In recent years, many organizations have tapped into the contingent workforce, but the future of such work arrangements is uncertain. Organizations want to know, “How important will the contingent workforce be over the long term?” and, “If it is here to stay, how should we efficiently and effectively source contingent workers?”

To get a better understanding of how organizations acquire and manage contingent workers, we investigated a range of issues:

• How widespread the contingent workforce is today
• Why organizations are using contingent employees
• Whether organizations are managing their contingent workforces well
• The common sources of contingent workers
  The practices that seem most closely associated with success