Blended workforce: The future of talent is here

The idea of a single workforce under one roof, tied to full-time contracts and conventional 9-to-5 hours, is fast becoming obsolete. By 2025 nearly 40% of the global workforce could be freelance or contingent, according to Gartner. In Europe alone 90% of the six million highly skilled freelancers report no intention of returning to traditional employment, says Eurostat. This is not a passing trend or a post-pandemic adjustment, however. It is a seismic and permanent shift.

At The HR Leaders Club event last month, organised by The People Space in partnership with Matrix Workforce Management Solutions, these issues were brought into sharp focus during an in-depth discussion led by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia University and an international authority in people analytics, talent management, leadership development and the human-AI interface. 

“The expectation of what people expect to get from work has changed, and expectations have risen massively,” he said, capturing the shift that has left organisations grappling with how to attract, integrate and retain talent in this more flexible world of work.

However, as Roger Clements, chief growth officer at Matrix, says, there is still a lack of understanding across HR as to the impact the blended workforce will have on strategic workforce planning.

The blended workforce: why now?

A blended workforce combines permanent full-time employees with contingent workers such as freelancers, contractors, gig workers and part-time staff. Increasingly it also incorporates non-human contributors like AI and automated systems, further redefining what ‘workforce’ means. This model allows organisations to flexibly adapt to shifting business needs while accessing specialised skills on demand.

The rise of the blended workforce is a response to changing worker priorities. Chamorro-Premuzic notes that many workers are willing to forgo higher earnings and stable hours in favour of autonomy and escaping toxic workplaces. “If you ditch full-time employment for one of these other alternatives, you will end up working longer hours and earn less but be happier. Mostly because you don't have to put up with a bad boss,” he explains.

This freedom appeals particularly to younger workers, who are less likely to follow linear career paths. As The People Space editorial director Siân Harrington points out, younger employees today aren’t afraid to leave a job that doesn’t align with their values or goals. They’ll try something for six months and move on if it doesn’t fit.

This is partly because expectations of what work should provide have increased dramatically over the last century. Where work was once about survival and financial stability, many now seek purpose, personal alignment with organisational values and fulfilment in their careers. This shift has put unprecedented pressure on work to meet emotional and existential needs that other institutions, such as religion or community, once addressed but no longer fulfil for many people.

Rethinking recruitment: From credentials to capabilities

Despite the data many HR teams continue to treat contingent workers as an afterthought, governed by outdated policies designed for full-time employees. One barrier to change is complacency. Organisations often cling to traditional systems, waiting for the market to return to "normal". This approach is both short-sighted and dangerous.

Recruitment strategies are another weak link. Companies are still overly focused on CVs, credentials and full-time equivalents rather than considering how to assemble teams based on skills and project deliverables. 

The rise of skills-based hiring is a promising trend, de-emphasising traditional credentials like degrees or resumes in favour of qualities like curiosity, empathy and learning ability. These ‘future-proof’ attributes are essential in an AI-driven era where hard skills rapidly become obsolete.

“if you really want to show that you're producing the top CEOs, CHROs, leaders of tomorrow, then you shouldn't only accept the people with top qualifications, you should get the people with the worst qualifications and then turn them into leaders of tomorrow,” he says, adding that doesn’t tend to happen because “turkeys don’t want to vote for Thanksgiving or Christmas. So people who are the elite, generally speaking, don't have a desire to disrupt things and allow more meritocracy to creep up or creep in – especially when they feel that they are not the elite because of privilege but because of meritocratic reasons.”

One solution for modern work is to treat employees like adults by providing clear directions, resources and focusing on measurable outputs rather than policing inputs; for example, hours worked or physical location. However, in many organisations, measuring outputs and individual contributions is done poorly, which undermines this trust-based approach.

Chamorro-Premuzic points to organisations such as Walmart, PepsiCo, Amazon and Spotify, who are emphasising agile team assignments and project-based work structures, focusing on measurable deliverables and key performance indicators (KPIs) linked to predictive attributes.

Despite these success stories, attendees agreed that, while skills-based hiring is often discussed, it is rarely implemented at scale due to complexities such as aligning internal taxonomies, refining job descriptions and managing large-scale talent data. There’s scepticism about whether organisations are truly transitioning to skills-based systems or merely rebranding existing practices.

The role of AI in the blended workforce: human-assisted work

In the face of talent shortages and pressures on cost and productivity AI is being used to reimagine workflows by incorporating human-machine collaboration. While cultural resistance exists, the approach offers a pathway to integrate niche skill sets and improve efficiency without the long-term commitment of permanent hires.

One HR director attendee shared that her organisation has an AI Steering Committee testing various use cases to integrate AI into workforce strategies. AI supports flexibility by enabling partnerships with freelance workers and external partners who provide niche skills on an as-needed basis. This allows organisations to bring in specialised talent temporarily rather than hiring permanently for roles that may not have long-term demand.

At this organisation the discussion is around human-assisted work, as opposed to AI-assisted work. In this scenario humans are co-pilots who guide and optimise AI-driven processes. This framing helps integrate AI into existing work cultures. Reactions to these changes vary: some workers feel anxious about the potential displacement caused by AI while others are excited about the enhanced quality of work and new tools.

Challenges: Cultural friction in the blended workforce

The shift to a blended workforce poses challenges for organisations. Permanent workers may struggle with the integration of contingent talent, and organisations often fail to fully utilise freelancers’ potential. Freelancers used to be peripheral. Now they’re doing major strategic work.

However, this shift isn’t without consequences. The blended workforce may offer flexibility for workers, but it also introduces instability for organisations. One example is the situation in the NHS, where contingent workers often earn more than their permanent counterparts. This can create resentment and undermine teamwork.

Attendees raised concerns about knowledge retention, loyalty and the integration of contingent workers into corporate cultures built around permanence. Questions included how HR can create cohesion in teams where half the workforce is transient. How do you build culture when employees are there for a project, not a career?

One suggestion is to use open forums to address disparities and build trust. Another is to develop a shared sense of purpose.

What is clear is that to adapt to a modern workforce with shorter tenures, organisations must shift from valuing longevity to focusing on impact. By structuring roles as modular contributions to longer-term goals, they can integrate candidates with varied career paths while ensuring continuity in achieving their strategic objectives.

The future of work is blended

The HR Leaders Club event underscores  that the future of work is a blended one. Organisations that resist this shift risk losing out on top talent and falling behind more agile competitors. By embracing a contingent workforce, leveraging AI and rethinking traditional structures HR leaders can create resilient organisations capable of thriving in a rapidly changing world.

This transformation is not optional. It is a necessary response to the realities of the modern labour market. The question is not whether organisations will adapt but how quickly they can do so. For those ready to lead the charge the rewards will be significant: a more flexible, diverse and effective workforce ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow

Lessons for HR leaders

To attract a blended workforce HR leaders should:

• Emphasise skills over credentials, focusing on attributes that ensure adaptability and long-term value.
• Move toward project- or outcome-based work models, integrating agility in team assignments and deliverables.
• Leverage AI and data thoughtfully, ensuring that recruitment supports meaningful roles and sustainable careers rather than perpetuating biases or inefficiencies.
• Create transparent systems (for example talent passports) to enable candidates to showcase their unique value while reducing reliance on traditional hiring norms.