a number of important questions for staffing organizations, VMS and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), and client organizations that use contract talent. This paper provides insights and perspectives from industry leaders on the reasons for Chimes’ downfall, the implications for VMS and MSP providers, effective methods for client organizations to manage their contract talent in light of the bankruptcy, and steps client organizations and suppliers can take to protect themselves.

What is a VMS? The Role of Vendor Management Systems in Contingent Workforce
A Vendor Management System, or VMS, is a software technology that automates the requisition, solicitation, evaluation, engagement, management, and payment for contingent workforce services. How does this fit with your organization's needs, and what do you need to know when selecting a VMS? Join experts from leading VMS providers Fieldglass, Provade, Beeline, and Peopleclick for this enlightening paper, and give yourself a stronger knowledge foundation for managing contingent talent!

The Talent Shift: Align Your Business with the Future, Now
The workforce is rapidly transforming, with free, flexible, and talented independent consultants rising to the forefront. Smart entrepreneurs are increasingly wielding the concept of the "personal business," and along the way, they are bringing new agility and competitive edge to the businesses that can engage them. In this paper, meet an interesting cast of independent consultants. Learn what makes them tick, and pick up the tools you need to work with them. Your business needs the power of independent talent to stay agile and competitive. Also in this paper, learn about the foundations of this workforce transformation, and hear from experts about safely and quickly engaging contract talent.

Best of the Best 2006: Vendor Management Standards
Contingent talent is the fastest growing segment of the workforce. In a business climate of rapid growth where little or no standardization exists, the Human Capital Institute has petitioned industry experts to form a coalition to address this dilemma. For this final paper of 2006, we celebrate the best of the best practices in Contingent Workforce Management for 2006. The Human Capital Institute and seven of the most experienced companies in managing vendors and contract labor have joined together to launch a Standards Committee for Vendor Management and Managed Services. This paper celebrates the first time a coalition of such esteemed industry competitors have come together to contribute ideas, standards, and best practices for simplifying how clients, vendors, and contract talent work together.

Assessing and Managing Risk in Contract Workforce Management
Nearly every business, large and small, uses "contingent" labor: workers who perform services for a company despite not being on the company's employee payroll. Contingent labor takes many forms and exists on every level of the corporate hierarchy, from traditional services to strategic knowledge workers. As rich as the potential rewards are for successfully engaging and deploying a stable of contract talent, there are risks associated with turning over a significant portion of the work that a company does to individuals who don't, technically, "work for the company." Some of these risks are business risks; for example, what are the implications on ownership of intellectual property? Some of the risks are financial: how does the process of dealing with the IRS change? Other potential risks are related to compliance. In this paper, we will look at how the best companies are managing these risks, starting with how to determine potential exposure points then moving into the various methods companies use to mitigate them.

Curtailing "Brain Drain": Keeping Older Workers in the CWM Mix
With almost 75 million members of the Baby Boomer Generation nearing retirement age, the implications for the American labor market are huge. Aside from the physical numbers of workers that will need to be replaced, the intellectual property those individuals will take with them could create a "brain drain" the likes of which the United States has never seen. Many companies are hoping to lessen this impact by finding creative ways to keep all that knowledge in their orbit. In this paper featuring Deborah Russell, Director of Economic Security at AARP, we'll learn about new tools that allow organizations to attract valuable aging talent without conflicting with the rules and culture of the full-time workforce.

The Current State of the Contingent Workforce - One Size Doesn't Fit All
In the newly unfolding knowledge economy, the employment landscape has changed tremendously from what it looked even 20 years ago. The workforce today comprises a diverse mix of individuals connected to their organizations in myriad ways: from contract employment, to hourly work, to short-term engagements to consulting relationships. Full time employees, of course, are still a key part of the equation but if existing trends are anything to go by, companies that fail to incorporate the burgeoning numbers of contract-based workers are at a competitive disadvantage. Moreover, for companies making the transition to a contingent workforce, tweaking existing workforce systems and processes to facilitate better management is inevitable. In this paper, a panel of experts with disparate views discuss the evolving landscape if the contingent workforce.