What is the business of managing contingent or contract labor called?

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

The Future of Staffing is Crowdsourcing

In my humble opinion the future of staffing lies in Crowdsourcing. Individual recruiters in local markets, with local connections and local talent pools will be able to recruit for open positions much faster and less expensive than the branch staffing and internal HR department models of today.

To better understand crowdsourcing and how it may impact talent acquisition I recommend watching this video of Don Tapscott, best selling author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, as he speaks at a recent tech conference. Also view the website of Cambrian House, the Canadian Crowdsourcing company that hosts the video. If you don't have time to watch the whole video I recommend moving ahead to the 36th minute where the evolution of Crowdsourcing is explained:

00:36:17

Economic Revolution. Crowdsourcing as natural extension of decreasing transaction costs which have been steadily dropping ever since industrial age. Industrial Age. Extended Enterprise. Business Webs. Mass Collaboration.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

Tracking the Rise of Global Contingent Workforce

Steve Marlin of Global Services writes, "CONTINGENT workers, also known as temps, part-time and contract workers, have long been a staple of the global labor force, providing a flexible and cost-effective means of smoothing out fluctuations in demand and production...Small wonder that companies are clamoring for ways to reduce the costs and improve the efficiency of their contingent workers."

"Beset by a lack of uniform hiring processes and procedures, minimal controls and high administrative costs, companies have found themselves in a quandary in managing contingent workers. And now that the contingent workforce has gone global, the level of complexity has ratcheted up, with a patchwork of labor laws, wage rates and cultural differences thrown into the mix."

In response to this companies are:

* Investing in processes and technology to meet demands for greater visibility into * Setting up master contracts with staffing-services companies to handle requisitions for every kind of worker, from unskilled to the most technically
* Implementing supply chain software to put in place the same controls over contingent-worker procurement as they have for indirect goods and services.
* Being challenged to bring consistent process, technology and program governance to a function that’s historically been decentralized.

Companies are taking these initiatives because they are looking to:

1.) Reduce the time for candidate-sourcing and filling requisitions was cited as a challenge by nearly half (48%) of participants in an Aug. ‘06 study by Aberdeen Group.
2.) Improve collaboration (48%)
3.) Obtain greater visibility into rates and processing costs (40%)
4.) Increase compliance and verify worker qualifications (36%)
5.) Reduce runaway spending (33%).


Tracking the Rise of Global Contingent Workforce. [Global Services - Steven Marlin]

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

Vendor Management Standards Committee Formed

The Human Capital Institute and a coalition of seven contingent workforce industry vendors announced today the formation of the Vendor Management Standards Committee. Advancing best practices and benchmarks for clients, COMSYS, Beeline, Allegis Group Services, Bartech Workforce Management, Comensura, MyBizOffice and ProcureStaff joined forces with the Human Capital Institute to develop and publish best practices and industry standards focusing on vendor management.

Here are some quotes from press releases on the Committee:

• "There is a great deal of confusion among buyers and industry insiders as to what constitutes a Managed Service Provider (MSP). The vendor management industry lacks consistency or standards around the services it provides."
  
  
• "We continue to see a substantial increase in the use of vendor management systems, especially with large- and medium-size firms nationwide . "
  


• "The Vendor Management Standards Committee will help to establish base standards that will serve as a fundamental set of expectations for any buyer who contracts with an MSP that adheres to the standards. "

More information can be found at the following link:

Vendor Management Standards Committee Formed to Promote Contingent Workforce Industry Best Practices. [Human Capital Institute]

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

Demand-Driven Workforce Management

Kronos', a leader in technology for workforce time tracking, descrbes "Demand-Driven" Workforce Management on their website. This exemplifies a major advantage to utilizing a contingent workforce which is the reduction of labor costs when a workforce can be easily augmented or cut back in conjuction with company and customer needs.


When the workforce is not aligned with demand (as in the above chart), your organization risks being overstaffed against customer volume, production workloads, or the patient census, all of which increase your payroll costs. Worse, it can also lead to understaffing and the inability to meet your customer service and quality standards. Rectifying the situation may require excessive use of overtime and premium labor.
Demand-Driven Workforce Management helps you to perfectly align the workforce with demand. As a result, you can reduce labor costs by minimizing overstaffing and improve quality by avoiding understaffing. Most important, your frontline managers can take a more proactive role in improving business performance. They are better able to manage responsibilities associated with staffing budgets, labor law and policy compliance, and employee satisfaction.

The Demand-Driven Workforce. [Kronos]

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalism * Trends * Outsourcing