HRO Today May 2014 - 10

Contingent Labor
MSP is tied to so many crucial
business initiatives, including
major and minor technology
implementations, consultative
projects, and even financial and
tax-related efforts.
This reality is a far cry from what existed only a decade
ago, when contingent labor was viewed primarily as a cost
center that had to be continuously evaluated for efficient
performance. As Dwyer put it, contingent labor is now
" light years away from the simple cost center days. "
These days, MSP is tied to so many crucial initiatives,
including major and minor technology implementations,
consultative projects, and even financial and tax-related
efforts, to cite a few, that yesteryear's MSP is, well,
yesteryear's. " These aren't simple efforts utilizing simple
talent (solutions), " Dwyer explains.
They sure aren't, agrees Yvonne McAteer, vice president of
sales at Buffalo, NY-based Superior Workforce Solutions.
" Contingent labor used to be all about cost containment, "
she says. " While this is still a driver, the war for talent has
changed the status quo. "
Many world-class organizations realize that success and
competitive advantage depend on having the best skillsets
to achieve strategic objectives like speed-to-market, she
explains. " Innovation is critical in this regard, " McAteer
says. " Since people are where the ideas originate, you need
to find this talent-even if it exists outside the current
workforce. That's what we do for them. Contingent labor
enters the organization through the MSP program. "
Even midsize companies have come to realize the need to
explore atypical workforce solutions that involve more than
traditional sources of labor. " Certainly in the middle market,
there is rising awareness that they must engage variable
talent more, " says Pat McCall, vice president and sales and
solutions design, Americas, at Atlanta-based MSP provider
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HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | MAY 2014
Randstad Sourceright. " This creates the need to manage this
blended workforce more holistically, otherwise there is the
risk of many parts moving independent of each other. That's
why an MSP program is critical-it assists SMBs to build
sustained value around the management of variable talent. "
Cost Still Counts
While strategic talent deployment appears to be the primary
driver today for launching an MSP, the cost efficiencies, as
Dwyer alluded to earlier, are not to be discounted.
Others agree. " Our clients, both large and midsize
organizations, are becoming or wanting to become a lot
leaner, which in turn is compelling their supply chain and
talent acquisition groups to more openly embrace the
concept of outsourcing, " says Anne Osty, vice president
of sales and marketing at Chicago-based MSP provider
Staff Management | SMX. " An important part of the
value that MSP brings is really the supplier management,
which has evolved from a way to drive down costs to more
comprehensive, end-to-end solution. This includes talent
sourcing, as well as contract management, performance
management, and compliance management. "
Many MSP providers see their work as neatly hinged to
their clients' overall corporate strategy and related talent
objectives. Osty notes that her firm's program directors
typically sit at the strategy table with HR staff, business unit
leaders, and even C-level executives to fashion workforce
solutions to specific business needs. " Our program directors
are seen as experts in the non-employee workforce,
providing clients with aggregate market data trends and
other crucial information to support their decision-making, "
she says. " Clients are looking to leverage processes and
technology that gives them the ability to manage the total
workforce in all its variability. That's where we come in. "
Rising Role of VMS
MSP is just part of the deal for many large and midsize
enterprises. As Osty points out, technology-in this case
VMS-is equally important. Dwyer agrees. " VMS platforms
are linked to the next generation of contingent workforce
management solutions helping enterprises better manage
the talent acquisition and workforce aspects of their
programs, " he says.
Simply put, VMS is the software automating the hiring,
onboarding, and management processes involved in
HRO Today May 2014

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