Let’s be honest….how well-managed is your Contingent Workforce…REALLY?
To answer that question, you need to be able to objectively assess your program, by those metrics that are important to your business: those metrics that triggered you to undertake both the engagement of contract workers, AND the management thereof.
Think about why you implemented a Contingent Workforce program in the first place. Was it to:
- Reduce your overall talent headcount;
- Reduce the cost of your existing contractor population;
- Mitigate the risks of engaging contract workers;
- Implement better processes for engaging and managing contract workers?
There are many other reasons and metrics which could apply to your business.
Only by REALLY delving into your performance across each measure, can you – hand-on-heart – determine how well-managed your Contingent Workforce is.
[bctt tweet=”Is your Contingent Workforce program failing? @peteroreb shares some tips on how to repair it.” username=”ATCevent”]
We have seen a number of organisations who decide to get their act together and lift their game in the Contingent Workforce management stakes. They may start to outsource payroll, establish a Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for sourcing contractors, negotiate better sourcing rates. You know… taking steps in the right direction. But very frequently, they become unstuck. With so many moving parts, it is hard to keep a handle on contract worker performance, tenure, risk AND the success of the approach, in all its entirety.
As it turns out, the most reliable means for ensuring you’re getting the BEST possible bang for your Contingent Workforce management buck is to be scientific. Stands to reason therefore, that the combined power of a Vendor Management System (VMS) and a Managed Service Provider (MSP) – fit for the purpose of your workforce and business – is an incredibly reliable and informed approach. Being data-driven. Sound good? It is.
How do these two frequently thrown-around acronyms work? Like this:
An MSP is an outsourced partner (like CXC Global) that manages the Contingent Worker program of an organisation. For the purpose of example, let’s say…. Medibank. The MSP brings deep workforce management expertise to Medibank’s Contingent Workforce program by overseeing the engagement of quality talent from a range of sources, such as:
- Recruitment suppliers;
- Directly sourced contractors;
- In-house talent pools,
- Other external talent pools.
Based on Medibank’s business needs, the MSP may be directly responsible for all or only some components of the Contingent Workforce program, of which there are many:
- Vendor engagement & management;
- Requisition management;
- Vendor rate negotiation;
- Timesheeting of contractors;
- Compliance management of all vendors;
- Consolidated billing.
The beauty of the MSP is that it goes above and beyond the day-to-day transactional elements of contractor management. Rather, the MSP is a strategic business partner, providing an agile, responsive, informed and consultative service to help clients like Medibank mitigate risk, improve contractor quality & output, reduce workforce spend, and boost Medibank’s return on contractor investment. The MSP advises Medibank of the best model for their business, given their strategic workforce management prowess.
The MSP does this most effectively when powered by a VMS: cloud-based software that enables the MSP to run the Contingent Workforce program and all parties to it (such as the recruitment agencies, the hiring managers from Medibank, the contractors themselves). Key functions of a VMS include:
- Contractor requisitions;
- Timesheeting;
- Expense management;
- Reporting.
This article is sponsored by CXC Global.
Join Peter, along with other leading Contingent Workforce experts including Alan Wilkerson, Matthew Dickason and Antonia Mochan, to learn more at the Contingent Workforce Conference 2016. Limited tickets left. See full agenda and purchase tickets here.
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