Adecco and KellyOCG are Helping Expanding Companies Manage the Rise of the Contingent Workforce
It wasn’t long ago when contingent workers were almost exclusively employed in low-level positions on a short-term basis. Back then, not many would have predicted that the contingent workforce would reshape the world of work. But times are changing.
Breaking the Barriers of Contingent Workforce Management
The world as we see it today is driven by technology. New talent is being engaged by businesses in new and innovative ways, and conventional work processes are becoming more agile, flexible and transparent – courtesy of technology. From mobility which is transforming how and where people work to technologies like Machine Learning (ML) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) which are creating new job roles – the convergence of work and technology is opening up unending possibilities for the modern workforce.
The conventional concepts of contingent workforce management (CWM) are evolving to. Once relied on predominantly as stopgap service providers, the contingent workforce is fast progressing to become a subsection of a broader workforce that prefers to work flexibly. This includes contractors, and casual or temporary workers across a diverse range of capabilities and skill sets.
As highlighted by Workforce 2020, a global research conducted by Oxford Economics in collaboration with SAP SE, more than 80% of executives are increasingly counting on contingent employees. Accounting for a staggering 30% of the overall people spend across the biggest companies globally, this talent pool has become indispensable for any company’s strategic initiatives.
The Road to Agility: How Can Managed Service Providers Create the Difference?
While this influx of non-payroll workers does promise cost control and greater agility for businesses, it also brings with it a set of challenges. In order to closely manage them, companies will have to reassess what they value most in their workforce and realign their training programmes, HR policies, work culture and technological competency accordingly. As federal and state regulations on contract labor start becoming more stringent, its going to be increasingly difficult to manage the contingent workforce.
Against this backdrop it’s become imperative for companies to embrace more effective and creative approaches while securing key contingent resources. The majority are increasingly teaming up with managed service providers (MSPs) to gain more control and visibility over their contract services spend.
Leading MSPs like Kelly OCG and Adecco help an organisation to standardise vendor contracts, automate and centralise contract services, and realign billing rates to the most competitive market rates. All of this enhances process efficiency and makes significant cost savings for the company.
Recently, a leading internet networking company approached Adecco to initiate a recruitment collaboration within the United States. With almost 1,500 temporary consultants and staff across global and national locations, the company urgently required a centralised and effective model of workforce management. The company had little to no control over its spend and service level agreements, which resulted in inconsistent service delivery and high risks related to non-compliant vendors.
To help the company closely manage its global workforce, Adecco implemented a dedicated corporate sponsorship and account management team. This team was entrusted with the responsibility to manage the company’s workforce and recruitment-related solutions globally. Adecco helped the company to select a pool of MSPs across India, China, USA and 14 other countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Additionally, Adecco also served as the client’s direct workforce solutions provider in Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and all other nations that were not within the scope of MSPs.
In order to help the client achieve compliance and greater consistency, Adecco created global standards for their contingent workforce hiring programme, curbing the risks associated with co-employment and misclassification. Lastly, in order to ensure a seamless transition of the company’s HR processes, Adecco introduced a unified communication strategy. The approach ensured a smooth rollout of the programme to the client’s end-user through best practice summits, road shows, conference calls, department meetings and much more.
The programme became a huge success with the client experiencing significant improvements in communication, accountability, compliance and total cost of ownership.
Adding Technology to the Mix
To drive efficiency for their clients, some MSPs are also leveraging technology. For instance, KellyOCG used an advanced vendor management system (VMS) to help a leading insurance firm enhance its visibility and drive compliance of its suppliers and workers.
The VMS technology enabled KellyOCG to administer and manage the Statement of Work (SOW) contract lifecycle more efficiently. It made it easier for the company’s client to stay up-to-date with the status of milestone payments and approvals, as opposed to its previous manual process.
Businesses need to realise that the contingent workforce will soon disrupt all existing working models. To successfully ride the waves of transformation, they’ll have to aggressively invest in technology and training that can support the new ways of working. They must also understand that the work culture has to become more flexible in order to accommodate contingent workers who are slowly but steadily encroaching upon the conventional, long-term nine-to-five jobs.
You can catch Paul Vincent, VP & Global CoE Lead of Contingent Workforce Outsourcing and Talent Supply Chain Management at Kelly OCG speaking at Total Talent this year. Download the agenda to find out what other great sessions, speakers and activities we’ll be hosting.