When it comes to successfully managing a contingent workforce program, there’s no doubt that technology is key. Organizations that see the biggest ROI from their contingent workforce typically have digital transformation at the heart of their program.
There are a few reasons why technology is crucial to any contingent workforce program:
But, what technology should organizations implement into their contingent workforce program to achieve improved ROI, better workforce quality, and cost savings? In this blog, we take a look at some of the most common contingent workforce recruiting technologies to help you choose what’s best for managing contingent workforce processes.
What are the options when it comes to contingent workforce recruiting technology?
Vendor management system
A vendor management system (VMS) is the easy choice for most organizations when it comes to contingent workforce technology. That’s because a VMS gives businesses complete visibility and control over their staffing agencies, contingent workers and program spend.
The use of a vendor management system allows businesses to create a standardized company-wide approach to engaging, and managing, staffing agencies and contingent workers, with the use of performance reporting to enable better program decision making that improves workforce quality and saves money.
Freelancer management system
Unlike a vendor management system which is designed to manage all aspects of a contingent workforce program, a freelancer management system (FMS) is designed specifically to store and manage information regarding freelance talent.
A freelancer management system is typically used by an organization with virtually no contingent workforce spend. Instead, it’s used to onboard, track the progress and manage invoices of a very small number of freelancers used by the company. In general, this technology is used by companies that have no need for the implementation of a highly-strategic contingent workforce program.
Human resource information system
In some cases, businesses attempt to use their traditional HR platform to recruit, track and manage their contingent workforce. These technologies, however, are designed for employees and don’t have the features required to successfully manage a contingent workforce.
This can bring a range of risk into a company’s contingent workforce program, with compliance a key issue. It’s important to keep your contingent workforce and your employee workforce completely separate to avoid these risks.
Direct sourcing technology
As discussed in our recent blog, What is Direct Sourcing Contingent Labor?, direct sourcing is a relatively new contingent workforce strategy in which companies focus on building their own pool of contingent workforce talent that can be engaged without the traditional method of having to go through a staffing agency.
To support this, some providers have built standalone direct sourcing platforms that help businesses to build internal talent pools of contingent workers and automate the processes around managing those workers. With that in mind, it’s worth noting that many vendor management systems include direct sourcing capabilities so that businesses don’t have to invest in multiple species of technology.
What contingent workforce recruiting technology should your company use?
The contingent workforce recruiting technology that works best for your organization will largely come down to your contingent workforce volume and unique business recruitments. However, having said that, a vendor management system is almost always the right choice for companies looking to improve the ROI they realize from their contingent workforce program.
Do you need help improving your contingent workforce program and selecting the technology to underpin its success? Contrax as a range of solutions to help your organization better manage its externally-sourced contingent workforce program and strategically manage your staffing agencies.
Reach out to our team of contingent workforce management specialists today.
