“People who think they need a full-time employee haven’t gotten the memo yet.”

The boom of the blended workforce. It might not be here yet … but it’s coming.

If you are a business owner wanting to have all the talent you need at your fingertips to stay ahead of the pack, you need to take note.

What is a Blended Workforce?

Also known as the #WiderWorkforce, this is a base of talent which is a mix of employees and freelancers or self-employed individuals.

I was recently interviewed by Bill Hinchberger for his #GlobalFinance article ‘Freelancing Boom Goes Global’ which comprehensively sets out how fractional and part-time working is booming across all levels of employment from the C-suite down.

What is driving the Blended Workforce boom?

1. Pre-Pandemic Trends and the Impact of COVID-19

Gigging was a developing trend before the #pandemic , particularly for those needing to hold down several jobs and #sidehustles to make ends meet.

For professionals, the move to #remote and home working coupled with the opportunity during Covid to reflect on what really matters, has led to the boom taking hold for this segment of the market.

2. Disillusionment with Corporate Life

Many highly skilled professionals don't want to be employed anymore.

With long working hours and always another crisis on the horizon, personal lives and relationships suffer. It's taking its toll on our personal lives, and we’re finding we can only do it for so long … we want to escape.

Wellbeing is becoming increasingly important.

3. Realisation That a Portfolio Career Offers More

By holding a portfolio of clients, C-suite professionals get to work on a wide range of issues and are exposed to the latest developments, learnings, and knowledge in their specialism.

It’s challenging and exciting work that they didn’t get when they were employed. They hold a different perspective across their industry, something which is wider and deeper than the restricted in-house corporate view held by employees. They have a collaborative network which they can dip into to share and learn cutting edge skills.

Going independent brings them agency, control , flexibility and purpose - a different way of living and working.

4. Gen Z Are Shaping the Future of Work

Driven by freedom, wellbeing and purpose coupled with the cost of living crisis, many young professionals from the #GenZ cohort are deciding they don’t even want to go there in the first place, opting to go portfolio from the get-go. A recent global study by Fiverr found that 71% of Gen Z plan to freelance or already do, and 36% say their ultimate career aim is to be their own boss.

How do we lead and manage a Blended Workforce?

1. Make Outsiders Insiders

To start with, we need to acknowledge that freelancer professionals don’t just do work, they do valuable and important work, and they can be part of our workforce.

They need to be welcomed back into Blended Workforce cultures where business leaders understand how to develop deep and authentic relationships with these outsiders, so that they become insiders.

We need to lead and manage a mix of employees and highly skilled freelancers … together. It’s a big ask and one which will unlock future talent strategies.

2. Develop Psychological Ownership

My research into the access economy for the C-suite has found that leaders need to develop something called Psychological Ownership with their highly skilled freelancers – this involves developing common goals, shared identities, and feelings of belonging which must be carefully crafted through responsiveness , intimacy , collaboration , and creating psychologicalsafety.

3. A New Breed of Organisation

We need to introduce into the system a new breed of organisation, ‘the Firms of Highly Skilled Professionals’. These are ‘Organisers not Employers’ like the ‘Firms of C-suite Providers’. This is what we do with The CFO Centre UK. These organisations provide a home for the portfolio professionals; a place of support, learning, collaboration, and best practice, where they belong, and which organisations can engage with to access all their fractional talent requirements.

What does this mean for Traditional Employment?

But like anything, it’s not just a case of going self-employed, picking up a clutch of clients to work with, and getting on with the job.

These are big changes.

It’s a different future of work that has consequences on fractional professionals, the organisations they are leaving behind and the employees still working in the traditional way.

It is possible that the full-time work model could erode over time or even collapse as more gravitate towards flexible and stretching freelancing. The ones left behind in the employed model suddenly look like they are losing out and aren’t getting the exposure and development they need.

It’s fair to say it’s still early days and there is currently a spectrum in the ways of work. On the one hand we have the employed workforce who are relatively more risk averse, stable, and loyal, and on the other hand we have the free-spirited giggers, taking risks and enjoying the highs and lows of portfolios, and bringing the learning and development into organisations.

I believe this balance of different approaches to work is going to gain momentum… which means the first step for business leaders is to take part in the Boom of the Blended Workforce.

As quoted, in the Global Finance article, by MBO Partners CEO Miles Everson,

“People who think they need a full-time employee haven’t gotten the memo yet.”

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.