Advocating for a bigger piece of the global workforce

By Carl Camden

Earlier this summer, I was invited to a meeting at the White House with President Obama and about 30 leaders from other large companies. That’s not unheard of for executives in our industry, but what was different about this meeting was the topic: improving small businesses’ access to capital. Not your stereotypical staffing industry agenda item.

It bodes well for our industry that a staffing firm was included with so many Fortune 100s to discuss the health of companies in our supply chains. It shows an acknowledgement that supply chain principles apply to talent — a concept foreign to most outside (and inside) our industry until about five years ago. It also shows a growing awareness that our economic and policy-setting influence can extend beyond stereotypical “temp issues” (timely pay, I-9 compliance, etc.). While we can argue that recognition and respect are overdue, I would argue they also must be earned and acted upon.

This is a time of great opportunity for our industry, but only if we step up. As companies struggle to gain access to shrinking pools of skilled talent, they must also come to terms with a new social contract that puts a premium on how that talent wants to work. We can emerge as the voice of advocacy for that talent. We can help clients understand oncoming demographic shifts will break their current talent supply chain just as readily as a tsunami would break their physical supply chain. We can prove the value of forward-thinking, well-designed workforce solutions that take into consideration how freelancers, service providers, independent contractors, and other free agents want to work … and then forge connections between these workers and our clients to drive their businesses forward.

To do that, we need to question our own assumptions and challenge our own definitions of success. When we only pay attention to historical markers, we shortchange our future progress. When we’re thrilled with record-breaking temp penetration rates that tell us 2.06 percent of the U.S. workforce are “temporary employees,” we’re missing the opportunity to represent the 44 percent of the U.S. workforce that are free agents. We’re letting an even bigger opportunity pass by allowing the vast majority of our potential workforce to “go missing” from our advocacy efforts, our workforce solutions, and our financial results.

We should be pursuing innovative partnerships with online providers who are a valuable gateway to the free agent community. We should be pressing for tax reforms that remove undue burdens from independent workers. We should be tending carefully to our supply chains and ensuring access to capital for talent providers of all shapes and sizes. Anything less sells our industry short.

The issues facing our clients and talent pipelines are real and pressing. They demand action. When we represent a third of the global workforce, our opportunities to make a difference will abound. Our voice can be amplified in politics; we will earn a significant seat at the table on labor policies, education reform, tax regulations, immigration, and a host of other issues that we currently sit on the sidelines fretting about. Think of the impact we could wield if we stood united as an industry with the best interests of a third of the world’s labor market in mind. Think of the margins we could command if we were the entry point for corporations to gain access to that talent — and manage it on their behalf. Think of the connections we could enable between people who choose to work on their own terms, and the companies who need their talent to succeed.

Our arguments to date have done their job: Companies have learned to view contingent labor as more strategic to their business than ever before. Now, if we want to make the future happen on our terms, we need to imagine bigger, innovate smarter and invest in the future of our industry. Otherwise, we may find ourselves the ones who “go missing” from the world’s workforce plans. I look forward to us all stepping forward into this new future.

Carl Camden is president and CEO of Kelly Services.