While under the unrelenting pressure of rapid fire questions, Raise CSO Michael Leacy had this to say about what separates strong contingent programs from average ones:
“I’d say strong programs treat the contingent program and the contingent workforce from a strategic perspective, and not from a procurement or transactional perspective. I think the really good ones focus on using a flexible workforce to create, to bring in that expertise when it’s not there in-house to be able to use it on those peaks and valleys so you can scale up and scale down when needed.”
He didn’t say that it’s the companies with the best tech.
He didn’t mention that it was companies using this AI, or that platform with automated agents.
That’s because the best tools in the world aren’t worth much unless you’ve got them working within a coherent workforce strategy.
As the SIA’s Strategic Solutions Director Lisa Fox points out, some programs may be overlooking the basics of workforce strategy in favour of tech adoption.
How do you fix that?
It starts with understanding why your workforce strategy matters.
Reactivity vs Strategy
Contingent Programs live and thrive by the KPI—cost per placement, time to hire.
But basing your program strategy on responding to metrics makes you fundamentally reactive—instead of having a plan to meet talent goals, your “strategy” becomes reacting to numbers that are either too high or too low.
We’ve all seen it. Think of Boeing, Volkswagen—even leading companies can get caught up in focusing on numbers rather than outcomes. And while sometimes creating efficiencies are necessary, there are practices which can cause a lot of downstream problems if you’re overfocused on KPIs. Outsourcing production, setting aggressive sales and costs targets: these sorts of practices pressure everyone downstream from leadership to start cutting corners.
No one decision caused the problems that followed for those companies. But a lack of a coherent strategy, in favour of reactive metric chasing, creates the perfect environment for bad decisions to add up.
How do you avoid all that chaos?
It starts with a proactive workforce strategy—understanding where the business is going, and what kind of talent it needs to get there. All the KPIs still matter—you need to hire people in a cost-efficient and timely manner—but when you’ve got the right strategy in place you aren’t just following the numbers as they tick up and down. You’re understanding the numbers in context of a destination—and whether you’re getting there faster or slower than you planned.
Managing Suppliers
Much like tracking KPIs, contingent programs can get stuck on trying to find the right number of suppliers—and that makes sense when you are trying to cut costs and find efficiencies.
But really, they should be aiming for the right mix—just because a supplier only makes two placements a year doesn’t mean you don’t want them in your program.
Every supplier should be valued by the same criteria: not which have the highest number of placements, but which provide the best value for the investment you make in them. If you only get a single placement from someone, but they cost you next to nothing in terms of time and money, you should want as many of them as possible, not fewer!
So really managing suppliers is about analysis and efficient management:
- How do I understand what I’m paying in resources vs what I am getting out?
- How do I lower administrative burdens to make more suppliers valuable for my program?
If you can answer those questions, you’re well on your way to a better contingent strategy.
Implementing Technology
AI is powerful, but people are really starting to notice that in addition to creating opportunities it can also amplify existing problems: “AI is a force multiplier: For productivity, for error, and for fraud.”
Let’s say you have a problem closing active jobs and messaging unsuccessful candidates because your process is out of whack. When you introduce an AI agent, and start getting 300% more candidates, your job closing problem doesn’t go away—it gets worse.
And this is where the strategy piece comes in—technology needs to fit cleanly into existing processes rather than getting quick automation gains. That means adoption should be gradual and calculated: find the right tool for the right problem, and don’t shell out for software that is just a solution looking for a problem.
This is where a workforce solutions partner can make a big impact, because they understand the entire ecosystem of talent, technology, and process: what we at Raise call “People, Process, Tech.” It’s about getting the right balance between your systems and the people using them, and it is critical for having a strong workforce program.
Wrap
There’s no one way to run a successful contingent workforce program because no two workforces are the same. And really, that’s why strategy is going to be as (or more impactful than) technology for many programs.
A new technology will work for you much the same way it works for your competitors: but your workforce strategy is particular to your situation. And if it is well thought out, it has the potential to vault your program over competitors who are chasing KPIs.
That’s why Raise doesn’t just do Direct Sourcing and Payroll—we create strategic programs that are tailored to your business needs and goals. You can find out more about our workforce solutions over at raiserecruiting.com
