There’s no doubt about it, the contingent workforce is growing fast. Every organization from small to large has some degree of non-traditional workforce spend budgeted in their finances.
Industry research indicates that about 54% of all companies will include the contingent workforce as part of their strategic planning. Yet despite the growing use of non-employee workers, many organizations still aren’t managing their vendors correctly.
Managed incorrectly, a lack of visibility and control over spend in the contingent workforce category can have a significant impact on a company’s profitability.
With that in mind, we've listed four best practices to help your organization manage its vendors and get your contingent workforce spend back under control:
#1 - Use vendor management software
If your business is still managing its staffing vendors on manual spreadsheets, it’s almost certain that you have fragmented processes and a lack of centralization that's impacting the success of your contingent workforce.
With little to no visibility and control over your contingent workforce, your business is left with rogue spend, poor vendor decision making and lower workforce quality that reduces the ROI of your non-employee workforce program.
The good news? All you need is a vendor management system (VMS) to fix these issues. A VMS will centralize, automate and consolidate all of the processes and data associated with managing your staffing agencies in one web-based platform.
As a result, your organization will gain complete visibility into contingent workforce spend and vendor performance - ensuring you have the data you need to optimize your non-employee workforce.
#2 - Build a strong, and open, relationship with your vendors
Vendor communication doesn’t stop once a contract is signed and you’ve agreed terms. Your business is constantly adapting and that means your relationship with your staffing agency should adapt as well.
Keep communication channels open so that you can develop a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with your vendors. The better a staffing agency understands your current and future needs, the better the chance they have of sourcing the right workers.
#3 - Track the performance of your staffing vendors
There's a famous saying in the business world, “you can’t track what you don’t measure.” This is certainly true for any contingent workforce program. If you aren’t tracking vendor performance, then you’ll have no idea how your staffing agencies are helping you meet your workforce objectives.
To ensure you optimize how you use your staffing agencies, make sure you have the capabilities to track how they are performing. That includes everything from making sure they are delivering on time, at the quality promised and the predetermined price point agreed by both parties.
#4 - Regularly evaluate vendor risk
When you first initiate a relationship with a staffing agency, it’s typical that you set standards and agreements that they are expected to meet. This could be anything from meeting certain KPIs such as time-to-fill, time-to-submit and turnover, as well as the standardized rates you set for sourcing non-employee workers.
It’s crucial that you evaluate vendor risk on a frequent basis to not only ensure that your staffing agencies are meeting your company’s expectations, but to also ensure hiring managers across your organization are engaging with staffing agencies using those standardized processes (as opposed to going awol and just paying what they think is the right amount).
Would you like to learn more about Vendor Management?
For those seeking a fresh VMS Solution, download our complimentary VMS Buyers Guide. It has everything you need to know about vendor management systems and equips you with essential insights on what to look for when choosing the perfect VMS for your needs; complete with specific questions to ask potential VMS providers.
About Conexis VMS
Conexis VMS is a robust, cloud-based, mobile-friendly software application that empowers your company to streamline and oversee your entire contingent workforce, regardless of the diverse skill sets you require. Our award-winning Vendor Management System is the the most modern and advanced VMS tech stack available today that has been built with the user in mind. It starts with the latest codebase and extends to our lightning-fast AWS microservice infrastructure. Add to that our Open API and Software Development Kit (SDK), making Conexis the lights-out leader in VMS technology. Because of our technology, Conexis VMS implementations is fast and easy. Plus, we can have your organization up and running in as little as a few weeks!
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Whether you are looking for a new VMS Solution, or just getting started, we are here to help. See how easy Conexis is to use by taking a quick 2 minute Self-Guided Tour. Contact Us for a Free No-Obligation Consultation to discuss your workforce challenges (and get immediate actionable insights) or Book a Personal Demo Today!
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