Solving extended workforce challenges for mid-sized businesses.

For many companies, the use of external workers has grown over time — perhaps a freeze on internal hires, the need to manage peak demand, or expertise that simply didn’t exist in-house. Whatever the reason, many businesses find themselves operating with a largely ungoverned external workforce, meaning limited central visibility, no clear ownership, and a growing sense that something needs to change.

The good news is that getting the basics in place is more achievable than you might think — and if you’ve already started that journey, there’s plenty we can do to help you go further.

 Discover RedWizard
  • Strategic Workforce Planning
  • Talent Acquisition & Supply
  • Governance & Orchestration
  • Cost Management & Compliance
  • Operations & Delivery

Strategic workforce planning isn’t just for big business.

You don’t need a dedicated function to get this right — but you do need a clear picture of who’s working for you, through which channels, at what cost, and whether that mix is delivering. For most organisations, that picture is harder to get than it should be.

We help you build it, and use it to make smarter decisions.

 Strategic Workforce Planning

Get the right people, through the right channels, at the right cost.

Most businesses accumulate recruitment suppliers over time without much structure around who does what or how well it’s working. Relationships drift, performance goes unmeasured, and costs are hard to justify.

We help you rationalise your supply chain and build supplier relationships that last.

 Talent Acquisition & Supply

Someone needs to own this.  We help you work out who.

When no single team is clearly responsible for the extended workforce, decisions get deferred, risks go unmanaged, and things fall through the cracks. It’s rarely anyone’s fault — it’s just not been set up properly.

We help you put the right structure in place so it doesn’t happen on your watch.

 Governance & Orchestration

You’re probably spending more than you think.

Extended workforce costs have a habit of creeping up quietly — and so do compliance risks, especially as legislation keeps changing. By the time it becomes visible, it’s often already a problem.

We help you get both under control before something catches you out.

 Cost Management & Compliance

Good strategy only works if the day-to-day does too.

It’s one thing to have a plan for your extended workforce. It’s another to make it work on the ground — with managers who know what they’re doing and processes that actually get followed.

We work with your team to make sure the operational reality matches the strategic intent.

 Operations & Delivery
Redwizard in Numbers

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Programme adoption rate achieved for a global healthcare enterprise - up from 40% in 3 years

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Regions covered. UK-based with experience across EMEA, US and APAC.

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Projects delivered across enterprise and mid-market since 2015.

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Senior practitioners at the core, extended by a network of specialist associates and SME partners.

Find out what you don’t know.

Not sure where to start? Concerto® is our AI-powered assessment tool — built to show you exactly where your gaps are and what to focus on first.

Each functional area has its own assessment. Browse the service pages, find the one that matches where the pain is biggest, and register your interest there. If you want the full picture across all five functions — register below.

    The RedWizard Mission

    • “We exist to change how organisations think about and manage their workforce, turning fragmented operations into coordinated ecosystems that drive real commercial advantage.”

      Jools Barrow-Read
      Founder & Director, RedWizard Consulting

    What good looks like in practice, client stories:

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      The meeting that changed how suppliers saw each other

      For three years, competing suppliers collaborated openly inside a carefully built COE. Then a single procurement decision undid almost all of it. Here's what we built, what broke it, and what it means for your programme.

      Jools Barrow-Read

      Founder

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      When your programme goes dark

      When managers can't find your programme, they don't use it. Here's what happened when a mid-market business lost programme visibility — what we did about it, and why MSPs running large enterprise programmes should pay attention.

      Jools Barrow-Read

      Founder

    Go deeper on the topics that matter to you, start here:

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      The integration principles – connecting the dots across your extended workforce

      Your extended workforce doesn't operate in the silos your org chart creates. But most organisations manage it that way — fragmenting data by contract type, optimising budgets department by department, and handling supplier relationships in category silos. These three principles show you where the connections matter and why governance that spans organisational boundaries delivers better outcomes than perfect governance within silos.

      Jools Barrow-Read

      Founder

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      Is your extended workforce missing a conductor?

      We built a strategic PMO for a global healthcare enterprise in 2015. Programme adoption went from 40% to 94% in 3 years. PMI shortlisted it for PMO of the Year in 2019. That was ten years ago. Most extended workforce programmes still don't have this infrastructure. And that's costing businesses real decision-making capability.

      Jools Barrow-Read

      Founder

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      Foundation principles – where strategic extended workforce governance starts

      These 10 principles are the non-negotiables for effective workforce governance. They matter as much for extended workforce management as they do for permanent workforce management. They apply regardless of your delivery model or programme maturity. You don't implement all 10 on day one. Start with the building blocks that address your current challenges, then evolve as you learn. Over-engineered governance fails as often as no governance. The goal is lean frameworks that grow with your programme.

      Jools Barrow-Read

      Founder

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