For decades, large organizations believed that competitive advantage came from owning talent. But in today’s fast-moving markets, that assumption is quietly breaking down.
In Episode 20 of The Independent Workforce, we spoke with Tony Buffum – Head of Enterprise Strategy at Human Cloud – about what’s really happening behind the scenes inside big corporations when it comes to freelancers. Not the theory. Not the hype. The reality.
If you’re a freelancer working with large organizations, or a company trying to move faster without adding permanent headcount, this conversation offers a refreshingly honest look at where the future of work is already heading.
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Key takeaways:
- Freelancers reduce time-to-talent from months to days.
- Most enterprises already use freelancers, but often without structure or visibility.
- Internal ownership conflicts (HR vs Procurement vs Finance) slow adoption more than compliance risk.
- Reputation-based hiring is replacing CV-based hiring in many skill markets.
- Flexible talent is becoming a core workforce layer, not a backup option.
Deep Dive
From Owning Talent to Accessing Skills
For decades, companies built competitive advantage by hiring and retaining employees.
Today, the advantage is shifting toward something more fluid – access to skills when they are needed most.
Tony describes this shift as moving from talent acquisition to talent access strategy.
Instead of asking: “Who do we hire?” leading companies now ask: “What skills do we need, and how fast can we deploy them?”
And this is where freelancers, contractors, and fractional experts become not optional, but strategic.
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The Real Barrier Is Not Talent But Internal Complexity
One of the biggest surprises Tony highlights is this: Companies don’t struggle to find freelance talent.
They struggle to organize internally to use it.
Inside most enterprises, freelance hiring touches:
- HR
- Procurement
- Finance
- Legal
- Business units
And when nobody clearly owns it, progress slows.
This is why many companies already work with freelancers, but in fragmented, untracked, or “rogue spend” ways.
Speed Is the New Competitive Advantage
Tony repeatedly comes back to one word: speed.
Freelancers allow companies to:
- Deploy skills in days instead of months
- Test new technologies faster
- Enter new markets without long hiring cycles
- Close capability gaps instantly
In fast-moving markets – especially with AI – waiting for perfect hiring decisions can be more dangerous than experimenting with external talent.
Why Mindset Change Is Hard (But Necessary)
Many leaders still associate freelancers with:
❌ Low-skill work
❌ Lack of loyalty
❌ Cultural risk
The reality is often the opposite.
Independent experts are:
✔ Outcome-driven
✔ Reputation-driven
✔ Highly specialized
✔ Used to working cross-company
Tony puts it simply: Freelancers often force companies to define success more clearly – something traditional hiring rarely does.
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The Workforce Is Becoming an Ecosystem
The future is not: Employees OR freelancers.
It is: Employees + freelancers + partners + automation + AI
The companies that win will be the ones that can orchestrate all of it together.
And the biggest lesson?
👉 Start before you feel ready.
Because the companies already experimenting are building institutional learning that others will struggle to catch up with later.
Tips For Success – 3 Actionable Steps
1. Start with one project, not a full program
Pick a clear, measurable business outcome.
2. Track baseline vs freelance performance
Time, cost, quality, speed to deployment.
3. Document success and share internally
Internal case studies accelerate adoption faster than strategy decks
