Welcome to CPO Rising’s first installment of its technology update series on the contingent workforce management space. These updates will highlight solution provider updates, acquisitions, updates to platforms, awards and accolades, new capabilities and other exciting ventures within the contingent workforce technology market.

IQNavigator, one of several leaders in the Vendor Management System (VMS) technology arena, announced over the summer their new online and on-demand RateIQ tool. This tool addresses an aspect of contingent workforce management that some organizations feel that they have “mastered” in the wake of more complex program aspects (such as SOW and services management): rate information management. RateIQ enables users to search deep benchmarking data for contract labor bill rates (by region in the United States) and align that information with specific skillsets and expertise.

Also, in the IQN world: Yoh, one of the industry’s largest Managed Service Providers (MSP), recently announced a partnership with the VMS solution, offering their MSP clients an extended breadth of services. The partnership will extend Yoh’s existing managed service offering…

Fieldglass, a fellow leader in the VMS world, recently won the 2013 Illinois Technology Association (ITA) CityLIGHTS “Lighthouse” award, which is presented to a growth-stage company for demonstrated innovation. In addition, the global VMS provider was named the industry’s “Best Human Capital/Talent Management Solution” in the 27th Annual SIIA Software CODiE Awards back in the spring.

VMS player Provade, based in California, recently enhanced its identity management capabilities to assist their users in offboarding and onboarding processes. This is a critical enablement in the contingent workforce world; as more and more organizations realize the significance of controlling on-site contract talent, the sensitivity around financial information and access to enterprise systems grows. Provade’s ID management capability offers onboarding, reactivation and deactivation of contingent workers.

DCR Workforce, a global provider of both VMS and MSP services, recently saw its Smart Track Social VMS offering win a Stevie Award as the as the Best New Human Capital Management Solution at the 11th Annual Stevie American Business Awards. This unique VMS platform, helping to take DCR’s solution into the future of the industry, allows its users to integrate social media and social networking strategies into its overall talent engagement program (which is an effective means of recruiting top-tier talent).

Mobile capabilities are continually evolving in the contingent workforce space, as more and more enterprises look to tap into the power of technology while away from the office or on the road. PeopleFluent, a provider of human capital, recruitment and contingent workforce software, recently announced enhancements to its mobile capabilities, including a mobile career site that freelancers and contractors can utilize to apply for open positions. In addition, Peoplefluent has updated its services procurement module, further enabling its users to manage the totality of the contingent workforce umbrella.

Over the summer, Peoplefluent announced its “TalentUnity” platform, which combines its recruitment and contingent workforce offerings under a single tool. This solution can automate the contractor-to-FTE transition and enable direct talent management (for both traditional and contract talent).

TAPFIN, the Managed Service Provider arm of ManpowerGroup Solutions, recently unveiled its “Contingent Workforce Index,” which allows enterprises to gauge the contract talent marketplace from data assessed within 75 countries. Each of the countries in this Index is assessed on 36 market conditions and statistics that influence the state of the market across four key categories: availability of contingent workers, cost of engaging contingent workers, regulation of workforce engagement and contingent workforce productivity. This information can be leveraged to better formulate global strategies and assist in how companies can develop a true worldwide program for managing contingent labor.

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Tagged in: Ardent Partners Research, Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Contingent Workforce, Solution Providers, Technology