Transforming Your Workforce for a Complex World: 4 Familiar Concepts to Align Talent

As the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) prepares for its 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition under the theme “Transforming for a Complex World,” the Army is facing a reality filled with rapid and dramatic change. The nature of warfare has changed dramatically, with cyber threats, AI-driven intelligence and rapidly evolving technologies making operation in a multidimensional battlefield the standard.

The increasing complexity of the environment demands a level of specialization and adaptation that challenges traditional military contracting structures. It requires what in the Army is referred to as task organization, which is defined as “a temporary grouping of forces designed to accomplish a particular mission.” Task organization links back to the longstanding and well-proven Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP), which scopes, bounds, and de-risks a situation by applying relevant, and often highly specialized, resources to a problem or against an objective.

This is similar in many respects to business protocols that command a matrix structure to deploy and share skills, and to enhance the agility of teams. Throughout the business environment, companies are recognizing the value that a growing independent workforce provides in delivering the immediate expertise necessary to meet business goals and compete across economies and market segments.

Like in the business environment, independent consultants and contract workers offer several key advantages to those supporting the Army’s transformation efforts:

1. Enhanced Task Organization Flexibility (Agile Workforce)

Business leaders now consider independent contractors as additional “force multipliers” when organizing their businesses against a demand. This allows for more precise tailoring of capabilities to mission requirements.

2. Rapid Integration of Specialized Skills

As the MDMP identifies capability gaps during mission analysis, experienced independent contractors with niche expertise in areas like AI, cyber warfare, technical integrators, or advanced data analytics can be quickly absorbed into the structure.

3. Adaptability in Course of Action Development

The inclusion of contractors in the task organization provides planners with more options when developing and comparing courses of action and contingency, leading to more innovative and effective approaches.

4. Improved Sustainment Planning

Contractors can be factored into the sustainment of contracts to support fluctuating demands on business processes as a contract progresses. Additional HR for onboarding, specialized operations skills by contract phase, or in-line system/process improvement are normal functions for independent contractors supporting and creating efficiencies in cost centers.

As the Army transforms for this complex and often volatile world, the utilization of independent contractors comprises a dynamic, knowledge-based force multiplier that can help the military contracting community adapt to emerging threats and new technologies with unprecedented speed, innovation and flexibility; and that perfectly complements the Army-embedded MDMP approach.

Moreover, shifting towards a more flexible, independent-inclusive model reflects broader trends in the civilian workforce. As organizations in all sectors grapple with rapid technological change and evolving skill requirements, many are turning to independent professionals to stay competitive and adaptive. They are also turning to talent partners to compliantly source and engage independent talent and to streamline administration while they themselves focus on core business activities and performance.

Especially as labor markets tighten and skills gaps widen, the integration of independent talent and critical skills into ever-denser support contracts will be essential to win federal contracting bids; and in ensuring the that the Army’s efforts to transform and modernize lead to future preparedness. In fact, the usage of independent professionals as a core component of the military ecosystem may well be a defining factor in the Army’s ability to navigate the complexities of 21st-century warfare and national security.