Independent talent exists across organizations in more places than most systems can track. It moves through different channels and often never appears in a single, connected record. The result is a workforce that is active, skilled, and delivering value—but not fully visible.
That lack of visibility creates friction in how organizations manage talent and workforce spend. Teams may hire externally instead of re-engaging proven talent, duplicate work across departments, or miss opportunities to make better use of the people already contributing to the business.
As the independent workforce continues to grow, organizations need a clearer view of where independent talent is working and how it contributes to the business. Our latest State of Independence report shows this workforce is larger and more established than ever, making visibility an increasingly important part of workforce planning.
Workers no longer enter organizations through a single hiring process. Instead, they come through multiple channels depending on the work, the engagement model, and business needs.
Some of the most common entry points include:
The information often exists, but it's spread across HR, procurement, finance and vendor management systems. Each captures only one piece of the workforce.
Without a connected view, organizations struggle to understand who is doing the work, where talent already exists, and how their extended workforce supports the business.
The challenge is that workforce data often lives in disconnected systems.
When information is spread across HR, procurement, finance and vendor management platforms, organizations struggle to see patterns across roles, projects and past engagements. That lack of visibility affects both strategic workforce planning and everyday talent decisions.
The shift toward independent work is making this challenge even more pronounced. According to the 2025 State of Independence in America report, 42% of independent workers now find work through online platforms, up from just 14% in 2015.
As talent flows through more channels outside traditional hiring, organizations face more entry points, more fragmented data and fewer opportunities to see their workforce as a connected whole.
For talent teams, workforce visibility can mean the difference between re-engaging proven talent and starting the search from scratch.
When contractor history isn't connected across the organization, valuable information on their experience level and past performance are easy to miss. An independent professional may have successfully supported multiple teams yet remain invisible to the people responsible for finding talent.
That can lead to the following issues: repeated searches for similar roles, incomplete or underused talent pools, and missed opportunities to re-engage proven talent.
Without a connected view, teams spend more time sourcing talent they already know instead of building on existing relationships. A clearer picture of the workforce makes it easier to identify, evaluate and re-engage skilled independent talent, reducing hiring time and improving workforce planning.
Procurement faces a similar challenge. When workforce data is scattered across systems, spend data is too.
Without a connected view, it's difficult to understand where money is going, compare vendor performance or identify opportunities to reduce costs. Organizations may encounter different rates for similar work, duplicate vendors supporting overlapping needs, and gaps in workforce spend tracking and reporting.
Procurement depends on complete, connected data to make informed decisions. When information is spread across multiple systems, controlling costs becomes much more difficult.
At the heart of this challenge is a simple reality: Organizations can't effectively manage a workforce they can't fully see.
Most organizations already have the systems and data they need. The challenge is that workforce information lives across HR, procurement, finance, vendor management and business systems, with no single view connecting it all.
The workforce may be operating effectively day to day, but without connected data, organizations never see the complete picture.
Fixing this doesn’t require replacing existing systems. Most organizations already have the data they need. The challenge is connecting it in a way that reflects how work gets done.
That means:
When these pieces come together, organizations gain a clearer picture of their workforce. Teams can find and reengage proven talent, manage spend more effectively, and make planning decisions based on real workforce data instead of guesswork.
The modern workforce doesn’t live in one system. Organizations that gain clarity don’t have the most data—they’re the ones who use it most effectively.
Because once you can see your talent, you can put it to work.
Download our new e-book, "The Hidden Workforce Problem: 7 Common Challenges That Impact Risk, Cost and Talent Access," and learn the critical challenges quickly eroding the visibility, compliance, talent recruitment and cost efficiency of enterprise contractor programs, along with the proven path to taking back control.