Hays Talent Solutions on how to deliver the perfect brief
They may only be with you temporarily, but the contingent worker is here to stay. The temporary hire makes up some 30% of the Australian workforce, and that figure is only set to rise.
Responding to the challenges temporary hiring brings, many organisations are turning to a managed service provider (MSP) to offer a single service that can source talent, standardise processes and introduce best practice.
Richard Barnett, business director of Hays Talent Solutions, says when drawing up a brief to put out to tender, you should be clear on ‘what nut you are trying to crack’.
“In 2020 we surveyed more than 60 organisations who had implemented an MSP service and asked their reasons for doing so,” he said.
“Interestingly, cost saving came in third, then standardising and streamlining processes as number four.” Improving visibility came in first, ahead of reducing risk.
When it comes to creating your request for proposal, the more information you can supply, the better your provider will understand your current and ongoing contingent workforce needs.
Key information includes your current usage of contingent staffing, what you want it to look like in the future, what tools you have to enable this, priority areas, and technology and integrations requirements.
The RFP isn’t solely the remit of HR, but also of procurement, talent and representatives of the hiring managers. For organisations which frequently convert contingent staff to permanent roles, the input of HR in the MSP strategy becomes particularly important to prioritise factors such as diversity.
While Hays Talent Solutions’ research shows about 80% of MSP programs deliver close to or above expectations one year after going live, there are some common pitfalls to avoid from the get-go.
Get the numbers right
Only mentioning how many contractors you have working, rather than how many you hire is a common pitfall.
“An organisation with 200 contingent workers and an average tenure of six months will make about 400 new hires annually,” Barnett explained. “Reduce the tenure to one month and that becomes 2,400 hires, or six times the workload for the MSP.”
Identify challenges from the get-go
Different employers have different challenges, and Barnett recommends being clear about what difficulties might arise from the start.
“In recent years clients have raised issues as varied as background checking for refugees without an official form of ID, provision of company cars to contractors, and how we would recruit temporary clowns (yes, clowns!),” he said.
“Building a solution for these types of challenges can take longer, so mention them as soon as you can.”
Be future-forward
Reluctance to comment on future contingent staffing needs can be another common pitfall.
“Perhaps an organisation is going through a period of belt-tightening and is not clear what future usage will look like,” Barnett said. “However, we encourage them to say, based on what they know today, what hiring do they think is most likely? We can scale our team and service to meet changes, but we need a best estimate to make a realistic starting position.”
A good partnership anticipates change and builds a relationship where the MSP and client work together collaboratively, says Barnett.
A thorough contingent workforce program brief will require input beyond the HR team, and a realistic assessment of your needs now and into the future. Get it right, however, and the results may exceed even your own expectations.
