The 15th Annual CWS Summit North America will be held next week in San Diego. With a theme of “Elevate, Evolve, Empower,” this year’s attendees will engage in case studies, topical sessions and networking opportunities — garnering actionable insights to help drive their CW programs forward.

The two-day event includes facilitated roundtable discussions and networking opportunities as well as sessions covering a wide range of topics. More than 550 buyers including CW program managers will be attending the event featuring best practices, real-world solutions and high-impact strategies on the future of contingent labor. In many companies,  CW program play an active role in taking the company’s mission forward while impacting the bottom line.

SIA research in 2006 showed that for most contingent workforce managers at the time, the job was more of a task than a profession. Among the firms we surveyed that year, nearly two-thirds of CW managers spent the majority of their time on other responsibilities. The CW managers then were the pioneers in an emerging field that had only just begun to gain recognition and appreciation in the boardroom.

Today, it’s a very different realm where strategies like total talent management and total talent acquisition are part of the CW manager’s narrative.  The sophisticated CW manager is at the cutting edge of the world of work, introducing his or her program and company to best practices, real-world solutions and high impact strategies.

Event Agenda. Sessions will cover talent and strategy and operations, technology and research. Sessions on the agenda range from “Getting Executive Backing for Your CW Program: Understanding the Language of the C-Suite and How to Get Their Attention” to “VMS Modernization, to Upgrade or Replace Your VMS” to “The Future of Work is Here and it’s the Flexible Workforce” and more.

The final conference session will be a CWS Summit Family Feud. Hosted by Dawn McCartney, VP, Contingent Workforce Strategies Council, the event follows the TV show format with two “family” teams comprising six innovative program managers from large organizations pitched against six executives from leading staffing providers. The teams will be asked to predict the most popular answers to conference surveys.

Keynote speakers include Peter Reagan, SIA’s senior director, CWS and research, who will discuss how past trends might evolve into the reality of tomorrow and offer insights to help elevate your workforce into the 21st century.

Additionally, Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour will present “Zero to Breakthrough: How A Breakthrough Mentality Creates Breakthrough Results.” The author and creator of the Zero to Breakthrough™ Success Plan propelled herself from beat cop to combat pilot in a record-breaking three years and is America’s first African American female combat pilot.

The event concludes with the Workforce Solutions Industry Party, an informal waterfront bash. SIA’s CWS Summit North America takes place Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 9-10; the Collaboration in the Gig Economy conference will follow on Wednesday and Thursday.

print