Why Now Is the Time for Holistic Contingent Workforce Management

Changing the Status Quo for Contingent Workforce Management 

According to SIA research, a holistic, well-conceived talent strategy enabled by technology and a talent mindset are the keys to successful contingent workforce program transformation that delivers better business outcomes and value. Yet various challenges stand in the way of widespread adoption of such a holistic approach. For starters, decision-making is often fragmented, especially with multiple contingent workforce program owners. In addition, many businesses lack a clear understanding of the ROI of investing in an end-to-end platform, and this deters them from disrupting their status quo and trying something new. Finally, a lack of support from the C-suite is another barrier making it difficult to invest in holistic contingent workforce management solutions. Yet despite these challenges, the need for disruption is more critical than ever.  

Managing the Contingent Workforce is Increasingly Complex 

The VMS was initially designed to address commonly occurring issues for businesses. These include standardizing processes, centralizing staffing agency management of supply chains, and rules surrounding procurement of contingent talent. However, managing a contingent workforce in a rapidly shifting marketplace and on an increasingly global scale has added a whole new set of complexities, including complex compliance regulations, remote work arrangements, pay equity laws, DE&I initiatives and much more. These shifts have rendered traditional VMS platforms less effective, forcing businesses to turn to point solutions to pick up the slack.

Unfortunately, point solutions come with their own unique set of challenges. They focus on only one step of the talent lifecycle at a time and have a limited view of associated tasks, whether through a financial or HR lens. That’s a problem, because the ability to interpret and analyze data from various angles is a must for program managers and business leaders. Furthermore, switching between multiple apps can also add to inefficiencies and even duplicate data entries. Put simply, point solutions aren’t scalable, sustainable, or cost effective – and they present productivity challenges that can’t be ignored.

While integrating separate point solutions is an option that mitigates some of these challenges, that approach often comes with significant drawbacks. For starters, organizations need to invest considerable resources into IT to have disparate point solutions communicate with other systems properly, which can take a lot of trial and error – not to mention additional cost. Furthermore, “vendor deflection” can result in finger pointing between providers when problems arise, leading to capabilities going undelivered and KPIs being missed. All of these compounding reasons make it clear: unless businesses are willing to spend time on integrations or managing vendors, the time to move to a holistic strategy is now. 

Evolving Contingent Workforce Management: A Comprehensive Approach  

The benefits of taking an integrated platform approach to contingent workforce management don’t stop with process efficiency, talent optimization, and cost savings. It can also support emerging priorities like diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I).

Implementing advanced talent initiatives like DE&I can be quite complex, especially since it requires a number of different components to be successful. First, companies need to have accurate data and analytics to understand where they are with their workforce diversity and the areas they need to improve. Hiring from diverse staffing suppliers can also come into play, as well providing managers with proper training to reduce bias in the hiring process and beyond. All of these components may be handled by various solutions or teams, leading to disjointed processes and flow of information. Having each of these pieces separate makes it much more challenging to successfully implement DE&I initiatives within the workforce than utilizing a single, holistic approach.  

Despite the fact that McKinsey research indicates 70% of company executives cite people analytics as one of their top priorities, most organizations claim they are still behind in this area. The same applies for data pertaining to contingent talent, since many contingent workforce buyers claim data analytics for talent related decision-making is not only unavailable but even a major barrier to total talent acquisition. (Learn more about the importance of leveraging data to drive cost savings in our white paper).

Investing in comprehensive data and analytics will enable organizations to make better, more informed talent decisions, particularly if they are captured and surfaced via an integrated software platform that makes accessing and acting on this data easy. Contingent workforce program managers are faced with the complex challenge of hiring globally, while knowing the best candidate for the role from the right talent pool and at the best price, and they need data at their fingertips to help guide them through these decisions. Given all of these factors, a holistic talent acquisition strategy will be one of the keys in evolving contingent workforce management and reaching cross-organizational goals. (See how a comprehensive, tech-first platform can help attract more top talent to your organization in our infographic).

To learn how cutting-edge technology combined with a holistic, integrated workforce management platform can elevate your talent acquisition efforts, reduce costs and more, download our white paper.  

Disclaimer: The content in this blog post is for informational purposes only and cannot be construed as specific legal advice or as a substitute for legal advice. The blog post reflects the opinion of Magnit and is not to be construed as legal solutions and positions. Contact an attorney for specific advice and guidance for specific issues or questions.