Seven Tips to Increase Vendor Buy-in for Contingent Workforce Management Programs

A wide range of business trends – from just-in-time manufacturing to offshore knowledge workers – means that contingent workforce management is a broader and more critical part of many organizations’ success than ever before. Establishing clear, enterprise-wide management programs for this segment of the workforce can ensure consistency, flexibility and responsiveness that drive results.

Successfully implementing a Contingent Workforce Management (CWM) program requires a foundation based on standardized efficient and effective processes related to the procurement and management of an organizations contingent and services workforce.

How do you ensure vendors, who are a critical component of the supply chain, effectively work with your organization to manage the temporary, consultative and professional services workforce? Part of it is working with a vendor whose contingent workforce management philosophy aligns with your organization’s goals. The other part is clearly communicating your business objectives, managing expectations for how you see the vendor interacting with your technology and operational processes and letting them know how they stack up against the competition.

This session will provide seven tips to help your organization be successful in managing your vendors. Attendees will learn about the following and more…
Drive competitive sourcing – Each opportunity should have multiple submittals so you can use business intelligence to analyze information and make the best sourcing decision. If analyzing data reveals a single source, end users or vendors are most likely going around the defined process. Requiring multiple sources per opportunity will drive competitive sourcing and pricing.

Use bidding and reverse auction – To get the lowest possible cost, implement a reverse bid process. Increasing transparency of rates will encourage vendors to lower their price and be more competitive.

Enforce compliance – Conduct pre-engagement audits and ensure vendor compliance with drug screens, background checks and other requirements prior to the commencement of an engagement. Make sure all vendors adhere to the requirements and that conditions are consistent and fair for all vendors.

Streamline end of engagement processes – Ensure vendors are working with end users to disengage temporary workers whose assignment has ended. This provides visibility into the workforce and mitigates risk.

Increase accountability – Hold vendors accountable for prompt time and expense processing and other program metrics. Through data analytics, organizations can measure vendor compliance and how they compare to their peer groups.

Measure invoice adjustment amounts – Ask vendors to make a rate commitment and hold them accountable for it. This will help support accurate forecasting and financial capabilities. Using analytics, organizations can identify vendors who are driving up adjustments or if they are out of compliance with their contract. Organizations that conduct quarterly reviews and look at historical data can leverage those insights to optimize their contingent workforce management program going forward.

Conduct Vendor Service Reviews – Help vendors understand how they are performing in their program. When conducting baseline and benchmark analysis, make sure vendors are compared to their peer groups. In other words, don’t look at an IT staffing vendor versus a finance and accounting provider. A peer evaluation can help vendors understand their strengths, the value they deliver to your business and areas they should improve.

Any HR or Staffing Professional involved in management of contingent labor or staffing suppliers

• How to identify and align key partners to achieve program ROI and workforce optimization
• How to set agreed-upon baseline requirements
• How to use metrics to benchmark and measure success including peer group metrics and vendor standing, as well as rate card performance and quality metrics

Aberdeen Research: http://www.aberdeen.com/Aberdeen-Library/8202/AI-contingent-workforce-management.aspx Click here

Staffing Industry Analysts: http://www.staffingindustry.com/Research-Publications/Research/Buyer-Contingent-Workforce-Optimization-Roadmap/2012-VMS-MSP-Differentiators Click here

Peoplefluent white paper: http://www.peoplefluent.com/sites/default/files/resources/files/Managing_a_Blended_Workforce.pdf Click here

		James Pierce Peoplefluent View Profile