![](https://i0.wp.com/www.eltasjobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/most-leaders-lack-visibility-into-their-external-workforces-heres-how-to-get-it.jpg?fit=1000%2C581&ssl=1)
While businesses have long acknowledged the importance of the external workforce, COVID-19 shone a spotlight on that workforce's remarkable capacity to lend businesses flexibility in times of profound disruption. External workers — often referred to as "contingent workers," "gig workers," "freelancers," "contractors," and "temporary staff" — constitute a growing portion of the overall workforce. Source Recruiter