Welcome to this issue of The Contingent Compass. Each week, I send two essays to help you navigate the complex world of the Contingent Workforce. If you need support on your journey, upgrade to a paid subscription where you’ll instantly be able to interact with the community through group chat, live Q&A’s, gain access practical program tools and useful how-to guides.
Let me start with a question that might sting a little:
Would you describe your contingent workforce program as “leading edge”?
Or… are you just hoping no one looks too closely?
The 2025 Workforce Solutions Buyer Survey by Staffing Industry Analysts dropped recently, and it’s a wake-up call for HR and Procurement leaders.
There’s now a clear divide between companies using their contingent workforce programs as strategic weapons — and those still managing them like outdated spreadsheets held together by duct tape and optimism.
Let’s unpack what’s really going on, in plain English — no fluff — and more importantly, what you can actually do about it.
🧠 Leaders vs. Laggards: Same Workforce, Two Very Different Games
Only 25% of companies describe their CW practices as “leading edge.”
These organizations are:
Twice as likely to say their programs deliver ROI
Twice as likely to attract and retain top talent
And far less likely to be drowning in rogue spend, vendor drama, or internal confusion
Meanwhile, 28% admit their programs are behind the curve — and many more probably should.
🧪 The “Quietly Lagging” Checklist
✅ Still using Excel to track suppliers
✅ No one knows how many contractors are currently active
✅ Rogue hiring is common and goes unchallenged
✅ Supplier renewals happen by default, not by data
✅ HR and Procurement are still arm-wrestling over ownership
If you’re nodding along to more than one of these — welcome. You’re in good company. But it’s time to fix it.
📊 The Workforce Is Changing — Are You?
Contingent labor now represents 21% of the average workforce. That shoots up to 29% in industries like energy.
Companies say they expect this to hit 26% within a decade.
But here’s the thing: they’ve been saying that for years.
Without proper structure, tech, and ownership — growth projections are just strategy-flavored daydreams.
🧭 The 3 Levels of Contingent Workforce Maturity
Here’s a simple framework I use with clients to pinpoint where they sit — and where the real work needs to happen:
Where do you see yourself on that ladder — and more importantly, where do you want to be 12 months from now?
📉 Leaders vs. Laggards: A Snapshot
Here’s what the survey data reveals when you zoom out:
These aren’t just gaps. They’re signals of how your program performs — and where it bleeds.
💸 The ROI You're Probably Missing
Let’s say you’re a Fortune 1000 company spending $50 million on contingent labor.
Even a 5% rogue spend equates to $2.5 million in unmanaged outflow.
And most companies I work with don’t leak 5% — they leak 8–15%, sometimes more.
If no one’s asking where the spend is going… someone eventually will. And it won’t be a friendly question.
🛠️ Your Tech Stack Is a Mirror
It’s not about collecting tools — it’s about whether those tools are delivering actual outcomes.
And here’s the kicker:
90% of Leaders use a VMS, compared to just 67% of Laggards
Leaders are significantly more likely to use analytics, sourcing automation, candidate engagement tools, and IC compliance platforms
If your tech is sitting idle — or worse, misused — you don’t have innovation. You have an expensive illusion of control.
Ask yourself: is your VMS driving decisions, or just logging transactions?
🤖 AI, Automation, and Direct Sourcing: Still Mostly Theater
Despite all the hype:
Only 18% of companies are using AI in any meaningful way
14% have automated even part of their CW program
And just 3% of spend is direct-sourced without a staffing firm
But here’s what’s wild — the companies that have actually implemented direct sourcing?
They’re aiming for 40% of CW spend to go through those channels within a decade.
So while most of the industry is stuck in “planning mode,” a few are quietly lapping the field.
💣 Rogue Spend: The Silent Killer
50% of Leader programs report less than 10% rogue spend.
Only 20% of Laggards can say the same.
That gap? It adds up fast.
One global client thought they had 12 vendors. After an audit, we found 47.
The culprit? Rogue hiring managers bypassing the system “just this once” — on repeat.
It’s not just a cost issue. It’s a governance risk, a compliance gap, and a data disaster.
🤝 Supplier Satisfaction: Still Mostly Meh
Supplier Net Promoter Scores (NPS) were… not great:
MSPs: barely positive at +3
Primary staffing suppliers: -2
Everyone else? Even lower
But Leader programs? Their supplier scores were on average 39 points higher.
That’s not a coincidence. That’s what happens when vendors are managed — not just contracted.
🧩 Bonus Insight: Ownership Drives Everything
The most chaotic CW programs I’ve seen weren’t broken because of bad tools or lazy suppliers.
They were broken because no one was really in charge.
HR wanted control. Procurement had the contracts. Legal was MIA. And the actual users — the hiring managers — did whatever got them talent fastest.
If no one owns the program, no one owns the results.
You don’t need perfection. You need authority, accountability, and one team driving strategy.
🌍 Mid-Market Companies, Don’t Ignore This
Even if you’re not a global giant, this applies to you.
I’ve worked with mid-sized companies who swore they had things under control — until they realized half their contractors weren’t even visible in their VMS.
At smaller scale, every dollar and every misstep hits harder. Don’t wait to “get big” to build smart.
🎯 What to Actually Do About It
Let’s make this useful. If this essay has you thinking “we could be doing better” — start here:
✅ Run a supplier audit — not just who you’re paying, but what value you’re getting
✅ Map your tech stack — and identify tools delivering real insight vs. just noise
✅ Pilot one improvement this quarter — AI, validation tech, better onboarding, whatever moves the needle
✅ Use a third-party scorecard or audit — fresh eyes find things internal teams miss
✅ And revisit your DE&I alignment — diverse suppliers and inclusive sourcing aren’t buzzwords, they’re strategic levers
Mature programs track who’s getting the work, not just what it costs.
📣 Want the Shortcuts?
I’ve created two practical tools you can use right away:
✅ A Contingent Workforce Self-Assessment to benchmark where you stand
✅ A Plug-and-Play Supplier Scorecard to bring accountability into every vendor meeting
Want them? You’ll find them on the Practical Program Tools tab on our Substack 🥳
If you enjoyed this read, the best compliment I could receive would be if you shared it with one person or restacked it.
If you need support on your journey, upgrade to a paid subscription where you’ll instantly be able to interact with the community through group chat, live Q&A’s, gain access practical program tools and useful how-to guides.