Tapping into Discretionary Dollars

According Upwork, an online marketplace where businesses can connect with independent talent around the globe, 64 million Americans freelanced in 2023, an increase of 4 million from 2022. What’s more, a whopping 38% of the U.S. workforce comprised of freelancers in 2023, and contributed $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy.  

With stats like this, it’s no wonder the term “fractional” has found its way into our lexicon. If you searched LinkedIn for people with “fractional” in their title in early 2025, more than 142,000 professionals in North America alone would show up. That’s a lot of talent to tap into and presents a tremendous opportunity for companies to reallocate some of their discretionary spending toward independent, or fractional, professionals.  

 A wealth of talent out there 

While some people are leaving their workplace by choice, others are leaving due to reductions in headcount and layoffs at their organizations. Still, most of these people are not leaving the workforce; instead, they are choosing to go a different route with their career by becoming independent and engage with businesses as a contractor.  

Let’s face it: the way people work has been changing for a number of years. Gone are the days of company loyalty and staying at one place for the duration of a career. If employees can’t get the flexibility they want, or feel they’re not doing purpose-driven work, they leave their employer. They venture down an alternative path because they no longer feel the need to stay a W2 employee.  

This trend means companies need to adapt and think about how and who they hire in a different light. Companies now have the chance to bring in an independent contractor to help in a number of ways, be it for a specific project or initiative or to temporarily fill a hole that’s left an open role. And they can use their discretionary budget to do so.  

An emerging trend with discretionary budgets 

Many companies are finally starting to understand the benefit of allocating discretionary budgets to hire fractional or independent contractors. That’s not to say they aren’t hiring full time employees; rather, they’re using the dollars generally allocated to non-essential expenses to hire fractional talent for a variety of roles, including those in communications. And while you may often hear fractional used to describe an officer, like Fractional CMO, or fractional CFO, fractional—or independent talent—can be placed anywhere within an organization that needs flexibility, cost-effectiveness or access to specialized expertise. 

For communications departments, fractional talent can undertake a variety of roles and help in a number of ways from strategic planning to media relations, internal communications and more. For example, if a company has a specific initiative it needs help with but no one on staff to provide that expertise, that company can hire an outside consultant to come in for six weeks or six months to share and transfer their knowledge.  

At Evo Communications, we help companies identify their need for fractional help and fill that role. Our deep bench of talent has a combined average of 15 years’ experience in corporate communications. We vet and prescreen candidates, based on your needs, and provide two or three qualified and available consultants. Regardless of who you pick after you interview each, we ensure they are ready to ramp up quickly and hit the ground running.  

So, whether you need to fill a role due to a medical leave, need some rather specific communications expertise, or have a specific project that needs extra hands, let’s connect. We’d love to help.