Welcome to the third article in a four-part series on the technology landscape within the Contingent Workforce Management industry, which looks at how the “next generation” of these solutions may look by taking into account current market perceptions and the ongoing evolution of the CWM space. This entry focuses on the Managed Service Provider (MSP) solution, an offering that predates all other third-party solutions in the contingent workforce arena. We’ll deep-dive into how MSPs are well-positioned to be a formidable force in the future of CWM.
Within the contingent workforce management industry, professionals tasked with managing CWM programs and actively engaging contract talent have a variety of options to choose from in regards to third-party automation and support. As such, this articles series on CPO Rising has outlined the benefits of both the VMS and ICES offerings and how they evolve in the future. While the latter solutions provide loads of value to the contemporary CWM program, there’s an “old standby” that has not only helped enterprises across the globe better manage the operational aspects of their contract talent workforce, but will continue to do so for years to come.
The Managed Service Provider (MSP) model has been a reliant offering for those organizations that needed both a process- and consultative-oriented approach towards managing all aspects of an effective contingent workforce program. MSPs have assisted enterprises in streamlining the operational aspects of managing contract talent, from handling requisition development, invoicing and payment, financial management aspects and helping to drive visibility into spending, suppliers and utilization of temporary workers.
MSPs have stood the test of time in the CWM industry, and as the contingent workforce umbrella evolves, so will these offerings. The MSPs of the future will:
- Cross over more into the worlds of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and talent management, furthering the notion of total talent management. It’s no secret that some of the larger MSPs also offer RPO services for their customers. However, what’s been understated about those blended services is that they are a perfect foundation for the future of “total talent management,” a term utilized to describe a centralized program that can manage both FTEs and contract talent under the same program, processes and technological platform. Expect the concept of TTM to gain more steam in the years ahead, and MSP to be the foundation for this notion.
- Involve more fusion with supplier management programs and solutions. We all realize that the contemporary contingent workforce is trending into the realm of SOW-based projects and services. With so much focus on complex contingent talent, organizations will require every ounce of assistance to wade through the dense layers of this section of the contingent workforce umbrella. MSPs will begin to offer more supplier management capabilities for managing project costs, budgets and utilization of professional services, and will turn to partnerships with point-solutions in the supplier lifecycle management (SLM) space to reinforce their control over complex contingent talent.
- Help organizations improve performance across a wide variety of next-gen metrics. Utilization of MSPs have been linked to an uptick in cost savings and operational benefits since their inception. And while cost reductions will always remain a focus for organizations in leveraging contract talent, enterprises are looking for more out of their contingent workforce than just savings or a boost to the bottom-line. Aspects like quality, effectiveness and the overall productivity of contract workers are items that an MSP can easily track, monitor and analyze for their users.
There are several leaders in the MSP world, including ZeroChaos, a solution provider that offers a stout array of procurement- and sourcing-specific capabilities designed to help enterprises not only drive visibility into their total contingent workforce, but also pinpoint buckets of contractors, suppliers and other temporary workers that can be better managed from a financial perspective. ZeroChaos’ RPO offering is also actively helping to expand the concept of enterprise-specific talent pools.
Allegis Group Services has embraced the significance of complex contingent talent by offering a services procurement solution that sits beside its contingent workforce management platform, helping their customers drive visibility into this critical component of contract talent. An offshoot of the Allegis brand, Allegis Partners builds on the solution’s two decades of expertise in the industry by providing advisory services to its clients regarding the full “cycle” of contingent workforce management, ranging from program goals, utilization forecasting and general consultative advice on how to best drive value from contingent labor.
Some MSP solutions, such as PROUnlimited, highlight their “integrated suite” as a means of helping executives better manage their contract talent. PRO touts its blend of vendor-neutral MSP and VMS services, along with payrolling and IC compliance capabilities, as a single-serve partner for an organization’s contingent workforce management needs. In particular, their WAND X VMS tool is tightly-linked to their MSP arm, helping to drive maximum visibility into various components of contingent workforce management.
RELATED ARTICLES
Next Generation of CWM Technology: Part I – The VMS of the Future
The Next Generation of CWM Technology, Part II: As Cold As ICES
Don’t Overlook Contract Talent Onboarding (and Offboarding)
The Future of Contingent Workforce Management: Where Can We Go?
13 for 2013: Best Practices in Contingent Workforce Management, Part 3
