Over the last five years, we have observed increased growth in the challenges marketers face when it comes to getting great work done. In this series of articles, we highlight three shifts in workforce management that will help marketing organizations thrive in the future of work.    

How many times since the pandemic have you read or heard the phrase "due to continued economic uncertainty?” This phrase has plagued us all. It's meant budgeting nightmares, the suboptimal delivery or death of priority projects, the inability to make key hires and unprecedented (yes, we’ve heard that word a lot too) layoffs. The result is massive disruption for everyone, missed opportunities for businesses and workers, and a sense that we have little control over our future.  

And as a recent WSJ article reminds us, marketing dollars remain under continued threat:

“Marketer budgets have fallen to 7.7% of overall company revenue in 2024, down from an average of 11% over the four years preceding the pandemic”

“The new normal is that we just simply have less funding in marketing now,” 

In this new normal, where uncertainty reigns supreme, many marketing teams have started to realize that they need a better way to get quality work done consistently, efficiently, and effectively. Fundamentally this means adopting talent solutions that provide marketers with options to design the exact team, and ultimately workforce, needed at any given point in time. Today’s modern talent solutions offer unprecedented (there’s that word again) flexibility to buck uncertainty and thrive in the future of work.  

Below, we highlight the different options available for marketers to create a dynamic, modern workforce and helpful best practices that many of our clients have adopted.          

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Workforce Options That Put Uncertainty in Its Place

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1. Curated Freelance Project Teams

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Marketing organizations can overcome constraints that put project delivery and quality at risk by adding freelancers with specialized expertise to the team. By working with skilled independent professionals on priority projects, teams achieve greater speed and cost-effectiveness. Project work is done by blended teams of FTEs and freelancers, but it’s becoming increasingly common for a full team of freelancers to knock out projects.  

On Wripple, there are two options to build bespoke freelance project teams:

Project Catalog: Marketers can select projects from the Wripple Project Catalog to configure scope and be matched with fit-for-purpose, cross-discipline teams. The platform makes it fast and easy to define deliverables, set the budget, and hire a full team.

Project Experts: Build a custom scope from the ground up and curate the exact cross-discipline team required to deliver. This could entail hiring an individual freelancer for a few weeks or hiring a curated team of freelancers to partner with full-time employees to address complex project needs. And if you’re open to working with side hustlers, this creates even more opportunities to work with top-notch talent that can address the most niche project needs.  

This option is great for:

• Deliverables-based project work where budget-friendliness and collaboration are key
• Niche expertise needed from a professional you typically would not hire for FTE

2. Modern Staffing

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Marketing teams are very familiar with staffing as an option to keep work moving. However, today teams need a more modern answer to the traditional staffing model, specifically an option that delivers greater speed, flexibility, and transparency. For example, on Wripple, all contractor profiles are accessible online with real-time matching and the ability to hire within 24 hours.

Through Wripple, marketers have two options to meet their staffing needs:  

Match + Ops: Hire a contractor sourced by Wripple and we’ll take care of all the operations associated with compliance, onboarding, payment, and any ongoing HR support required. Clients can also hire contractors with the option to convert to a permanent employee.  

Ops Only: To efficiently manage all contractor relationships in one place, clients can onboard talent they’ve sourced themselves and when they hire them, Wripple takes care of operations. This makes it easy and fast and reduces the risk of engaging contractors.  

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This option is great for:

• Staff augmentation, often with the option to convert to permanent
• Coverage for employee leave
• Building new capabilities fast
• Managing FTE hiring freezes

3.  Managed Studios

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More and more marketers are turning to outsourced studios to curate a collaborative and cost-effective marketing capability that meets the exact needs of the business. From sourcing and hiring to delivery of work, outsourcing allows the business to achieve focus, cost-efficiencies, and speed. For this option, Wripple can create bespoke studio solutions that flex with business needs and budgets.

This option is great for:

• Building an internal cross-discipline agency capability
• Curating an on-demand studio for specialized needs
• Outsourcing full marketing support functions  

4. Micro-Agencies

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Specialized independent shops of 3 to 20 people are a great option for marketers looking for an agency-like experience but don’t need the full power of a large agency. The number of micro agencies has grown significantly post covid and offers marketers a strong value prop. On Wripple, we offer direct access to a select group of top micro-agencies across the globe. One of the benefits of working with a micro agency through Wripple is that clients do not have to worry about contracting with each agency. They have direct access to these partners through their Wripple MSA.

This option is great for:

• Projects requiring a nimble and collaborative partner that can take ownership and get the job done with little overhead
• Specialized needs requiring niche expertise in a given domain e.g., experiential, AI, event marketing

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Best Practices to Build Efficient and Effective Teams That Buck Uncertainty:

Plan Accordingly. When resource planning, start with the skills, budget, and timing required to achieve your goals. Identify gaps based on internal team capacity and capabilities. Then determine the optimal workforce mix (FTEs, contractors, freelancers, micro agencies). This approach aligns the right workforce option with the business’s needs to drive the best possible outcomes.

Maximize Flexibility. Don’t default to the usual options. For example, many organizations have experience working with long-term contractors or a freelancer to tackle small projects. Think creatively across all four options above to design the exact workforce you need. Capitalize on the flexibility offered by the combination of all these options to overcome limitations in budget, time, and expertise.

Preserve Budget. One thing that is clear post-pandemic, is the need to preserve some maneuverability to meet changing priorities and market conditions. Allocate budget so that you keep options open throughout the year i.e., don’t put all your dollars against specific talent options. Keep some money aside that can be directed to the best talent option for the inevitable surprise(s) throughout the year.  

Engage for Long-term Success. Regardless of the type of on-demand talent you work with, approach on-demand talent with professionalism. Have standard processes in place for onboarding and delivery and maintain relationships through a talent pool that allows you to easily rehire and track history. Learn more about these focus areas in our recent research on the state of freelancing in marketing.

Tech up! Use tech to manage all available on-demand talent options efficiently and effectively:

• Real-time skills-based matching to find the right talent options fast
• Automated hiring process for speed, ease, and compliance  
• A modern onboarding experience that gets talent set up for success
• Appropriate integration into company tools/systems for seamless delivery  
• Online talent pools to manage your on-demand workforce options in one place and over the long haul

Get more tips on building high-performance blended teams of full-time and freelance marketers.

In the next article of this series, we’ll focus on the shift from traditional career management to a modern approach that meets the expectations of the modern professional.