The Future of Work is Through Workforce Ecosystems

Organizations’ workforce agendas no longer revolve solely around hired employees performing work along linear career paths. Workforces today comprise a range of internal and external parties including employees, contractors, gig workers, professional service providers, application developers, crowdsourced contributors, and others. Organizations recognize that they need to adopt an integrated approach to effectively manage an unintegrated workforce. However, significant challenges remain and best practices are scarce to address strategic and operational issues associated with workforces that span organizational boundaries. In this research, we define workforce ecosystems as structures that consist of interdependent actors, from within and outside the organization, which pursue both individual and collective goals. This article is based on a two-year research program comprising two global executive surveys and semi-structured interviews with corporate and military leaders and academic experts. We find that a workforce ecosystem approach can help organizations address shifts driven by technological, social, and economic forces. For instance, we recognize that more organizations are relying on nonemployees to accomplish strategic objectives; more work is becoming task- and project-based, and a growing number of executives are recognizing that a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce delivers better results. Organizations that adopt workforce ecosystems can take advantage of these shifts, and better align their work with their strategic goals and objectives.