It’s not always about money. Contrary to conventional wisdom and cynics, workers want to be kept on their toes. And it doesn’t really matter if they are contingent or an employee; they want interesting, challenging projects. People want to make a difference. A recent conversation with Manpower CEO Jeff Joerres revealed that he is betting on the same principle. He is betting on people, on talent. The previous decade may have been about the power of technology. No longer. This is the human age.

People want to create and transform things, be they companies or something else. And of course, difficulties will arise because of the nature of today’s economy and the workforce. Having multiple generations and cultures in one company can be complicated, thanks to a global economy moving at a breathtaking pace . But without capturing their innovation and ingenuity and bringing them to productive use, companies will not succeed, Joerres says.

So Manpower is devoting its resources to making this happen and creating a better organization for tomorrow. Hype? Or is it more than that? Interestingly enough, The Economist in March of this year talked about “the recent age of man.”  And scientists have picked up on the term, capitalizing on the way in which it dramatizes the sheer scale of human activity. 

The staffing industry is in a great spot in this human era.  It is positioned just right to engage the talent, promote it and use it well. All this could pay great dividends for those alert to being in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing.