When a Fortune 500 financial services provider set out to modernize how it engaged independent talent, the goal was simple to state and hard to deliver: reduce program cost without adding compliance risk. The existing process was fragmented across business units, with inconsistent classification practices and little central visibility.
Over an 18-month engagement, the company consolidated vendors, standardized onboarding, and introduced a single system of record for every engagement. The results reshaped how leadership thinks about flexible talent.
The challenge
Independent contractors were engaged through dozens of channels, each with its own paperwork and risk posture. Misclassification exposure was the board's top concern, and finance had no reliable way to forecast contingent spend quarter to quarter.
Three problems compounded each other: no standard classification test, no central contract repository, and no consistent rate governance. Each business unit optimized locally, and the enterprise paid for it globally.
The solution
Working with MBO, the company rolled out a single engagement workflow with a built-in classification test applied to every worker before onboarding. A central repository captured every contract, rate, and milestone, giving procurement and legal a shared view for the first time.
Rate cards were standardized by role and region, and exceptions required documented approval. What had been a patchwork of local decisions became an auditable, enterprise-wide program.
- One standardized classification test, applied universally
- Central contract and rate repository with audit trail
- Automated onboarding and offboarding checklists
- Quarterly spend forecasting tied to real engagement data
“For the first time we could answer a simple question — who is working for us, under what terms — instantly, and prove it.”
The results
Within the first year the program delivered $5.2M in savings, driven by vendor consolidation and rate governance. More importantly, classification coverage reached 100%, eliminating the board's primary compliance concern.
Finance gained a forecast it could trust, and business units kept the speed they needed to engage talent — now inside a framework that protected the enterprise. The model has since been extended to two additional regions.
The engagement proved that flexibility and control are not opposing goals. With the right system of record, a contingent workforce becomes a managed, measurable asset rather than a source of hidden risk.
Ready to rethink your own contingent workforce program? Talk to MBO about building a compliant, cost-effective talent strategy.