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We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Beeline for their <a class="Hyperlink SCXW25239244 BCX0" href="https://www.beeline.com/solutions/professional" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beeline Professional</a> product.&nbsp;
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Beeline is a global leader in technology solutions for managing the extended workforce. Beeline Professional is designed for companies with mid-size contingent workforce programs and comes pre-configured with templates, workflows, dashboards and reports. The platform is modeled after best-in-class programs and gives mid-size companies the visibility they need for compliance validation as well as process, quality, and cost savings optimization.&nbsp;
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This partnership will enable Guidant Global and Impellam Group to offer&nbsp;our clients access to a VMS that is designed specifically for mid-size contingent workforce programs - helping companies gain control and visibility of their contingent workforce.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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Pam Beard, SVP Technology &amp; Project Management, Impellam says, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s exciting to see our relationship with Beeline expand into innovative product lines that create new opportunities for Impellam to grow our revenue in new market segments across our regions. Beeline Professional will allow us to move quickly during implementation and get to revenue faster than has been possible with Beeline&rsquo;s Enterprise VMS.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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&ldquo;Impellam Group&rsquo;s partnership with Beeline Professional is exciting as it not only validates what a great solution Beeline Professional is for mid-market organizations (and the MSPs and suppliers that serve them) but also shows the strength of the wider Impellam &ndash; Beeline partnership. Beeline looks forward to working with Impellam to activate Beeline Professional at our mutual clients.&rdquo; Brian Hoffmeyer, SVP Market Strategies, Beeline.&nbsp;
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For more information on Impellam: <a class="Hyperlink SCXW25239244 BCX0" href="http://www.impellam.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.impellam.com</a>&nbsp;
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For more information on Beeline Professional: <a class="Hyperlink SCXW25239244 BCX0" href="https://www.beeline.com/solutions/professional" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.beeline.com/solutions/professional</a>&nbsp;
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Contact us <a class="Hyperlink SCXW25239244 BCX0" href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/contact/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a> to for an impartial discussion on which VMS platform would work best for your organization.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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Impellam Partner with Beeline Professional

A global mining company chose to partner with us as they were seeking one global program to improve efficiency and ease of use for hiring managers who recruit for largely STEM roles globally. They were looking for global expertise to deliver a single point of contact; consistent, streamlined reporting; improved governance and greater cost controls.

One global program to improve hiring efficiency

Since 2019 there have been dramatic changes around the world. From the pandemic its impact associated changes to attitudes to work, to cost of living crises caused by overseas conflicts, to fluctuating economies, and political changes. &nbsp;
2024 is now here, and we&rsquo;ve asked two of our industry thought leaders what they think will be changing in the world of workforce management this year.&nbsp;
Andrew Erlichman -&nbsp;VP, Sales/Channel Partner Strategy&nbsp;
The world is realizing that we are moving away from a job title driven talent strategy to more of a focus on finding the right resources to complete specific tasks. Skills and experience are what drive successful outcomes. Speed will continue to be a driving KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for talent acquisition, but all elements are still important. As older talent continues to retire, finding qualified talent quickly will remain a key initiative. &nbsp;
Planning for demand will continue to drive successful results. A flexible approach to talent supply that could include a strategy for directly sourcing specific skill sets along with purposeful talent curation all while utilizing AI powered talent attraction tech will be very effective. &nbsp;
Also driven by a desire for efficiency and effectiveness I would predict the continuing growth of Statement of Work where organizations engage subject matter experts to achieve measurable outcomes within set timelines or milestones. The use of strategic partnerships here will help businesses to find the best possible suppliers with the most relevant and successful experience while ensuring compliance, cost controls and speed in productivity.&nbsp;
AI (Artificial Intelligence) has been in the news consistently, and this is no different in workforce management. Automation and machine learning will continue to grow in our space with various AI platforms and applications used to remove the &lsquo;leg work&rsquo;, freeing up team members to focus on people-based actions and growth. &nbsp;
AI is not a threat to jobs as it will never take over everything that we do: In fact, Artificial intelligence is expected to create 133 million new jobs by 2030. Accepting AI in the world of work will enable both workers and businesses to deliver better results at faster rates. &nbsp;
Ben De Wulf -&nbsp;Client Solutions Architect&nbsp;
I would agree that AI is going to continue to become more relevant as people become increasingly aware of its potential. Not only will the use of AI increase within workforce management, but I think our team members working hands-on with clients will see an escalating increase in demand for quality candidates who have AI experience and skills.&nbsp;
I predict that without drastic action the STEM talent shortage will continue. We&rsquo;ve seen a range of industries already struggling. As an example, a recent study by Guidant Global in partnership with Defence Online about the defence industry, showed that for over half of respondents, their leading challenge was attracting and retaining quality talent, shortly followed by difficulty sourcing specialist or niche skill workers. &nbsp;
As more STEM workers get closer to retirement, employers looking to bring in the best quality talent in STEM are going to have to offer more than simply good salaries, and organizations need to look at alternative approaches to reaching new audiences.&nbsp;
The pandemic brought a dramatic rise in remote workers, but I predict that whilst workers like the flexibility of working from home they also crave human interaction and a sense of community at work. I believe that there will be an increase in hybrid working as opposed to remote working, with candidates wanting the best of both worlds.&nbsp;
Lastly, and specifically for the UK, the reform to IR35 might make organisations reconsider their previous approaches PCS contractor bans. With the double taxation rule no longer applying due to the introduction of new legislation, in relation to misclassification of an &ldquo;out of scope&rdquo; worker and essentially reducing the risk, may mean there will be a greater appetite to explore the use of PSC contractors moving forward.&nbsp;
2024 at Guidant Global&nbsp;
At Guidant Global, our workforce management solutions are agile, digitally enabled, scalable, and evolve with you and your organisation, helping you to create a productive, diverse and inclusive workforce. If you are looking to achieve new levels of workforce quality, cost savings, compliance and efficiency in 2024, <a href="../../../../../../contact/">contact our team</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

What’s coming up in 2024 for workforce management? 

The first instalment in our Direct Sourcing blog series outlined <a href="../../../../../../news/how-we-re-re-defining-direct-sourcing-in-2024/">why 2024 is the year for Advanced Direct Sourcing</a>. As experts in building employer brand-led, technology enabled talent communities, this time we&rsquo;re uncovering the blueprint for building a robust talent community. &nbsp;
The first thing to clear up is that a talent pool and a talent community are not one and the same. A talent pool and a talent community are both essential components of talent acquisition, but they differ significantly in their scope and engagement.&nbsp;
How does a talent community differ from a talent pool or database? &nbsp;
A traditional talent pool typically refers to a database of potential candidates who possess specific skills or qualifications. It serves as a repository of resumes and contact information, allowing recruiters to quickly source and fill positions. However, it tends to be transactional, focusing on immediate hiring needs rather than fostering long-term relationships. &nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a valuable resource, filled with leads you&rsquo;ve already invested the time and money to acquire and consists of people who have already shown interest in your company. Despite this, many employers don&rsquo;t leverage the full potential of their talent database. &nbsp;
The key to unlocking its full potential, is taking steps to turn your talent database into a talent community via a more proactive, strategic, and relationship-based approach. &nbsp;
Building an engaged talent community goes far beyond a mere legacy database and involves actively engaging and nurturing individuals who share common attributes, interests, or connections with a company. Building a talent community is about creating a network of engaged talent over time, which aligns with the organization's values, culture, and industry.&nbsp;
Building a talent community &nbsp;
Building a successful talent community of people who want to work for your organization is an iterative process. It&rsquo;s not one and done. However, keeping your company name and employer brand in front of candidates, even when you are not hiring is worth the effort in today&rsquo;s competitive talent landscape. We already know that the ability to quickly attract and deploy (or re-deploy) high quality talent on-demand provides a competitive edge.&nbsp;
By investing in your talent pool over time, it means that when the right role comes up, your nurtured candidate will be more open, informed, and likely to engage with a recruiter. &nbsp;
The role of automation technology &nbsp;
The latest AI, automation and recruitment marketing technology has thankfully made the process of building and nurturing communities of known and new talent significantly easier. For example, Guidant&rsquo;s own Advanced Direct Sourcing technology, built on an industry-leading CRM, enables us to; deliver automated outreach and personalization at scale; leverage AI and machine learning for superior candidate matching; manage the complete lifecycle ​of a candidate, from engagement and placement to offboarding ​and redeployment; create an end-end suite of client-branded communications; and provide comprehensive reporting and dashboards for full talent community visibility. It takes the pressure off recruiters and freeing them to focus more on the relationship building and strategic aspects of their role. &nbsp;
Where to start &nbsp;
Despite the obvious benefits of building an engaged talent community, it can be a daunting task. &nbsp;
Building relationships with top talent doesn&rsquo;t stop. It&rsquo;s a full lifecycle effort &ndash; from initial attraction to ongoing nurturing and involves people as well as technology. &nbsp;
Remember, you can start small &ndash; with one job family or location &mdash; and scale over time. Choose the talent attributes you need now and grow from there, or focus on high volume, repeatable roles. &nbsp;
6 steps to build your talent community:&nbsp;
1. Define the Community Purpose:&nbsp;
Clearly articulate the purpose of the talent community. Whether it's centred around a specific industry, job-category, diverse characteristic or shared interest, having a clear purpose and focus will help to attract the right individuals.&nbsp;
2. Invite Known and New Talent: &nbsp;
The first step in building your talent community is to make people aware of it. It&rsquo;s a great opportunity cleanse and segment your existing database and to generate new leads by inviting suitable candidates or those your already know such as former employees, freelancers, statement of work (SOW) labor, retirees, referrals, interns, and &ldquo;runner up&rdquo; applicants, to join your talent community. It&rsquo;s also important to set expectations and make it clear what people are opting in to. &nbsp;
3. Create Engaging Content:&nbsp;
Regularly share relevant content such as industry updates, thought leadership articles, good news stories, videos and company news. This not only keeps the community informed but also establishes the organization as a valuable resource. This content should be authentic and aligned with your EVP. A quarterly newsletter driving traffic to your community content is a great place to start. &nbsp;
4. Personalized Communication:&nbsp;
Where possible further tailor communication to the interests and preferences of community members. Personalized job opportunities, messages, newsletters, and updates show that the organization values the individual and their contributions to the community.&nbsp;
5. Facilitate Networking Opportunities:&nbsp;
If possible, foster deeper connections within the community by organizing career related events, or webinars where you can interact, share insights, and build relationships with members of the community. Networking is a key element in cultivating a thriving talent community.&nbsp;
6. Feedback Loop:&nbsp;
Ask for feedback and input from the community members. This not only helps in understanding their needs but also empowers them, making them feel like active contributors and shows you care about their point of view. This can be easily done by asking about their specific areas of interest, to complete regular NPS surveys or via community ambassador initiatives. &nbsp;
Building a talent community is an ongoing process that requires commitment and consistency. By fostering meaningful connections, providing valuable resources, and actively engaging with members, organizations can create a vibrant talent community that goes beyond immediate hiring needs and contributes to long-term success.&nbsp;
At Guidant Global, we have been successfully building talent communities and delivering employer brand-led direct sourcing strategies to our customers for over 10 years. That&rsquo;s why you can trust us to help build your direct sourcing strategy for smarter, faster and better access to the talent you need to thrive.&nbsp;
If you want to find out more about this innovative solution, download our <a href="../../../../../../gated-content/the-complete-guide-to-direct-sourcing/">Complete Guide to Advanced Direct Sourcing</a> or request a discovery session with one of our experts. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The Blueprint for Building a Robust Talent Community  

In today's fast-paced business landscape, businesses and organizations rely on outsourcing to multiple vendors instead of carrying out everything in-house. Managing these vendor relationships can be a complex task. and this is where Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Vendor Management Systems (VMS) come into play, and this is never truer than for workforce management. &nbsp;
MSP&rsquo;s and VMS&rsquo;s can be used to manage most, if not all, aspects of workforce management, including finding, engaging, and managing candidates and staff. But what do they individually achieve? And how do they work together to deliver the most effective way to manage a contingent workforce?&nbsp;
Managed Service Providers (MSPs)&nbsp;
An <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/solutions/msp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MSP</a> manages the contingent worker recruitment process for an organization, and it is responsible for the end-to-end management of the workforce &ndash; from supplier management to strategic workforce planning.&nbsp;
One of the key benefits of using an MSP is the easy access to resources needed to address complex people-based challenges such as skills shortages, repeatable hiring needs and technology management. &nbsp;
MSPs have specific experts who have a deep understanding of best practices, robust processes, stay up-to-date with the latest approaches and solutions, and are motivated to help organizations get the absolute most out of their contingent workforce and its associated technology. &nbsp;
This knowledge means that businesses can then focus on their core competencies while leaving the workforce management responsibilities to the experts.&nbsp;
Vendor Management Solutions (VMS)&nbsp;
A VMS, on the other hand, is a software platform designed to assist organizations in managing their recruitment supply chain and contingent workforce through data collection and visibility. This means that at all times an organization knows who is part of their workforce, what they are doing and where, which source did the enter from/are contracted to, what that contract is, what they are being paid and what compliance checks have been carried out.&nbsp;
A VMS provides a centralized platform where organizations can store, track, and analyze key information including hours, pay, skills, qualifications, and contract conditions, and by leveraging this data, organizations can make informed staffing decisions based on real-time data.&nbsp;
Using MSP and VMS technology together to achieve optimal results&nbsp;
@Pace is a new collaboration between VMS heavyweights SAP Fieldglass and MSP leaders Guidant Global. By combining both MSP and VMS technology, you get a truly complete workforce management solution designed for UK businesses of up to 5,000 employees, with functionality you might previously have only expected in a major enterprise workforce solution. &nbsp;
By providing this at a cost and implementation timescale suitable for businesses of all sizes, SMEs can now also harness the power of enterprise level technology. &nbsp;
&ldquo;At Guidant, we have a team of SAP Fieldglass accredited experts, and what this means is that we implement the VMS technology directly, meaning the speed of deployment is so much faster,&rdquo;&nbsp;states Mary Nichols, Director of Sales at Guidant Global. &nbsp;
&ldquo;So, @Pace can not only help organizations resolve a lot of their workforce management challenges, but it can be up and running, in a relatively short period of time.&rdquo;&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re ready to rethink your non-employee workforce management, find out more about @Pace in the video below or at the <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/solutions/-pace-msp/">@Pace webpage</a>. You can contact Guidant Global to speak about @Pace in more detail <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/contact/">here.</a>&nbsp;

What is an MSP and VMS? How do they work together to get the best value for money in contingent workforce management? 

It&rsquo;s been a tough few years for US procurement teams. The labour market has presented a wealth of both challenges and opportunities. Skills shortages and an increased reliance on the extended workforce has altered the resourcing demands for most businesses. In this environment, we&rsquo;re seeing ever-increasing desire for a shared services MSP model &ndash; and it&rsquo;s the future of truly strategic solutions in my view.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Getting off the island&nbsp;</h3>
Historically an MSP solution gave an end client a dedicated programme team. That team only worked on that account. There were certainly pros to this approach: you knew who was working on what and you had faces you could put to names. The challenge is that this team is often sitting isolated on their own island.&nbsp; This has worked in the past and even today there&rsquo;s merit to this approach for some businesses and situations. But, in a fast-paced and ever-evolving environment, the ability to flex and pivot at a moment&rsquo;s notice is putting pressure on this island approach.&nbsp; As we expect in any time of economic uncertainty, there will be ebbs and flows of demand. An MSP solution will need to grow or contract with both corporate demands and wider market conditions. Having restrictions around who is delivering a programme will create some limitations.&nbsp;
<h3>Drivers of change&nbsp;</h3>
It&rsquo;s not just the current economy and the fall out of the pandemic that&rsquo;s driving this mindset shift. We&rsquo;ve seen this movement picking up pace for some time now and many of those I speak to are referencing a range of influencers, including:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>The &lsquo;norm&rsquo; is being questioned (rightly so!): We&rsquo;re no longer operating in survival mode meaning that procurement leaders have the head space to start reviewing and challenging current suppliers and ways of working. It&rsquo;s been difficult to grab a moment to step back and assess what improvements can be introduced. But with the economic future uncertain across most major markets, now is the time to question why services are being delivered in the way they are, and what return they really offer to your business.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Knowledge centres deliver more value: A transactional approach to talent solutions isn&rsquo;t viable in today&rsquo;s talent economy. MSPs should be demonstrating their value beyond resourcing numbers &ndash; and if you&rsquo;re not seeing that from your MSP, you need to ask. Removing the island approach gives access to broader expertise and insight.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>MSPs have staff turnover too: As much as it&rsquo;s been a tough talent market for you, suppliers have felt it too. If an MSP model has a small team on a programme, the loss of one member will be felt.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Goals are constantly moving: At Guidant Global, our solutions are bespoke because we know that every firm&rsquo;s talent challenges are different. While the right team might be attributed to a client today, that doesn&rsquo;t mean they&rsquo;ll be the right team in six- or 12-months&rsquo; time. A shared services model means you get the right people, working on the right deliverables, at the right time.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Those looking at a second-generation model need more: There&rsquo;s also the simple reality that moving from a first- to second-generation MSP programme requires an evolved approach that the island team approach won&rsquo;t always deliver. If you&rsquo;re looking at evolving current processes, change is a given. That change includes how the service is delivered. Check out our guide to <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/outsourcing-guides-and-insights/building-a-business-case-for-second-generation-msp">building a business case for 2nd generation MSP</a> for a detailed guide that serves as a roadmap for organisations to help decide the future of your MSP programme.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h3>The benefits of a shared services model&nbsp;</h3>
One thing that all of the above-mentioned drivers of change have in common - real benefits can be seen by shifting to a shared services model of delivery. You have access to greater insights, from a greater number of individuals and subject matter experts, gained from their experience of other global programmes. The solution is completely scalable. It&rsquo;s possible to benefit from the input from more suppliers (for Guidant Global customers that means access to the knowledge of thousands of organisations). And much more.&nbsp; But the crux of the message from me is this: a programme needs to deliver real value to your business and you. If you&rsquo;re becoming frustrated with results, not seeing the return on investment, aren&rsquo;t feeling heard by your partner or feel as though things have stagnated, maybe it&rsquo;s time to get off that island and jump ship.&nbsp; Want to find out more about our shared services approach to MSP programmes? <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/contact-us">Contact us today</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The shared services MSP model. More appropriate for today’s talent market?

<h2>Our recent survey, carried out in partnership with Defence Online, asked respondents from across the Defence sector for their input into what is affecting and influencing talent in the industry.&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>
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With many of the UK&rsquo;s core industries continuing to experience prolonged talent shortages, the Defence sector, clearly, is no exception.&nbsp;
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Download the full report to access the latest insight into talent within the defence sector and explore:<span class="EOP SCXW201367330 BCX9" data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}">&nbsp;
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The implications of STEM shortages on the Defence sector and what can be done about it&nbsp;
</li>
<li class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW119105167 BCX9" role="listitem" data-leveltext="-" data-font="Calibri" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;-&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">
Opportunities to diversify the defence supply chain&nbsp;
</li>
<li class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW119105167 BCX9" role="listitem" data-leveltext="-" data-font="Calibri" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;-&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">
Diversity and inclusion in the sector&nbsp;
</li>
<li class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW119105167 BCX9" role="listitem" data-leveltext="-" data-font="Calibri" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;-&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">
The role of contingent labour in the sector&nbsp;
</li>
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And more!&nbsp;
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Access your copy of the report by filling in the form opposite</h2>
&nbsp;
</div>

READ THE REPORT: Delivering the Defence Workforce of the Future 

"Customer satisfaction is continually high and the strength of our working partnership [with guidant] is excellent. I am very impressed in their professionalism and their commitment to continuous improvement, they are very much a part of our team and I look forward to continued delivery contributing to our commercial success."&nbsp;
- Head of EU Resourcing&nbsp;

Premium Drinks manufacturer 

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"We were asked to bring in 32 people for induction on Monday and we essentially threw caution to the wind. And as it now stands we are sending in 89 quality candidates on Monday. Genuinely, we (the on-site account team) are really grateful for the marketing support as it has undoubtedly made this possible."&nbsp;
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- Guidant Global Account Director&nbsp;
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Major UK Heritage Retailer

Every aspect of our lives is increasingly driven by technology. Over the course of the collaboration with this pioneering customer, Guidant Global has consistently helped integrate the latest tech into their staffing practices.&nbsp;

UK High Street Retailer

The real key to this program&rsquo;s success is our strong client sponsorship. Starting with the executive sponsorship of the CIO, we have complete support and alignment with Guidant Global. This has enabled successful change management and opened avenues to present the SOW Management business case directly to key stakeholders.

Leading US healthcare services provider

We helped a global technology leader drive huge savings in a single year with Guidant Global&rsquo;s contingent workforce program.

How a global technology leader drove $16.2m cost savings with Guidant Global

As well as the increased flexibility and enhanced visibility, the support provided by Guidant Global at this critical juncture has also enabled the client organisation to win more work and expand its footprint both regionally and globally.&nbsp;

A flexible contingent workforce solution fit for a pandemic

&ldquo;We are delighted with how our relationship has developed to date and level of service we&rsquo;ve received. Guidant oversaw a diligent and efficient implementation process which safeguarded the interests of our hiring managers, supply chain and candidates, whilst establishing an onsite recruitment team who have proactively worked to understand our hiring needs; ultimately leading to a quicker acquisition of better quality talent.&rdquo;
<h4>- Alex Holly, HR Business Partner, Talent and Resourcing, Bristol City Council</h4>

Bristol City Council

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&nbsp;"The achievement of recruiting high quality social workers is incredible as are the cost savings. Most importantly the children are starting to see the benefit. The feedback we are getting from families and children is&nbsp;overwhelmingly positive, mainly because of the high-quality workforce we have. Our Social Workers get up in the morning to make a difference to the lives of children, that&rsquo;s why we do what we do.&nbsp; I am pleased that we now have the knowledge that on a daily basis our wonderful social workers are out there making a difference to the lives of children."
- Cllr Valentine - Portfolio holder for Children&rsquo;s Services&nbsp;
</div>

Bedford County Council

The success of this engagement and Guidant&rsquo;s ability to adapt to quick turnaround times and flexible solutions, has resulted in further collaboration and expansion of the relationship with the government contractor.

Adapting to change to manage a high-profile hiring drive

<h4>What we will cover</h4>
<ol>
<li>
The origins of Contingent RPO
</li>
<li>
How does Contingent RPO enhance a traditional MSP?
</li>
<li>
The benefits of Contingent RPO
</li>
<li>
What Contingent RPO adopts from traditional RPO
</li>
<li>
When and where is a Contingent RPO solution best employed?
</li>
<li>
What is contingent RPO compared to contingent recruitment?
</li>
<li>
What is direct sourcing?&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
What is considered to be a contingent worker?&nbsp;
</li>
</ol>

Contingent RPO is carried out via a strategic outsourced partnership between a company and provider to manage the entire recruitment process and optimise it for success and efficiency. Contingent recruitment is a type of recruitment where staffing agencies fill open positions on a temporary or contract basis.&nbsp;

What is contingent RPO compared to contingent recruitment?

Direct Sourcing helps organisations to attract, curate, and engage talent by using the organisations employee brand to support their hiring needs. Direct Sourcing is particularly powerful for businesses and organisations with repeatable hiring needs.&nbsp;

What is direct sourcing? 

A contingent worker is someone who works for a company or organisation without being hired as a permanent employee. Contingent workers usually provide their services under a contract which can be a temporary contract, on an as-needed (gig) basis, or through a Statement of Work.&nbsp;

What is considered to be a contingent worker? 

With the meteoric growth of the contingent labour market - even in the face of global economic prosperity - businesses are starting to understand that the rise in temporary talent is not just a reaction to the economic downturn post-2008. It is, in fact, a fundamental shift driven by businesses' need for greater agility and workers' desire for a more flexible way of working.
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The contingent workforce is not only here to stay but is also likely to grow in the near future. Amid this backdrop, it's easy to see why businesses want to optimise how contingent talent is sourced and managed in order to drive better business efficiency and reduce the risk associated with their non-employee workforce.
Contingent workers (whether contractors, temps or gig workers) have raised expectations. The labour market is experiencing record-low unemployment, technical skill-sets are increasingly difficult to hire, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution is almost upon us. In response, ensuring that contingent talent feels valued and well managed is more crucial than ever - especially if businesses want to remain competitive.

The origins of Contingent RPO

A Contingent RPO or Direct Sourcing solution is built strategically around a business&rsquo;s unique contingent talent needs. Because of this, an organisation is able to form a strong partnership with its workforce solutions provider, enabling it to attract new talent and reorganise and engage existing <a href="../../../../../../insights/what-is-a-talent-pool-/">talent pools</a> (such as retirees, alumni and referrals) &ndash; improving time-to-hire and intensifying cost-savings.
In addition to its cost benefits, a Contingent RPO solution also allows businesses to build on their contingent employee value proposition (EVP), employer brand and end-to-end onboarding process. This drives better quality candidates who are more closely aligned to a business&rsquo;s culture, aiding long-term retention of the best contingent talent &ndash; especially vital in a competitive talent market.
How is this done? With a contingent RPO solution, you get a <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-direct-sourcing-/">direct sourcin</a>g team who are solely dedicated to finding contingent talent for your business. This gives you sole access to recruitment experts singularly committed to your business&rsquo;s success.
Take a look at Guidant&rsquo;s integrated approach to direct sourcing - <a href="../../../../../../solutions/advanced-direct-sourcing/">Advanced Direct Sourcing</a> - which activates your EVP and <a href="../../../../../../insights/aligning-your-evp-and-talent-brand/">employer brand</a> to attract, curate and engage exclusive talent communities to support repeatable hiring needs without the need for suppliers. Advanced Direct Sourcing drives cost savings whilst increasing talent quality.
Contingent RPO doesn&rsquo;t have to completely replace a business&rsquo;s use of traditional recruitment agencies, however. Some companies who utilise Contingent RPO within their business opt for a hybrid model. In this scenario, Contingent RPO is employed for specific segments within a business &ndash; often for high-level, hard-to-fill roles, or when candidates are needed at scale.

How does Contingent RPO enhance a traditional MSP?

<ul>
<li>A real and meaningful value proposition for contingent workers</li>
<li>A competitive advantage in a talent short market</li>
<li>A reduction in costs and over-reliance on agencies</li>
<li>An increase in the quality and fit of contingent talent</li>
<li>An improvement in efficiency and candidate experience</li>
<li>Opportunities for the easy redeployment of valuable workers</li>
</ul>

The benefits of Contingent RPO

<ul>
<li>Going to market using the brand name and identity</li>
<li>Technological implementation</li>
<li>Employer value proposition (EVP)</li>
<li>Recruitment marketing</li>
<li>The utilisation of known talent pools</li>
<li>End-to-end candidate experience</li>
</ul>

What Contingent RPO adopts from traditional RPO

Contingent RPO is best suited to high-demand skillsets, at significant scale. If you need a high number of contingent digital transformation specialists, for example, then a Contingent RPO makes a great deal of sense. At this end of the market, talented workers know they have alternatives, and a strong EVP, employer brand, recruitment marketing and <a href="../../../../../../insights/managed-services-onboarding-the-complete-guide/">onboarding</a> process could be the difference between the best talent choosing your business, and your competitor who uses a traditional <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-a-managed-service-provider-msp-/">MSP</a> approach.

When and where is a Contingent RPO solution best employed?

What is Contingent RPO?

<h4>What we will cover</h4>
<ol>
<li>Managed Service Programme, Managed Service Provider: what&rsquo;s the difference?</li>
<li>What are the benefits of MSP?</li>
<li>MSP: finding the right solution for your business</li>
<li>The core components of a Managed Service Programm</li>
<li>How is MSP different from RPO?</li>
<li>Should you use an MSP?</li>
<li>Who uses an MSP?&nbsp;</li>
<li>How many contingent workers do I need to justify using an MSP?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What is the difference between an MSP and an RPO?&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

A range of organization's use MSPs including fast growing startups who need emerging contingent talent quickly, SME&rsquo;s looking to maximize efficiency and minimize running costs, and large enterprises or public sector organizations. MSP is especially prevalent in highly regulated sectors, for whom remaining compliant at all times in a changing environment is vital.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Who uses an MSP? 

An MSP can cover anything from a hundred to tens of thousands of contingent workers. Overall numbers generally depend on the type and associated costs of the contingent workers in the workforce. The higher the cost of an individual worker, the less overall workers you need for an MSP to return a strong ROI. Companies should look to use an MSP when they have varying contingent workforce requirements that need to be met on an ongoing basis.&nbsp;&nbsp;

How many contingent workers do I need to justify using an MSP? 

The key difference between an MSP and an <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-recruitment-process-outsourcing-rpo-/">RPO</a> is the type of worker they supply. RPO focuses solely on finding the best quality permanent employees. Whereas an MSP will find you the short-term, contingent&nbsp; talent with the skills that you need to fulfil a temporary requirement, such as for a project with a set end date or to cover a seasonal demand.&nbsp;

What is the difference between an MSP and an RPO? 

In the staffing industry, the term MSP is used interchangeably to refer to both a Managed Service Programme and a Managed Service Provider. Though this can be confusing, a Managed Service Programme (a contingent workforce solution) is delivered by a Managed Service Provider (a contingent workforce solution specialist). For clarity and transparency, we&rsquo;ve used the full terms throughout this page.
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Managed Service Programme, Managed Service Provider: what’s the difference?

In an increasingly competitive and complex contingent talent market, utilising a Managed Service Programme has clear and obvious benefits for a business.
Visibility A Managed Service Programme gives organisations complete visibility over their non-permanent workforce. From temporary workers to consultants, freelancers to contractors, a Managed Service Provider utilises its expertise to hire the best temporary talent for businesses. With the right working relationship, a Managed Service Programme relieves a company&rsquo;s HR and talent acquisition functions from the complex task of managing a contingent workforce.
Agility and cost savings Managed Service Providers are experts in attracting the right talent, even in competitive markets. With dedicated teams, they are able to find your business the right talent, at the right time &ndash; whether that be tomorrow or in six months&rsquo; time. Utilising a Managed Service Provider&rsquo;s experience can make a business more agile, allowing it to respond to shifts in the market whilst simultaneously improving efficiencies.&nbsp; <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/success-story/bristol-city-council">Discover how we helped Bristol City Council generate &pound;5.5m in savings</a>
Scalability&nbsp; Many organisations utilise seasonal staff. Finding a temporary workforce at scale can make or break a busy Christmas period. Hiring temporary talent for a large defence contract can alter the outcomes of an entire nation. A Managed Service Programme provides the scalability needed to ride the peaks and troughs of contingent recruitment activity. Utilising a Managed Service Provider&rsquo;s team of experts ensures that a business never finds itself short-staffed, even in extraordinary cases. <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/success-story/female-engineers-soar-higher-at-airbus/">Discover how the UK partnership between Airbus and Guidant Global is taking a smarter approach to hiring contingent workers</a>
Global reach and compliance As companies expand globally, a Managed Service Programme becomes vital, though only if the Managed Service Provider is also global in scale. Though a warehouse worker in Australia ultimately performs the same role as a warehouse worker in the UK, employment laws are quite often distinct.&nbsp;
By using a global Managed Service Provider, a business can lean on their extensive knowledge of tax, labour and legislation in local markets. Not only does this save a business a great deal of energy, but it also ensures that a business&rsquo;s internationalisation efforts are fully compliant &ndash; shielding them from possible lawsuits.
Take a look at Guidant Global's <a href="../../../../../../solutions/msp/">MSP solution page</a> for more information on our award winning MSP solutions.

What are the benefits of MSP?

MSP doesn&rsquo;t work for every business. Managed Service Programmes only work if there is sufficient volume of contingent labour employed within an organisation. Without the right scale, a Managed Service Programme may not be self-sufficient. For businesses who do employ a large contingent workforce, you need to ask a few questions.
Firstly, are you adequately controlling costs, mitigating risks and ensuring compliance? Secondly, do you have the expertise to vet and review suppliers? Finally, do you have a VMS and other technological solutions in place to provide visibility of contingent workforce spend and efficiency?
Businesses who utilise contingent talent on a medium to large scale that answer no to any of these questions will benefit from an effective Managed Service Programme.

MSP: finding the right solution for your business

<ul>
<li>Management of contingent labour</li>
<li><a href="../../../../../../insights/what-is-a-talent-pool-/">Qualified pools of talented candidates</a></li>
<li>A streamlined recruitment process</li>
<li>Contract management</li>
<li>Supplier management and selection</li>
<li>Reporting and analysis</li>
<li>Invoice management</li>
<li>Regular progress updates and business reviews</li>
</ul>

The core components of a Managed Service Programm

<a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-recruitment-process-outsourcing-rpo-/">Recruitment Process Outsourcing</a> is primarily used for permanent staff, whereas an MSP is a solution that manages a business&rsquo; contingent workforce. Businesses can utilise MSP &amp; RPO at the same time under a <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-total-talent-management-/">Total Talent Management</a> arrangement.
Want to learn more about RPO? <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-recruitment-process-outsourcing-rpo-/">Click here</a>

How is MSP different from RPO?

Contingent talent is becoming increasingly difficult to find. The most critical skills are becoming more expensive than ever. So it&rsquo;s little surprise that in recent years businesses&rsquo; contingent workforces have been rapidly increasing across almost every sector &ndash; especially as they seek to become more flexible, responsive and agile. Today, non-employees make up over 40% of the modern workforce, and contingent talent is more important than ever.
A Managed Service Programme is the perfect solution in such an economy. Businesses are having to become more agile to survive, and an effective Managed Service Programme not only facilitates this, but it also manages and controls costs &ndash; saving businesses money, time and effort.
Still struggling to understand whether your business should use an MSP? <a href="../../../../../../contact/">Get in touch</a>
Need a workforce solutions partner?
If you&rsquo;re looking for a workforce solution that exactly meets the selection criteria for your organisation but not sure where to start, look no further! Based on our experience we've put together the first instalment of our MSP handbook, <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/gated-content/the-msp-handbook-a-guide-for-first-generation-buyers/">'The complete guide to securing a first-generation MSP solution for your business'</a>.
The aim of this guide is simple: to give you the full picture of what benefits an MSP partner provides, and information to help you decide if it's the right solution for your organisation.

Should you use an MSP?

What is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?

<h4>What we will cover</h4>
<ol>
<li>
Why use Direct Sourcing?
</li>
<li>
Direct Sourcing with an MSP (Managed Services Provider)
</li>
<li>
How does Direct Sourcing work with my MSP programme?
</li>
<li>
What are the benefits of Direct Sourcing?
</li>
<li>
What is Advanced Direct Sourcing?&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
The Complete Guide to Advanced Direct Sourcing
</li>
<li>
Why is direct sourcing important?&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
What is the difference between recruiting and direct sourcing?&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Why does direct sourcing need to use an employer brand?&nbsp;
</li>
</ol>

Direct Sourcing helps organisations attract, curate, and engage groups of talent by activating their employee brand. Direct Sourcing is vital for companies that have repeatable hiring needs as they are able to find talent with the skills that they need, and who are engaged by the brand. Direct sourcing is generally considered more cost effective than recruitment through the supply chain.&nbsp;

Why is direct sourcing important? 

Direct Sourcing focuses on identifying and engaging good quality potential candidates using the organization's brand. Recruiting also involves the interviewing and hiring stages of finding new talent. Recruiting is not possible without first sourcing these candidates in some way and so does not solve staff or skills shortages.&nbsp;

What is the difference between recruiting and direct sourcing? 

Using an employer brand ensures you can attract better quality candidates. It's the way in which&nbsp; organisations can differentiate themselves in the labour market, and a strong employer brand will help businesses better compete for the best talent. Working with a direct sourcing partner can help you establish your brand and establish credibility.&nbsp;

Why does direct sourcing need to use an employer brand? 

Direct Sourcing gives a company access to a pool of pre-screened engaged, specialised contingent talent. &nbsp;With a pool of engaged contingent talent to call upon, that a business knows is aligned with their brand and culture, employers can quickly, and more cost effectively attract and retain the right people for any given project or assignment.
Direct sourcing programmes are typically more cost effective than traditional supply chain approaches for large-scale, repeatable and seasonal hiring needs.

Why use Direct Sourcing?

Often, Direct Sourcing recruitment is best done in partnership with an <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-a-managed-service-provider-msp-/">MSP</a>, as part of a strategic CWM (<a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-contingent-workforce-management-cwm-/">Contingent Workforce Management</a>) programme. By working in partnership with a specialist MSP, employers can leverage their own EVP (Employee Value Proposition) and employer brand to target and attract the best quality and most diverse talent for the most relevant role.
The MSP will use state-of-the-art technology including AI in recruitment, for matching skills to roles, and supporting DE&amp;I (diversity, equity, and inclusion). They will also use benchmarking and forecasting tools, create automated talent community nurture and job alerts, and real time reporting and analysis.
The MSP will use its own talent delivery team to engage candidates and applicants in a meaningful way, ensuring thorough compliance and seamless onboarding. They will also manage contingent workforces, with redeployment keeping quality candidates and temporary workers engaged.
Long-term, a direct sourcing strategy with an MSP can have a significant impact on a business&rsquo;s hiring capability - particularly when skills shortages and competition for top talent are rife - and, most importantly, can save considerable time and money.
Take a look at Guidant Global's <a href="../../../../../../solutions/advanced-direct-sourcing/">Advanced Direct Sourcing solution page</a> to see what a cutting-edge direct sourcing solution looks like.&nbsp;

Direct Sourcing with an MSP (Managed Services Provider)

<a href="../../../../../../solutions/advanced-direct-sourcing/">Direct Sourcing</a> complements and accelerates your MSP programme with the support and infrastructure needed to source, contract and manage your extended workforce including temporary staff, seasonal workers, and independent workers/contractors.&nbsp;
Direct Sourcing creates diverse talent pools to facilitate repeatable hiring, support the re-deployment of existing staff to suitable roles, and sourcing contingent workers to meet seasonal needs. Direct Sourcing is a managed service that boosts the power of your MSP in a time and cost-effective manner.&nbsp;

How does Direct Sourcing work with my MSP programme?

In an increasingly volatile talent market, it is no surprise that more and more companies are exploring the possibility of implementing their own direct sourcing strategy. Direct sourcing can help businesses to:
1) Access a pool of engaged, talent Direct sourcing gives a company access to a pool of pre-screened, specialised contingent talent.&nbsp; Direct sourcing also enables companies to forge and nurture long-term relationships with contingent workers &mdash; contributing to increased loyalty and buy-in from external employees and expanding the network of company advocates.
2) Improve cost savings Third-party recruiting or consulting firms can often be expensive to work with. The cost markup of using an external recruiter can often range from 20% to 40%, particularly for hard-to-fill and technical roles. Direct sourcing tools such as online marketplaces bring flexibility to talent acquisition, giving hiring managers the means to source and self-select the right contingent talent for specific projects. By cutting out the intermediary in the recruiting process, companies save time and money and free up valuable resources for other important business ventures.
Moreover, a properly implemented direct sourcing strategy will simplify the vetting process &mdash; minimising the risk of misclassifying workers and accruing costly legal fees or penalties.
3) Enhance other aspects of the organisation Not only can direct sourcing save a company money when hiring contingent talent, but it also has a number of softer cost savings that frequently go overlooked.
Typically, direct sourcing reduces time-to-hire, encourages faster and more effective onboarding, and creates a more effective talent pooling of contingent candidates. Consequently, these soft savings can enhance a business&rsquo; employer brand and company culture, further strengthening its chance of hiring top talent in the future.
4) Become a &ldquo;client of choice&rdquo; In recent years, gaining a reputation as an &ldquo;Employer of Choice&rdquo; has enabled companies to attract and retain the best talent based on the strength of their employer brand. By expanding this to become a &ldquo;Client of Choice,&rdquo; businesses stand to attract the best contingent and self-employed workers, even in highly competitive, skills-short industries.&nbsp;

What are the benefits of Direct Sourcing?

Guidant Global&rsquo;s integrated approach &ndash; <a href="../../../../../../solutions/advanced-direct-sourcing/">Advanced Direct Sourcing</a> - activates your <a href="../../../../../../insights/the-complete-guide-to-building-a-unique-employer-value-proposition-evp-/">EVP</a> and employer brand to attract, curate and engage exclusive talent communities to support repeatable hiring needs without the need for suppliers in a cost-effective way.
This approach uses cutting edge direct sourcing technology and automation, ensuring you source talent in a holistic, integrated way, that includes talent marketing and talent delivery expertise. For more information on Advanced Direct Sourcing page <a href="../../../../../../solutions/advanced-direct-sourcing/">here</a>.

What is Advanced Direct Sourcing? 

For greater insight into how Advanced Direct Sourcing can be used successfully to take your acquisition of contingent talent to the next level, download <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/gated-content/the-complete-guide-to-direct-sourcing/">The Complete Guide to Advanced Direct Sourcing</a>.

The Complete Guide to Advanced Direct Sourcing

What is Direct Sourcing?

<h4>What we will cover</h4>
<ol>
<li>
Why use Direct Sourcing?
</li>
<li>
Direct Sourcing with an MSP (Managed Services Provider)
</li>
<li>
How does Direct Sourcing work with my MSP programme?
</li>
<li>
What are the benefits of Direct Sourcing?
</li>
<li>
What is Advanced Direct Sourcing?&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
The Complete Guide to Advanced Direct Sourcing
</li>
<li>
What are the benefits of a contingent workforce?&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
What is a contingent worker?&nbsp;
</li>
<li>What companies use contingent workers?&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

The key benefits of contingent worker management over permanent employees are flexibility and cost efficiency. When a contingent worker&rsquo;s contract or project is completed, the organisation is not required to continue to provide work to that worker on a permanent basis. &nbsp;
This means that organisations with seasonal demands or who need talent for short projects but not beyond don&rsquo;t end up paying for employees they no longer need at quieter times, without staff shortages during busier times.&nbsp;

What are the benefits of a contingent workforce? 

A contingent worker is a worker hired on a fixed-term contract or temporary basis to fill a specific role or provide a service for a specific project. A contingent worker is not an employee and as a result has different rights and responsibilities to permanent employees in terms of benefits and conditions of employment. Once a contingent worker's contract ends, unless they are given a new contract or contract extension, they leave the organisation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

What is a contingent worker? 

Nearly all industries make use of contingent workers, in both the public and private sectors. A few examples are healthcare, where hospitals, care homes, community care facilities and clinics rely on contingent workers to fill skill gaps quickly and at short notice, or in construction and engineering companies who rely on contingent workers to carry out specific developments or projects. Organisations who have fluctuating needs are most likely to use contingent workers, and this accounts for the majority of them.&nbsp;

What companies use contingent workers? 

While it may be all too easy to group the entire workforce together, when it comes to effective management of talent there needs to be a separation of permanent and contingent workers due to the varied and nuanced nature in which they are employed.
Contingent workforce management is the hiring and management of non-permanent employees. This includes independent contractors, gig workers, those engaged under a <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-statement-of-work-sow-/">Statement of Work</a> (SoW), agency contract labour and temporary staff (find out more about the differences between each of these segments <a href="../../../../../../insights/how-to-manage-contingent-workers/">here</a>).

What is Contingent Workforce Management?

The make-up of the non-permanent workforce is complex to say the least. But it has multiple advantages, from the ability to rapidly scale resources and access to niche skills to delivering projects and meeting seasonal demand.
However, without effective management, the full benefits of the contingent workforce simply can&rsquo;t be realised. As a case in point, there may be resources in one part of the business that could fill a need in another area, but due to the lack of transparency around the workers that are being engaged, costly recruitment processes are being implemented to source skills that the company already has access to.
If we also consider how fluid the non-permanent workforce is, the need for CWM to ensure workers themselves have a positive experience is key. This segment of your <a href="../../../../../../insights/what-is-a-talent-pool-/">talent pool</a> will have access to an array of other employment opportunities, so if they become disengaged, there isn&rsquo;t always the guarantee that they can be re-employed when the need arises again.

Why manage the contingent workforce?

The flexibility that the contingent workforce affords a business is one of the greatest selling points for employing this segment &ndash; with employers able to scale the workforce up or down where necessary with relative ease. However, it is the fluid nature of this talent pool that also creates the greatest challenge. With such a wide range of ways contingent workers can be employed, HR and procurement teams will be facing managing multiple suppliers, in a variety of sectors, locations and job roles, as well as a workforce that they arguably don&rsquo;t have complete oversight on.
With differing working arrangements, how you track and engage with each section of your contingent workforce will vary significantly. As a case in point, Agency Workers will be very much driven by the agency they are deployed by, so you will likely have much closer contact and involvement with the third-party vendor than the individual.
Independent contractors, on the other hand, will be much more directly connected to HR and procurement functions.
Ensuring your contingent workforce is being employed compliantly is also a key challenge. But with the potential for the risk to be passed down the supply chain to the end-client if an individual isn&rsquo;t being paid or managed in a compliant manner, or doesn&rsquo;t hold the required level of employment or specific job role certification, it is a highly crucial element of contingent workforce management that should not be overlooked.

What are the key challenges?

While there may be a number of challenges when it comes to managing your contingent workforce, the simple fact is, it is a necessity. Perhaps more importantly, it needs to be done right. With the gig economy growing and reliance on contingent workers increasing (not to mention the fact that more people want to be employed in a more flexible way), businesses that don&rsquo;t have an effective CWM program will soon find their competitive talent pools shrink.
Of course, it is possible to manage this in-house, but it will require expert resources with the knowledge of supplier management processes and compliant employment methods, as well as access to real time data of the organisation&rsquo;s contingent supply chain. For already over-stretched HR and procurement teams this in reality just isn&rsquo;t feasible, which is why alternative options are often chosen.
In these instances, there are three main options for an organisation:
<ul>
<li>Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): Or employing contingent workers under a Statement of Work. We mentioned SoW above as a segment of the contingent workforce, but it is possible to drive elements of your CWM through this <a href="../../../../../../insights/is-global-sourcing-the-same-as-outsourcing-/">employment model</a>. In essence, you would engage a third-party professional services company to deliver specific work for a defined cost and period. The people who deliver the work will likely be employed by a services company or operate through a Limited Company, so you would have an agreed contract in place with the company itself to deliver the work.</li>
<li>Utilising a V<a href="../../../../../../insights/what-s-the-difference-between-a-vms-and-msp-/">endor Management System</a>: This is essentially software that facilitates contingent workforce management. It&rsquo;s often cloud-based and hosts a wealth of data that informs your CWM, but it will require management either internally or through another management solution. As with all other tech platforms, it is only as good as the data going into it and the processes and governance which surrounds it.</li>
<li>Engaging a <a href="../../../../../../insights/page/what-is/what-is-a-managed-service-provider-msp-/">Managed Service Provider</a> (MSP): This is an outsourced provider that manages all or part of your contingent workforce recruitment &ndash; including the <a href="../../../../../../insights/what-s-the-difference-between-a-vms-and-msp-/">VMS</a>. This is often the preferred choice for effective CWM due to the access it grants businesses to expert knowledge and experience of compliance, vendor management and technology platforms.</li>
</ul>
Take a look at Guidant Global's <a href="../../../../../../solutions/msp/">MSP solution page</a> for more information on our award winning contingent workforce solutions.

What are my options for effective contingent workforce management?

Clearly effective contingent workforce management is a necessity. As non-permanent workforce numbers continue to grow, ensuring that you have the programs in place to best manage and deploy this segment of your company now is key to ensuring your business can flex and adapt in the future.
To find out more about Guidant Global&rsquo;s <a href="../../../../../../solutions/msp/">Managed Service Provider (MSP) solutions</a>, <a href="../../../../../../contact/">contact</a> our team today.
Need a workforce solutions partner? If you&rsquo;re looking for a workforce solution that exactly meets the selection criteria for your organisation but not sure where to start, look no further! Based on our experience we've put together the first instalment of our MSP handbook, '<a href="insights/page/gated-content/the-msp-handbook-a-guide-for-first-generation-buyers/">The complete guide to securing a first-generation MSP solution for your business</a>'.
The aim of this guide is simple: to give you the full picture of what benefits an MSP partner provides, and information to help you decide if it's the right solution for your organisation.

Getting your CWM in order now

What is contingent workforce management (CWM)

<h2>Guidant Global and Coupa provide a detailed look at the challenge, opportunity, and strategies for engaging and managing the future workforce.</h2>
&nbsp;
We know you&rsquo;re dealing with a lot of challenges right now. But with these challenges comes great opportunity - to advance and transform your MSP programme, find greater cost savings, take advantage of new talent strategies, and attract and engage talent in a scalable, agile way.
<h3>&nbsp;</h3>
<h3>Access your copy of this eBook by completing the form</h3>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Have you been looking to implement new talent strategies that align with, and take advantage of, shifts in the economy?</li>
<li>Have you been looking for ways to move from a tactical to a more strategic MSP programme?</li>
<li>Are you prepared to engage and manage gig workers, independent contractors, freelancers, and project-based workers?</li>
<li>Can you benefit from being more agile and flexible in how you attract, engage, manage, and vet your extended workforce?</li>
</ul>
Our eBook looks at where the global talent market lies today and offers a prescriptive look at what companies should be looking for in the future.
<h3>Access your copy of this eBook by completing the form</h3>

Guidant & Coupa: Is your contingent workforce management strategy prepared for a post-pandemic future?

<h2>In this report, we look into the how&rsquo;s and why&rsquo;s of contingent workforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&amp;I) and offer 12 strategies for success - based on insight from those who have &ldquo;walked the walk&rdquo;.&nbsp;</h2>
&nbsp;
Over the last decade, a great deal of effort went into improving representation among the permanent workforce. Their contingent counterparts, on the other hand, have sometimes been overlooked.
However, with reliance on contingent workers growing, failing to drive diversity in the contingent workforce will be detrimental to innovation, sustainability and the competitiveness of an organisation.
It can&rsquo;t be overlooked that temporary resources have great potential to become permanent employees &ndash; offering a highly-engaged and qualified talent pool. Alienating any portion of the workforce when you&rsquo;re already struggling to recruit makes no sense.&nbsp;
Get your copy to learn:
<ul>
<li>The driving forces behind DE&amp;I</li>
<li>The need for diverse CWM solutions</li>
<li>Why contingent worker diversity matters to Procurement</li>
<li>12 strategies to drive DE&amp;I in the contingent workforce</li>
<li>Moving the CW DE&amp;I dial&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h3>Complete the form to get your copy</h3>

Driving DE&I in the contingent workforce: 12 winning strategies

<h2>This first guide in our series on MSP will give you the full picture of a first-generation MSP solution, so you can not only learn everything there is to know about MSP, but ultimately, make the best decision for you and your business.</h2>
<h3>&nbsp;</h3>
<h3>Download our guide to learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>What an MSP solution really means for your business</li>
<li>Why more businesses are embracing MSP</li>
<li>How the rise of temporary and contingent workers is changing the world of work</li>
<li>How to build a successful business case for MSP</li>
<li>How to successfully choose an MSP partner that aligns with your company culture</li>
</ul>
<h3>&nbsp;</h3>
<h3>Download our guide by completing the form opposite&nbsp;</h3>
&nbsp;
We have entered a new age&nbsp; The rise of flexible talent is difficult to ignore for businesses across the globe. As a result of global skills shortages, digital disruption, economic uncertainty, and a desire for flexible work among new generations entering our workforce, temporary and contracted talent is no longer a supplement to a business&rsquo; fixed, permanent workforce. Instead, contingent workers have a stronger foothold within businesses, and in many cases, are driving real organisational change.
According to Deloitte&rsquo;s Global Human capital trends report:
<ul>
<li>42% of 11,000 respondents reported their business was primarily made up of permanent employees</li>
<li>50% were using a significant number of contracted workers</li>
<li>23% were using a significant number of freelancers</li>
<li>13% of businesses using a significant amount of gig workers</li>
</ul>
The rapid rise of flexible talent is massively beneficial to businesses. But this trend also adds complexity, especially as large organisations engage talent across multiple functions.&nbsp;
The Rapid rise of the MSP market&nbsp; The rise of the contingent workforce has mirrored the maturity of the MSP market, with further growth expected as businesses become more flexible.&nbsp;
Globally, businesses from every sector &mdash; from retail to pharmaceuticals &mdash; are partnering with an MSP to manage their expanding contingent workforce. To remain competitive, engaging with an MSP should be a major discussion point for any organisation utilising contingent talent.
To find out more why an increasing number of businesses are opting to work with an MSP download our guide. &nbsp;
Delivering big benefits for businesses As with any key strategic investment, deciding whether to partner with a managed service provider should not be a decision taken lightly. For it to be worthwhile, it needs to provide a business with measurable impact.
Considering an MSP?
To find out whether an MSP solution is best for your business download our in-depth guide by filling in the form opposite.&nbsp;

The MSP handbook – a guide for first-generation buyers

<h3>With workforces becoming increasingly complex, how do you ensure that your contingent workforce solution provides you with the maximum value, ensures complete compliance and attracts the best contingent talent?&nbsp;</h3>
&nbsp;
Keeping tabs on the latest trends and asking the right questions is a good place to start.&nbsp;
Access our free guide to learn what&rsquo;s reshaping the workforce of today, and what your MSP should be offering.
In our guide we cover:
<ul>
<li>What you should expect from every MSP solution</li>
<li>Which trends are reshaping the workforce of today</li>
<li>Why MSP solutions need to change to meet demand</li>
<li>How to turn your MSP into your USP</li>
</ul>
<h3>Complete the form to get your copy</h3>

Workforce solutions for the future of work: how to ensure your MSP is ready for the decade ahead

<h2>How to gain approval and reach your contingent workforce goals</h2>
&nbsp;
A detailed guide that serves as a roadmap for organisations to build a successful case for outsourced MSP services&nbsp;
The number of contingent workers continues to rise globally. More and more organisations are choosing flexibility and short-term projects over traditional, full-time employment. The need to manage this population in a strategic, thoughtful way is critical to compete for resources and stay competitive.&nbsp;
Access your copy of the guide by filling in the form opposite&nbsp; Have you been looking for ways to increase candidate quality and engagement, find cost savings, rationalise your supply base, and reduce compliance risk?&nbsp;
Do you lack an efficient, centralised way to track and manage your entire contingent workforce?
Can your organisation benefit from being more agile and flexible with the disruption taking place around the world?
This guide details the exact steps required to build a business case to bring in an MSP provider to address all of this and more.&nbsp;
What's covered in the guide
<ul>
<li>What&rsquo;s required to build a successful business case based on working with hundreds of global private and public sector organisations</li>
<li>How to build a problem definition, project recommendations, assess ROI, and determine project scope, goals, and objectives</li>
<li>How to understand project risks that may arise and how to address them</li>
<li>How the business case should align with organisational strategic goals</li>
</ul>
<h3>Access your copy of the guide by filling in the form opposite</h3>

Building a business case: MSP

<h2>A detailed guide that serves as a roadmap for organisations to decide the future of your contingent workforce MSP programme</h2>
 Given today&rsquo;s rapidly changing, complex environment, we know you&rsquo;re dealing with a lot of challenges. With these challenges comes great opportunity -- to advance and transform your MSP programme, find greater cost savings, and look towards talent strategies that will ensure you&rsquo;re attracting and retaining the best contingent talent in the future.
<h3>Access your copy of the guide by filling in the form opposite</h3>
&nbsp;
Have you been looking for ways to move from a tactical to a more strategic MSP programme?
Do you want to drive more value from your existing/new MSP partner?
Do you have additional spend categories that need managed?
Can your organisation benefit from being more agile and flexible, making better use of the contingent workforce with the disruption taking place around the world?
This guide details the exact steps required to determine if you should expand your existing programme or bring in a new MSP partner.
What's covered in the guide:
<ul>
<li>What&rsquo;s required to build a successful business case based on working with hundreds of global private and public sector organisations</li>
<li>How to build a problem definition, programme recommendations, assess ROI, and determine future programme goals</li>
<li>How to assess current state and get alignment on future goals</li>
<li>How to ensure you are getting the most from your programme</li>
</ul>
<h3>Access your copy of the guide by filling in the form opposite</h3>

Building a business case: Second-generation MSP

<h2>A detailed guide that serves as a roadmap for organisations to successfully implement an MSP programme</h2>
&nbsp;
Once you have selected an MSP partner, you&rsquo;re ready to implement the programme throughout your organisation. The next goal is to get your business into the best shape it can be for a successful implementation and to realise the benefits of your MSP as quickly as possible.
<h3>Access your copy of the guide by filling in the form opposite</h3>
&nbsp;
You will be asking yourself:
<ul>
<li>Do I know the right questions to ask my key internal stakeholders to begin our implementation?</li>
<li>Do I have a good idea of the level of involvement needed from our team?</li>
<li>Has a realistic timeframe been set for programme go-live?</li>
<li>This guide details the exact steps required to implement an MSP programme that addresses all of this and more.</li>
<li>What's covered in the guide</li>
<li>What&rsquo;s required for a successful implementation based on working with hundreds of global private and public sector organisations</li>
<li>Ensuring your organisation&rsquo;s readiness, including having access to all necessary data</li>
<li>What (and who) is involved in a successful project kick-off</li>
<li>How to set a realistic programme implementation timeline</li>
<li>Detailed steps on what&rsquo;s included for programme execution</li>
</ul>
<h3>Access your copy of the guide by filling in the form opposite</h3>

Essential guide to a successful MSP implementation

"We have a long-standing relationship with Guidant and are always looking at innovative ways of working. The past 18 months have seen a transformation in the way we operate together, and we are now working closely on several recruitment campaigns. The result of this has been extraordinary and has been essential in ensuring our continued success&rdquo; &nbsp;
Resourcing Manager

Tackling talent scarcity for global Manufacturing giant

&ldquo;The female talent attraction campaign in partnership with Guidant Global has given us the opportunity to reflect on the way Airbus recruits and thinks about its Aircraft Fitter workforce. The increase in female applicants for these roles is helping us to bring about change, and the diversity of backgrounds in the business ensures we continue to challenge the way that we do things.&rdquo;
<h4>Airbus</h4>

Female Engineers Soar Higher at Airbus

&ldquo;We&rsquo;re never complacent &ndash; that&rsquo;s why placement quality is one of our key performance indicators. Placement quality is a measure of work orders that continue beyond 30 days without replacement. This KPI is important because it takes time and money to train candidates. By analyzing this data, we can monitor the number of candidates making it through training to the call center floor, and the associated cost.&rdquo;
<h4>US outsourcing company</h4>

Driving continuous innovation and cost savings

"The Adult Apprenticeship is a fantastic program which has for many years given Airbus employees at Broughton an opportunity to enhance their skills. I am delighted that Guidant Global and Airbus Operations Ltd are offering Guidant employees an Adult Apprenticeship. &nbsp; This will nurture the talent we already have within the business by providing them with training, qualifications and everything else they need to develop. This program will help to future-proof the business by upskilling existing employees, which can help to prevent a skills gap appearing in the future"
Kate Holthofer, HR Business Lead, Airbus

Beating Talent Scarcity in Aviation: Guidant Global's Adult Apprenticeship Scheme

This case study highlights the successful partnership between Guidant Global and a leading Global 200 life sciences company specializing in agricultural solutions. By implementing a centralized talent platform, we&rsquo;ve helped this customer to achieve improved contingent workforce quality, efficiency, and significant cost savings on a global scale.

Achieving Global Program Centralization and Efficiency in the Life Sciences Industry

Recent <a href="https://www.businessleader.co.uk/common-myths-surrounding-todays-talent-shortages/">research</a> suggests that UK firms are spending &pound;1.2bn annually on temporary staff in an attempt to plug talent gaps, so it&rsquo;s no wonder that procurement and finance teams are feeling snowed under by an endless stream of invoices arriving from suppliers.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s not unusual for businesses to work with 100+ suppliers. Relationships can be managed between hiring manager and supplier and as you&rsquo;ll know all too well, procurement often doesn&rsquo;t have sight of this arrangement until someone has been on site for three weeks and an invoice bounces in with terms of business.&nbsp;&nbsp; However, this way of working is not only inefficient, but also unsustainable and fraught with risk. The good news is there is a solution.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Overcoming the chaos&nbsp;</h3>
It&rsquo;s widely recognised that working with an MSP is more&nbsp;<a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/msp-cost-savings">cost-effective</a>&nbsp;than traditional or in-house recruitment strategies but the process improvements that managed service programmes also bring to a business can&rsquo;t be underestimated.&nbsp;
Procurement and finance teams who are contending with unexpected invoices landing at different times from different suppliers can quickly find themselves swamped. And at a time when skills shortages continue to impact almost every sector, it can be tempting for internal talent acquisition teams to engage with new recruiters to fill talent gaps which only adds to the chaos. This is not the answer.&nbsp;
<h3 class="Paragraph SCXW206565581 BCX0" style="color: windowtext; background-color: transparent; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;">The benefits of an MSP&nbsp;</h3>
As we&rsquo;ve highlighted before, the <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/5-benefits-of-working-with-an-msp">advantages of working with a managed service provider</a> are numerous. An MSP will rationalise your supply chain and narrow it down to a smaller number of suppliers, negotiate rates, and create a preferred supplier list. What&rsquo;s more, you will save money in the process. Your MSP will negotiate price reductions with your suppliers in return for increased volume.&nbsp;&nbsp; Thanks to the Vendor Management System (VMS) technology that works alongside an MSP, you&rsquo;ll no longer be exhausted by different invoices, contracts and terms. Pre-defined rates are built into the tech so you don&rsquo;t have to worry about your supply chain charging too much: you&rsquo;re drawing down from a rate card that&rsquo;s associated with job templates. The MSP picks up the heavy lifting with control and quality built in from the back end.&nbsp;
<h3 class="Paragraph SCXW109104687 BCX0" style="color: windowtext; background-color: transparent; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;">How does it work?</h3>
Typically, you&rsquo;ll receive a single, regular invoice from your MSP. Once paid, your MSP will automatically remit payment to supply chain so third-party providers won&rsquo;t even have to invoice, removing a huge amount of workload for both your finance team and suppliers.
What&rsquo;s more, thanks to your MSP&rsquo;s extensive network and strong relationships, when it&rsquo;s time to look for skills for a new project, market, or geography, there will be a pool of suppliers on-hand that can join the programme and meet your needs.
<h3 class="Paragraph SCXW39870680 BCX0" style="color: windowtext; background-color: transparent; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;">Spotlight on compliance&nbsp;</h3>
There&rsquo;s so much more to managing a supply base than reviewing candidates. For example, if you have 50 suppliers, you must manage and account for 50 certificates of insurance. You&rsquo;ll need to regularly change banking details within the AP system, make general amendments and manage relationships with a whole host of stakeholders. It&rsquo;s a lot of work for one person. And that&rsquo;s before you even scratch the surface of the compliance piece.&nbsp; Ensuring that your non-permanent workforce is managed in a compliant way throughout the supply chain is vital. However, without super-robust processes in place, it can be difficult to know if your suppliers are meeting their obligations under employment law, until it&rsquo;s too late. We&rsquo;ve seen several high-profile cases in recent years where big-name brands have had illegal workers, supplied through agencies, on-site without their knowledge. An MSP shoulders not only the heavy lifting around processes and administration, but also the risk and responsibility associated with governance and compliance.&nbsp;
<h3 class="Paragraph SCXW39870680 BCX0" style="color: windowtext; background-color: transparent; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;">Unrivalled visibility&nbsp;</h3>
There is often a misconception that businesses lose an element of visibility and control around their contingent workforce when they partner with an MSP. This couldn&rsquo;t be further from the truth.&nbsp;Managing your contingent workforce through an MSP and VMS means that you will have access to a level of data that would have been unimaginable previously. VISION is Guidant Global&rsquo;s interactive platform for assessing supplier performance. Using data driven through a PowerBI platform, VISION takes programme visibility to the next level - giving our clients the insight they need to make better, data-driven decisions about their workforce suppliers.&nbsp; Invoices will feed into your general ledger system and task or project codes on worker timesheets will need to match your own to allocate funds. This process ensures you&rsquo;re futureproofing at the very beginning: invoices will all be correct, not only in terms of costs, but also in how budget is allocated within your organisation. This both maximises visibility and reduces rogue spend and non-compliance.&nbsp;
<h3 class="Paragraph SCXW39870680 BCX0" style="color: windowtext; background-color: transparent; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;">Benefits for suppliers&nbsp;</h3>
There&rsquo;s a myth that MSP programmes benefit businesses at the expense of their staffing partners. Not true. If managed correctly, all parties can reap the rewards of the efficiencies, improved processes, speed of demand and increased volume that come with an MSP.&nbsp; Outside of a managed service programme, staffing suppliers are often frustrated by handling different projects in different places within the same organisation and dealing with separate hiring managers. Especially if this means submitting and chasing various invoices.&nbsp; Have you ever considered that your recruitment partners may also be overwhelmed by clients and invoicing?&nbsp; It&rsquo;s true that, for suppliers, payment terms may be longer when they&rsquo;re working through an MSP rather than directly with you. However, through an MSP, payment is guaranteed and consistent.&nbsp;Margins may also be lower for recruiters when working through an MSP. But when a business rationalises its PSL and removes redundant suppliers that are not performing, reduced margins can be balanced with an increased volume of roles. When a recruiter comes into the MSP, the pool of positions they can support is increased and they are elevated from engaged supplier to strategic partner.&nbsp;
<h3 class="Paragraph SCXW39870680 BCX0" style="color: windowtext; background-color: transparent; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;">When is it time to make the jump?</h3>
We&rsquo;re often asked when is the best time to move across to an MSP solution. There&rsquo;s no set numerical benchmark of contractors or suppliers that warrants an MSP. Your needs will depend on the complexity and the administrative workload of your current programme, as well as your current exposure to risk.&nbsp; However, if you&rsquo;re becoming overwhelmed by suppliers and invoices, it may be time to make the jump.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Overwhelmed by suppliers and invoices? Here’s how an MSP solves that

Procurement and HR teams responsible for large contingent workforces are increasingly realising the business case for working with an experienced Managed Service Provider (MSP). However, for those that have yet to see the benefits, many come to us with a common misconception: Implementing an MSP takes a lot of time. For already time short teams, the idea of changing something they deem is already working understandably feels unnecessary. But truth be told, it takes less effort than you think to get and MSP off the ground, and it saves time and money in the long run.&nbsp;Here&rsquo;s what you need to know. The benefits of MSP recruitment
For those managing a sizable temporary workforce, <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/outsourcing-guides-and-insights/the-msp-handbook-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">partnering with an MSP</a> enables businesses to unmask unmanaged spend, eliminate invoicing inaccuracies, bring precision to worker classification, and implement process improvements. MSP programmes also bring an unrivalled level of visibility and control, with Vendor Management System (VMS) technology an MSP enables businesses to closely monitor supplier profit, oversee suppler usage, and collect and utilise valuable information. HR and procurement teams may find the thought of moving to an MSP overwhelming. However, the implementation is similar to IT implementation and should be viewed as akin to a &lsquo;refresh&rsquo; of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. You won&rsquo;t necessarily have to add resource &ndash; your MSP will work within your current structure. Less time and effort than you may expect
When it comes to actually implementing an MSP programme, the heavy lifting is around the business model that surrounds the VMS &ndash; but this software and its implementation will be managed by the MSP. Our clients are often pleasantly surprised that the amount of time we ask for from their personal resources is much less than they originally assumed. In fact, the two individuals who we require the most time investment from are usually the sponsor and the project manager, which is to be expected. And, from them, we only look to have less than 25% of their time over an average 18-week implementation phase. That usually translates to just five to 11 hours a week, on average. We may ask for 50 hours total from others in the team, such as a HR or procurement lead, however, over the same 18-week period &ndash; that equates to just a couple of hours a week for the entire project. To put the process in perspective, we typically have over 550 lines of implementation tasks on our project plan &ndash; and, of that, Guidant Global is responsible for 80%. Of course, this resource requirement tends to be weighted, with the &lsquo;discovery phase&rsquo; heavier for the client. By the time we move to the &lsquo;design phase&rsquo; - presuming there&rsquo;re no integrations &ndash; little effort is needed of our clients. When we reach the &lsquo;sign-off&rsquo; stage, the heavy lifting has been completed and you&rsquo;re ready to realise the benefits of MSP recruitment. The process
Just to recap, there&rsquo;re five stages to implementation:
1.&nbsp;Initiation &ndash; where we define the master service agreement with you, identify what clauses need to be flowed down into the supplier contacts, put in place a project team, governance structure, project charter and agree timelines 2. Discovery &ndash; where we learn about the key stakeholders and contractor populations, look at volumes, review the supply chain and identify who has been performing well Document existing process and establish areas of pain, inefficiency and begin to get a feel for what good looks like 3. Design &ndash; here we build workflows from start to finish and decide how these are reflected in technology, communications, and operational material 4. Build and test &ndash; the programme is constructed and tested to ensure that every element works seamlessly 5. Deployment &ndash; you&rsquo;re ready to go! Are you ready for MSP? For large organisations, or those managing a large contingent worker population, MSP makes complete sense. Having experts to focus on attracting difficult to find talent, managing legislative complexity while simultaneously saving costs is clearly beneficial.&nbsp;
For smaller organisations or those with a predominantly permanent workforce, an MSP is unlikely to be the best solution. To decide if an MSP is the right option for your firm, ask yourself:
- Is my contingent workforce becoming more complex? - Am I concerned about risk, control and visibility associated with temporary workforces? - Are contracts held between hiring managers and suppliers? - Am I using more contingent labour than previously? - Do I have concerns about the compliance of my temporary workforce? - Is having visibility of contingent workforce spend throughout the business a challenge? - Am I struggling to find the talent you need to drive business success? - Does recruiting and managing contingent workers distract my managers from their core priorities?
If your answers to any of these questions are a firm &lsquo;yes&rsquo;, then the chances are, an MSP solution could be the right for you. If not, it may be worth considering other options.
Defining a minimum viable product Once you&rsquo;ve identified that an MSP is right for your business, we need to determine an achievable starting point, or MVP. After success is demonstrated within that limited scope, then a programme can be expanded gradually in the future. By understanding what your core requirements are, and keeping the service offered as close to that as possible, businesses stand the best chance of building a programme that delivers benefits from day one &ndash; and matures into a programme that truly works for your organisation. Of course, you can add &lsquo;bells and whistles&rsquo; &ndash; but realistically do you need these from the off? Let&rsquo;s not overcomplicate the process: doing so detracts from the main requirements of why you need an MSP. Don&rsquo;t get bogged down with the challenge of trying to add all available components from the beginning. Instead, highlight areas where you can potentially grow in the future. If you&rsquo;re considering taking the first steps on your MSP journey, be assured that an MVP can be delivered with little investment of time and resources - on your part. What&rsquo;s more, you don&rsquo;t have to navigate this unfamiliar landscape alone: your MSP provider will lead the way so that you can begin benefitting from MSP recruitment quickly.

The MSP MVP - Why it takes less effort than you think to get an MSP off the ground

When it comes to in-house vs outsourced workforce management, each approach has its merits. Technically, smaller Managed Service Provider (MSP) programmes can be managed internally, particularly if the organisation has a sizable talent acquisition team &ndash; and many decision makers feel like they retain a greater sense of control over a programme by keeping things in-house. However, there are challenges that come with homemade MSP. These are some of the most common pitfalls associated with &lsquo;do-it-yourself&rsquo; managed service programmes.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;">Programme stagnation</h2>
Many of the clients we speak to admit that programmes can get stagnant when MSP is managed internally. This is inevitable when you consider that the team is focusing heavily on tactical and operational tasks, and prioritising getting the urgent needs filled. They reach a status quo, and it&rsquo;s easy to get stuck in a rut.&nbsp;
In my experience, levels of innovation are also usually lower when MSP is managed in-house. This is presumably because the view of the wider workforce that internal practitioners have, through no fault of their own, is limited to the current challenges they face. An external provider, on the other hand<a href="https://impellam-my.sharepoint.com/personal/sheelagh_connelly_guidantglobal_com/Documents/Documents/Blog%20GG%20DIY%20MSP%20May%202022b.docx#_msocom_1"> </a>stays abreast of emerging trends &ndash; and can consequently move quickly to disseminate fresh ideas across their client base.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;">You&rsquo;re sitting on your own island</h2>
Internal talent management professionals have limited visibility over the wider market, and this doesn&rsquo;t just impact levels of innovation, it also means that stand-alone programmes don&rsquo;t benefit from the wider advantages that the networks of an external MSP bring.
If you are running a &lsquo;DIY MSP&rsquo; you have autonomy and a level of control which you may feel comfortable with &ndash; but you are also sitting on your own island.
With a DIY MSP programme, it&rsquo;s likely that you won&rsquo;t have the extensive support network or power needed to keep ahead of the curve and react accordingly when it comes to issues such as incoming legislation and other external factors that may influence your programme positively or negatively. You&rsquo;re unlikely to have the bandwidth to focus on factors outside of your peripheral vision that will impact your business until much too late &ndash; resulting in a rushed, reactive approach that is exposed to a number of risks.
A large MSP provider, managing billions in spend for a multitude of clients, on the other hand, has its own experts with specialist skills as well as a tight network of staffing suppliers, industry partners and tech providers. At Guidant Global, managing over 130 programmes globally and have 20 years of experience &ndash; the level of reach we have in the market is unrivalled. What&rsquo;s more, no two clients or programmes are the same: we&rsquo;re working across neutral vendor, master vendor, <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/benefits-of-using-sow-in-msp">statement of work</a> and tiered supplier networks and, as a result, are perfectly placed to advise on the best way to structure your programme.
Furthermore, MSP design, <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/data-for-msp-implementation">implementation</a> and management is also more detailed and dynamic than many decision makers imagine. It touches every part of an enterprise that uses contingent labour &ndash; and if you make even the smallest of mistakes, it creates ripples. Managing contingent workforce in this way is comparable to enterprise resource planning (ERP). It involves change management, coordination, and communication.
It&rsquo;s complex: a project plan is typically 400 line items when you build an MSP from scratch &ndash; it can be unfair to burden one or two people with such a challenge. And that is before you even consider who&rsquo;s available and qualified to step up to the plate when your &lsquo;DIY MSP&rsquo; team is impacted by annual leave, unexpected absence or a key player handing in their notice.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;">Questions around funding</h2>
When managing MSP in-house, it&rsquo;s crucial that you consider &ndash; and agree, whose budget the DIY programme will fall under, not only at implementation stage, but also into the future. If you&rsquo;re setting up a DIY MSP programme, ask yourself, how will it be funded? What is the budget? And how will ongoing costs associated with the programme be covered?
Bear in mind that every time you make a change or expand the programme, the cost of updating your <a href="http://guidantglobal.com/news/msp-to-configure-vms">VMS technology</a> could be significant.
Most MSPs in the US and UK are supplier-funded with very little to no out-of-pocket cost to the client. An MSP also has resources to make changes to your programme as need dictates - where no extra budget is needed.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;">Access to technology &ndash; and data</h2>
When running an MSP programme in-house, it can be expensive to licence the <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/harnessing-the-power-of-automation-in-recruitment">technology </a>you need to compete for talent. There are some great commercially available tools which can help map the market and benchmark salaries &ndash; but they come at a cost.
Partnering with an external MSP, on the other hand, gives you instant access to valuable data which can be harnessed to power your own programmes. Here at Guidant Global, for example, we work with over 2,600 <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/supplier-nps-report-2022">suppliers</a> &ndash; and each of our clients has a subset of partners which is curated just for them based on need. We laser-target the suppliers that are doing a good job and recommend others that specialise in sourcing a specific type of worker or resources within a specific geography as your business grows and develops.
We place everyone from rocket scientists to picker/packers &ndash; and depending on your needs, we recommend the best staffing suppliers based on hard data.
VISION is Guidant Global&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/suppliers/vision">interactive platform</a> for assessing supplier performance. Using Microsoft Power BI and data from the clients VMS technology, VISION takes programme visibility to the next level - giving our customers the insight they need to make better, data-driven decisions about their workforce suppliers. It pulls real-time information on thousands of recruitment suppliers across hundreds of workforce programmes - past and present, and from all over the world - in a way that can be sliced and diced however you please.
This means our customers have a wealth of information at their fingertips, which we can use to make informed decisions about who should supply the talent they need. This technology is also useful for firms looking to boost diversity. Our technology, for example, can be used to identify LGBTQ+ owned suppliers, suppliers which specialise in placing military veterans, or those which successfully fill flexible shifts.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;">Compliance challenges</h2>
There are always <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/contingent-worker-classification-and-risk">risks</a> where talent management is concerned, however this is something that is not given enough attention by those implementing their own internal MSP programmes.&nbsp;
A specialist, external, MSP provider has a team of lawyers and compliance experts who are continually monitoring legislation &ndash; and the insight of these experts can pay dividends, especially if you&rsquo;ve a large programme, a global programme, or you&rsquo;re managing lots of different labour categories. Your MSP&rsquo;s legal team offers an extra layer of protection and are always on hand to review policies &ndash;even job descriptions - to make sure that everything is as it should be. Of course, some DIY MSPs may benefit from the help of great in-house legal teams.
However, some corporate layers might not have the same level of watchfulness or deep expertise to offer the support which is required in this area.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;">Addressing common MSP myths</h2>
When it comes to working with an external MSP, there are several common misconceptions that can crop up:
You lose control with an MSP &ndash; Some organisations think they lose control if they outsource to an MSP &ndash; that&rsquo;s not the case. Think of the MSP as the &lsquo;operators&rsquo; &ndash; we do the day-to-day work, but the client always makes the final decision. Thanks to advanced technology, today&rsquo;s MSP solutions enable your business to retain real-time visibility and full control of the recruitment process, while still enjoying all the benefits that working with an external specialist brings.
MSPs can be expensive &ndash; Staffing suppliers enjoy many efficiencies that an MSP provides, and their cost of doing business decreases when working with an MSP. As a result, few clients experience rate increases during implementation. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/outsourcing-guides-and-insights/the-msp-handbook-part-1">first-generation MSP</a> clients enjoy cost savings once an MSP is implemented.
An external MSP will dilute EVP, culture, or brand &ndash; The best MSP providers will help your business to define its value to potential candidates. With experts solely devoted to creating <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/complete-guide-to-building-a-unique-evp">employer value proposition</a> (EVP) creation and employer brand strategists within their ranks, MSPs can effectively market your business to candidates &ndash; even in difficult, traditionally challenging industries.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;">In-house vs outsourced workforce management: what&rsquo;s the verdict?</h2>
It&rsquo;s worth noting that many successful internal programmes started as external programmes &ndash; which is something that needs to be considered if you&rsquo;re looking at MSP for the first time.&nbsp;
When choosing whether to develop your own &lsquo;DIY MSP&rsquo; or engage an outsourced provider, there are lots of things to consider. An external MSP leverages unrivalled staffing experts who have the knowledge, experience and the tools to manage best-in-class, strategic workforce programs that drive true business value.&nbsp;
Want to know more?<a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/contact-us"> Get in touch</a>!
<div>&nbsp;</div>

The pitfalls of DIY MSP: in-house vs outsourced workforce management

Talent shortages across the US, UK and beyond have now reached unprecedented levels. An aging population, rapid shifts in skills demand and a &lsquo;great reassessment&rsquo; of workers&rsquo; priorities since the pandemic have created a perfect storm. The simple fact is that organisations can no longer readily get their hands on the people they need to achieve their business goals.
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Recruiting quality talent into your business is what an MSP does best. But that&rsquo;s not all. Your managed service provider should be more than just a purveyor of people &ndash; it should help shape your entire workforce strategy.
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At a time when supply of talent continues to fall far short of demand, and businesses report regretting <a href="https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1754516/businesses-regret-half-new-hires-amid-skills-shortage-poll-finds">almost half</a> of their recent hires, the value that your MSP can add to your <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/workforce-management/advanced-guide-to-workforce-planning">strategic workforce planning</a> strategy can&rsquo;t be underestimated.
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Here are five ways that your MSP can help transform your strategic workforce planning strategy. 
&nbsp;
<h2>1. Enabling you to become a DE&amp;I champion</h2>
Diversity-specialist MSP partners can help you to reach under-represented talent pools, enabling you to tap into fresh candidate pipelines while also becoming a DE&amp;I champion. They&rsquo;ll also tackle the challenge of tracking and reporting on progress in this area.
While businesses across the globe grapple with severe skills shortages, there are also a significant number of individuals who have dropped out and are consequently &lsquo;missing&rsquo; from the workforce. In fact, a recent <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/research/hiddenworkers09032021.pdf">analysis</a> by Harvard Business School and Accenture suggests there are currently around 27 million &lsquo;hidden&rsquo; workers in the US alone &ndash; with &lsquo;similar proportions&rsquo; in markets like the UK and Germany. The report recommends how leaders can improve hiring practices to uncover missed talent pools, close skills gaps, and improve diversity.
There are candidates out there in the market who, for one reason or another, are being overlooked or screened out of recruitment processes. For example, ex-offenders, military veterans, neurodiverse individuals, and older workers. According to the <a title="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/65-older-population-grows.html" href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/65-older-population-grows.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Census Bureau&rsquo;s report in June 2020</a>, the over 65yr population in the US grew by a third (34.6%) during the preceding 10 year period.
By looking in new places to fill established roles, businesses can quickly bridge talent gaps. For example, here at Guidant Global we worked with Shop Direct on its &lsquo;<a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/customer-success-stories/shop-direct">All we need is you!</a>&rsquo; recruitment campaign, which was centred on candidate personas. We researched our previous peak workforce to establish four key target audiences. Three of these reflected existing worker trends: Daytime Dave, Nightshift Nick, and Weekend Wasim. The fourth persona, Female Farah, was designed to target a potential gap in applicant demographics and increase the number of female workers by challenging stereotype perceptions of a warehouse environment &ndash; and in turn, increase diversity.
Companies such as waste, recycling and facilities management firm, Biffa, and high street stalwart, Marks &amp; Spencer, meanwhile, have expanded candidate pools by inviting applications from those with previous criminal convictions.
You MSP should review how you can widen <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/widening-traditional-criteria-to-open-up-talent-pools">traditional criteria</a> to open up talent pools exponentially. So much has changed since 2019, and if you are not actively pursuing groups that are under-represented in your business, your sector, or wider workforce, then you&rsquo;re missing a huge opportunity.
<h2>2. Boosting candidate engagement and experience</h2>
Great <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/the-ultimate-guide-to-candidate-engagement">candidate engagement</a> has always been a smart strategy to ensure access to top talent. But in today&rsquo;s hyper-competitive market, successfully building relationships with potential recruits has never been more vital.
Today, offering anything less than a &lsquo;consumer-grade&rsquo; experience throughout the recruitment process and beyond will result in losing talent to the competition. Consider how engaging your advertising or assessment tactics are, and how you are keeping silver and bronze medallists engaged with your business.
Candidate engagement is the practice of building relationships with candidates across every single touchpoint throughout the recruitment journey. This encompasses everything from <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/employer-branding-grow-your-business">employer branding</a> through to application and assessment, job offer and onboarding. It also means keeping unsuccessful candidates engaged so that they may consider joining you in the future if the opportunity presents itself. In short, it&rsquo;s every communication a person experiences while looking to get a job with a particular employer - and this starts before any application is made.
While many mistakenly consider candidate experience to be most important where permanent hires are concerned, it&rsquo;s vital that businesses do not side-line contingent workforces. In many organisations, <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/retaining-temporary-workers">temporary workers</a> play a crucial role in filling skills gaps and are rehired and redeployed time and again for future assignments. As such, keeping this pool of talented workers engaged and loyal to your brand is crucial.
By approaching candidate engagement in a better way, hiring managers can ensure that active and potential candidates are left with a favourable impression of their brand, which should last way beyond a single recruitment cycle.
<h2>3. Building and nurturing your EVP</h2>
The proposition you&rsquo;re offering potential recruits matters now more than ever. However, internal hiring managers and talent management teams don&rsquo;t have the advantage of an objective perspective when it comes to things like average pay rates and the benefits and perks that top talent want. Formulating a winning <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/complete-guide-to-building-a-unique-evp">employer value proposition</a> (EVP) should be within your MSP&rsquo;s skillset.
Effectively communicating what new recruits can expect from your organisation, not only in terms of remuneration, but also how you are providing meaningful work and development opportunities, is key. The starting point for your EVP, is one simple question: &ldquo;why should an in-demand candidate choose to work for us instead of the competition?&rdquo;.
Most organisations feel they&rsquo;re a great place to work, and it can be hard for leaders to set themselves out of their current world and get an accurate picture of what&rsquo;s going on in the wider market. An MSP can draw on its extensive experience and market intelligence to have honest conversations about what will make you a more attractive employer to potential recruits.
For example, post-pandemic, flexibility is a key driver of applications. A recent survey by LinkedIn <a href="https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/resources/talent-management/remote-work/how-work-flexibility-can-help-small-business">found</a> that a massive 98% of professionals would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers. The same report notes that almost all employers (94%) report that productivity is the same or higher than before the pandemic. It&rsquo;s no surprise, then, that research from the UK government&rsquo;s Behavioural Insights Team has <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/flexible-part-time-working-30-more-applicants-20-increase-carl-clarke/?trk=public_profile_article_view">identified</a> that job adverts offering flexible working attracted 30% more applications than those which didn&rsquo;t. What&rsquo;s more, agile working also aids retention. A <a href="https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/talent-leadership/2019/flexible-work-not-a-perk">study</a> by Stanford Graduate School of Business found that work flexibility can reduce resignations by 50%.
According to research by <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/insights/employee-engagement-performance/employee-value-proposition" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner</a>, organisations that effectively deliver on their EVP can reduce the compensation premium by 50%, and reach 50% deeper into the labour market when candidates view an EVP as attractive.
In summary, by defining a clear, compelling and attractive EVP, a business can attract more highly skilled workers, without needing to break the bank to do so. The same Gartner study also reveals that organisations that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual staff turnover by 69% and increase the commitment of new hires by almost 30%.
<h2>4. Making full use of data and analytics</h2>
Data and the ability to analyse and utilise it, are key to workforce programmes that are strategic and future focused. Data-driven hiring is not a new concept, but in recent years the quality and availability of workforce insight has improved exponentially. Recruitment data analytics are helping businesses drive informed decision-making to achieve superior outcomes when it comes to strategic workforce planning.
The best MSPs will have the ability to provide you with data about your workforce, your suppliers, and your spending. Most importantly, though, they&rsquo;ll have the expertise and experience to consult with you about what it all means, and where you should go next with your strategic workforce planning strategy.
Data and analytics can be harnessed to identify where productivity is being lost and who you are missing in the marketplace. Here at Guidant Global, we&rsquo;ve the advantage of being able to learn from data from each of our clients&rsquo; programmes, as well as insight into 100s of brands across the globe through our <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/guidant-global-strengthens-partnership-with-brightfield">partnership with leading-edge talent analytics platform</a> Brightfield&rsquo;s Talent Data Exchange (TDX).
<h2>5. Harnessing the power of automation </h2>
<a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/harnessing-the-power-of-automation-in-recruitment">Automation in recruitment</a> is transforming workforce management. Automation can reduce time to hire by transforming inefficient manual processes, while also helping to eliminate human bias. Advanced machine learning technology also means that organisations can now more easily learn from the past to predict the future. However, few businesses have the tech in house to benefit from these advancements &ndash; or the people they need to make full use of their existing technology. Here&rsquo;s where your MSP can add real value.
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Advanced applicant tracking systems (ATS) can be used during the recruitment process to not only record and monitor the progress of potential recruits, but also &ndash; thanks to the power of artificial intelligence &ndash;complete the initial screening of applicants, manage communications, schedule interviews, and handle background checks &ndash; all in real time. And bespoke chatbots and video interviewing can help reduce thousands of applications to a few hundred without losing the human touch.
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However, technology does have its limitations. The above study by <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/research/hiddenworkers09032021.pdf">Harvard Business School</a> and Accenture finds a major reason that so many individuals are missing from the workforce is the near-ubiquitous use of automated hiring platforms, which systematically screen out large numbers of job seekers. These potential recruits might be great employees but, for one reason or another, they are automatically discounted from shortlists due to not meeting so-called &lsquo;essential&rsquo; criteria in the job spec or even because of biases learned by machines. This is why automation technology should be handled with care by true experts.
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<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">A catalyst for effective strategic workforce planning</h2>
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As the examples above details, a great MSP is perfectly placed to not only ensure that vacancies are continually filled with quality candidates &ndash; but also help actively shape your strategic workforce planning strategy.
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Best-in-class technology and human intelligence must work together to shape an effective talent management strategy. No algorithm or data set, no matter how complete or advanced, will capture the entire complexity of work. To be truly game-changing, people throughout the business must use these platforms correctly and unpick and understand what the data is telling them. Make no mistake: in today&rsquo;s tight labour market, the value-add services that an MSP offers are invaluable for organisations seeking to enhance their talent management strategies for the benefit of their businesses.&nbsp;

Beyond resourcing: 5 ways your MSP should help shape your strategic workforce planning strategy

If we&rsquo;ve learned anything recently, it&rsquo;s that geopolitical forces can have a rapid and significant impact on business and only those which can successfully ride the waves of change will thrive in today&rsquo;s uncertain climate. 
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It&rsquo;s crucial to ensure that your MSP can adapt and evolve in response to your developing business objectives with the capability to support rapid fulfilment with shifting skills demands, support seasonal volume hiring, advise on cross boarder geographical expansions, and new talent.
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Make no mistake, scalability is vital. Here are four areas where your MSP must be able to change when you do.
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<h2>1. Role specification</h2>
Regardless of the people you require today, the roles you will need to fill within your business are likely to change drastically in the medium to long term. Choosing an MSP now that has the ability to fulfil your future needs will pay dividends.
Skills demand is shifting at lightning speed and talent management programmes must change in response. The World Economic Forum <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/6-world-of-work-trends-that-will-shape-2022/">reported</a> that 66% of workers believe they need to gain new skills to stay employable in the years ahead, and only 37% of non-managers feel their company is investing in their skills and career development.
Our experience of managing thousands of programmes across hundreds of accounts means we know who the best suppliers are for your business and have the established relationships you need. Through leveraging your MSP&rsquo;s past successes, you can ensure that you won&rsquo;t be starting at ground zero.
<h2>2. Volume demand</h2>
You may only need a handful of workers now, but what happens if you need hundreds of seasonal or temporary staff at short notice in the future?
Scaling up sheer numbers can be difficult, even in times when candidate pools are rich. In today&rsquo;s talent-tight market, there&rsquo;s no guarantee that your current recruitment partner will continue to deliver the people you need as your business grows and diversifies.
A managed service business, on the other hand, is both strategic and efficient. By choosing an MSP, you&rsquo;re no longer restricted by a single staffing partner&rsquo;s limited bandwidth. We can leverage our network to ensure you get the volume of quality talent you need quickly. We also know that businesses make use of contingent labour so that they can expand and contract workforces with ease as demand dictates&mdash;all without impacting other organisational needs. You need people, but you also need the capacity to onboard fresh talent so they can begin delivering rapidly.
By working with an MSP, you also gain all the support you need behind the scenes. Our internal support team can also grow quickly to support expanding workforces, so you have the solid foundations necessary for hiring at scale.
<h2>3. Geography</h2>
With the rise of remote working, outdated regional restrictions around hiring are falling away. Could your provider source top overseas talent? Could they help you expand into new territories?
In a post-covid, hyper-digitally connected world, a growing number of businesses are exploring international opportunities. However, diversifying across country borders&mdash;whether physically or digitally&mdash;brings risks.
Businesses looking to scale globally can benefit greatly from partnering with an MSP with international experience. What&rsquo;s more, they should bring their managed service provider into conversations at the earliest opportunity.
By drawing on intelligence from their established client base, your MSP will provide invaluable advice around cross-border operations. Here at Guidant Global, we&rsquo;ve experience and exposure to the rules and regulations of different countries that employers need to be aware of.
We&rsquo;ll help you create an appropriate workforce solution for your specific geographic regions and consult on where you should be looking to expand next. An MSP will extract and share the experiences of different clients already operating in those regions so that you can take a proactive rather than reactive approach to international talent management.
<h2>4. Solution</h2>
Sure, your current provider may support contingent hiring, but can they offer direct sourcing solutions? RPO? <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/benefits-of-using-sow-in-msp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SOW</a>? Talent marketing? Can they help with <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/what-does-dei-look-like-in-2022://" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DE&amp;I efforts</a>?
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The best MSPs provide a truly holistic talent management service offering, which can be scaled in every direction. They&rsquo;ll look at where you are now as a business, where you plan to be in five years, and advise on the best way to get there through a fully integrated <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7E2E0E9156A141B1BC878F31A1D77AA3&amp;_z=z">total talent management</a>&nbsp;(TTM) solution.
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Here at Guidant Global, we can quickly adapt our solutions to fit your changing needs. We can advise when a programme should expand to include a statement of work (SOW), and what new talent channels you may want to consider. We know how to tap into underutilised candidate pools, create a compelling <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/complete-guide-to-building-a-unique-evp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">employer value proposition</a> (EVP), and market your brand effectively. We&rsquo;ve access to the best talent management technology, and this tech&mdash;coupled with our experience&mdash;can be leveraged to ensure that you always have access to the skills your business needs to thrive.
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Working with multiple staffing partners can create a scenario where talent, and the systems that manage human resources, are siloed. By rolling everything together though an MSP, you will achieve a bird&rsquo;s eye view of where talent is within your business, where there are skills gaps, if you are working with the right suppliers, and if existing resources are engaged in the best way. 
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<h2 style="background: white; margin: 0cm;">Making sure your MSP can change when you do</h2>
<h2 style="background: white; margin: 0cm;">&nbsp;</h2>
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When looking to engage any new staffing partner or MSP provider, consider not only the level of service they can provide now, but also if they are agile enough to grow and flex in response to your own business&rsquo;s evolving needs.
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Advanced MSPs, like Guidant Global, have a distinct advantage over specialised talent providers, and at a time when employers and recruiters alike are struggling to source skills, the value that an advanced MSP can bring are not to be underestimated. Our network, relationships, technology, and talent pools mean that we can scale our service offering as demand dictates. The fast pace of hiring that an MSP provides also creates additional cost-savings, which leads to leaner recruitment spend.
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Want to find out how Guidant Global can support your growing talent needs? <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4B869BD5E834489390D7CFB82F3F3DD6&amp;_z=z">Contact us today</a>

Scalability: why your MSP must be able to change when you do

When it comes to managing external resources, working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) offers employers unparalleled access to talent &ndash; as well as significant cost savings, particularly when recruiting at scale. However, the way that the costs for this talent are calculated is not always the same.
In the US market, there are two main external workforce pricing strategies: &lsquo;bill rate&rsquo;, and &lsquo;markup rate&rsquo;. There are pros and cons to each model, and which approach will work best for you depends on your staffing strategy and wider business objectives.&nbsp; So, what are the differences between bill rate and markup pricing? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of each option? Here&rsquo;s what you need to know.
<h3>What is the bill rate model?</h3>
The bill rate is essentially a standard amount that you pay to an external talent supplier, for both their services and the services of a contingent worker for any given role. Through this model, employers have full control over the final cost through a &lsquo;do not exceed&rsquo; rate for any particular position. This rate is based on real-time market comparisons, is reviewed regularly, and is updated as needed.
<h3>When the bill rate model works best</h3>
In my experience, bill rate is the most efficient pricing model in most scenarios for our US MSP customers. Through this approach, talent suppliers have the autonomy to determine the margin they make on any particular role, as long as the total price falls within agreed boundaries. This allows them to adjust as competition increases for highly skilled workers, which allows you to keep securing the people you need even in tight labour markets. Bill rate, whether via &lsquo;not to exceed&rsquo; rate cards or &lsquo;target&rsquo; rate cards, allows suppliers to conduct their operations as they need to &ndash; and manage the ebbs and flows within the market as they see fit. They may, at any one time, make a bigger margin on one role or less on another. From the end client&rsquo;s perspective, this model offers relative certainty around budgets so that businesses can plan workforces accordingly.
<h3>Potential cons of bill rate pricing</h3>
Companies should be aware that bill rate pricing can lead to pay parity imbalance, as the staffing supplier essentially sets the contractor&rsquo;s pay rate. This means temporary workers could potentially take home significantly more than the permanent employees they work alongside, which can discourage them from transitioning to full time employment in the future. In addition, it&rsquo;s possible for suppliers to exploit the bill rate model to fuel competition for high-volume, low-wage roles. If a supplier in the program raises rates by say, 50 cents per hour, large numbers of contractors could be encouraged to switch employers . You may be paying the same amount for talent as you did previously, but suddenly find yourself unable to attract or retain the people you need. In these circumstances the markup model, where all workers are paid the same for any particular role, could be more appropriate.
<h3>What is the markup model?</h3>
Under the markup model, suppliers agree to a predetermined markup percentage rate on top of the contractor&rsquo;s rate, and are only able to submit candidates within certain pay ranges. This approach is generally more complex, and the rate can fluctuate depending on factors such as:
<ul>
<li>market demand</li>
<li>assignment duration</li>
<li>buyer&rsquo;s knowledge</li>
<li>type of workers</li>
<li>volume of talent.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What are the advantages of the markup model?</h3>
While the markup model is more challenging generally, there is a place for it in high-volume hiring and when you need to rationalise pay. If all suppliers are working to a standard markup, it can also enable cost savings.
<h3>Are there downsides to the markup model?</h3>
One big potential drawback to using the markup model is that it&rsquo;s quite common for more established and reputable suppliers to opt out of supplying talent this way. If this happens, you could find yourself left only with newer and less experienced suppliers. And while they may be more eager to prove themselves, there is always the potential for a loss of quality and a reduced understanding of market conditions.
<h3>Taking into account a tight labour market</h3>
In this talent-scarce market, businesses must focus on sourcing and retaining the best people &ndash; and flexibility around pay and margins is crucial. In my experience, primarily gained in the US market, the lower the mark-up gets, and the less profit suppliers are allowed to make, the more time-to-fill increases.&nbsp; It is vital that, when striving to achieve value for money, organisations consider how the loss of productivity through not having roles filled quickly would impact profits. If a particular pricing model ends up costing more in lost productivity than it saves in reduced rates, then it&rsquo;s time to consider an alternative approach.
<h3>Bill rate vs markup: what&rsquo;s the verdict?</h3>
The markup approach may seem the easy choice for demonstrating visible cost savings. However, my experience has shown that a bill rate strategy typically provides the most lasting positive impact and a solid foundation for controlling costs, raising quality, and ensuring timely delivery. That said, there is no &lsquo;one size fits all&rsquo; solution. In the UK for example, markup pricing remains the norm. If you need further guidance, we can help you understand which approach will work best for your organisation, and in which scenarios, so you can manage talent acquisition more effectively. <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4B869BD5E834489390D7CFB82F3F3DD6&amp;_z=z">Get in touch</a>&nbsp;to discuss your needs.

Bill rate vs markup MSP pricing: what’s the difference?

Sourcing, securing, and retaining contingent talent is a specialist job at the best of times, never mind in today&rsquo;s talent-scarce market. That&rsquo;s why many organisations choose to work with an experienced Managed Service Provider (MSP), who can ensure access to the quality and volume of workers you need in a more cost-effective way.
But how exactly is working with an MSP more cost-effective than traditional or in-house recruitment strategies?
Here are seven ways an MSP delivers contingent workforce cost savings.
<h3>1) Unmasking maverick spend</h3>
By implementing proven bill rate management methodology, maverick spend &ndash; where managers engage suppliers outside of your pre-established procurement policies &ndash; can be all but eliminated. A great <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">managed service provider</a>&nbsp;will ensure that the rate cards for particular roles, which sit within your VMS, are both stringently adhered to and based on up-to-date market research and benchmarking.&nbsp;
This ensures your offering is competitive and compelling in the current marketplace, without being unnecessarily inflated by suppliers who may be more focused on securing their margins.
<h3>2) Eliminating invoicing inaccuracies</h3>
With traditional recruitment, invoicing inaccuracies can occur when different agencies and suppliers use different formats and fields. An experienced MSP will implement a best practice invoicing template and approval benchmark to make the payment process as streamlined and consistent as possible. An MSP will also implement and oversee a simple yet robust process to ensure all invoices are managed in a consistent and compliant way with identical sign off and approval procedures at different pay rates and thresholds. This, in turn, ensures that every invoice has the same level of scrutiny and includes the same information.&nbsp; Without this solid framework in place, potentially costly errors can easily slip through the net. A company that has agreed a recruitment fee cap of 17% could quite easily be billed a little over that occasionally and not pick it up. Your MSP, and the technology they bring to the table, will identify these anomalies and resolve them.
<h3>3) Bringing precision to job classification</h3>
With the help of a cutting edge <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=EB8A0A448A1E42E1847184B64C11DE1D&amp;_z=z">vendor management system</a>&nbsp;(VMS), an MSP ensures that job classifications are accurately and consistently aligned to market rates to eliminate overspend in this area.
By making sure job descriptions and classifications are accurately benchmarked within the VMS &ndash; and that all roles are aligned to the correct job category and the right rate is aligned to each category &ndash; there is almost zero room for error. This allows you to maintain consistency in reporting, management information and people data: you can see exactly where your spend is allocated, by date, job category or role. This transparency allows you to make more informed &ndash; and cost effective &ndash; hiring decisions.
<h3>4) Implementing process improvements</h3>
Every day that you don&rsquo;t have the right talent in situ is costing you money. An MSP is measured against relevant SLAs and KPIs, designed to ensure that your hiring processes operate at maximum efficiency. For example, without an MSP in place a hiring manager may say, &lsquo;We have a role, I need to hire&rsquo; &ndash; and it may be two or three days before that need is acted upon. An MSP ensures that new requisitions are picked up and actioned immediately. In addition to speed, getting it right first time is also important. MSPs are experts in delivering effective attraction campaigns, know where to find talent, and know how to advertise in the right places to the right people. This means hiring managers quickly get a shortlist of potential candidates &ndash; all of whom should be a good fit for the role.
<h3>5) Monitoring supplier profit</h3>
<a href="~/link.aspx?_id=13998AC942694EAE814E162115D7FA85&amp;_z=z">The technology an MSP uses</a> allows them to keep a watchful eye over supplier profit and avoid unnecessary overspend. This includes keeping tabs on bill rates and contractor overtime hours so that any big spend with third party suppliers is eliminated or offset elsewhere. High levels of overtime within a contingent workforce, for example, may indicate that the business needs extra resources to manage workload. Failing to recognise this in good time could be extremely costly &ndash; especially if overtime is charged at double, or even triple, time (as is often the case). Supplier profit can also be managed through regular internal benchmarking to align fees charged by the same supplier and identify where discounts could be negotiated. Ideally, all workers from the same supplier should be charged at a standard rate, and margins should reflect the overall volume of workers provided.
<h3>6) Overseeing supplier usage</h3>
MSPs also provide superior supplier oversight so that operations can be streamlined, and the supplier headcount can be reduced. An experienced MSP will aim to minimise the use of the supplier population to improve processes and cut costs.
Ultimately, MSPs exist to make your resourcing operations faster, cheaper, and better. If they can offset any of your supplier workforce without detriment to the programme, that&rsquo;s typically what they&rsquo;ll do. In some instances, an MSP will identify a number of roles to take away from the supply chain and source &lsquo;in house&rsquo;. Success here depends on the MSP&rsquo;s ability to really get under the skin of a contingent workforce programme to see why decisions have been made, and understand how structures can be improved to increase efficiencies and reduce spend.
<h3>7) Running an efficient programme management office</h3>
An MSP takes on the burden of those time-consuming workforce management duties that your internal teams have been struggling with. By bringing this work in-house into a programme management office (PMO), your MSP can drive both cost-effectiveness and efficiency throughout the duration of any given project. A PMO will also aid retention by ensuring your workers get paid the latest rates - helping to avoid the costs of replacing staff who leave for higher-paying competitors. Your dedicated PMO team will also continually respond to changes in your business and the wider market so that you always get the best value for your investment in contingent workforces.
<h3>Realising the value of contingent workforce cost savings</h3>
As we have outlined above, the cost savings that can be achieved by managing contingent workforces through an MSP come from a variety of areas &ndash; and each works together to ensure that your business gets the top talent at a great price. <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4B869BD5E834489390D7CFB82F3F3DD6&amp;_z=z">Contact us</a>&nbsp;to discuss your needs, and to hear some of the other ways that we can get you better value for money from your contingent workforce spend.

7 ways an MSP delivers contingent workforce cost savings

The Guidant Global team enjoyed our time at Coupa Inspire 2022 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas in April. We walked away with one thing on our mind: unification.
Unification of Talent Acquisition and Procurement. Cohesion across ever-widening global talent pools. Companies where remote and onsite contingent workers are united across the enterprise and all people belong. Partnerships and collaborations that unify our global clients and help them win in their competitive circles.
<blockquote>The global marketplaces are progressively competitive&mdash;from purchasing goods and services at the right price to identifying and engaging high-quality talent</blockquote>
&ldquo;The mission of our MSP, combined with Coupa&rsquo;s contingent talent VMS solution, becomes increasingly clear in this environment. Together, we can unify technology enablement and the delivery of top talent in one place where our clients can quickly engage a high-quality workforce to achieve critical tasks and stay ahead.&rdquo;
<h3>A new synergy</h3>
The focus of Coupa Inspire 2022 was on creating greater value through smarter spend by unifying different areas that still remain siloed. Bringing Talent Acquisition and Procurement together with Supply Chain, Finance and IT can be transformational for an organization.
Of course, talent scarcity was an underlying current at the event. It was like a slow drumbeat reminding us of the need for smart and simple solutions. The emergence of the Coupa Contingent Workforce (CCW) module was just what attendees needed to hear about.
This addition to the Coupa Core suite creates one comprehensive web-based application for sourcing, accountability and performance management. It offers an efficient and effective synergistic VMS model across the continuum of contingent talent classifications&mdash;including staff augmentation, temporary and seasonal workers, independent contractors and statement of work (SOW) labor.
<h3>Inspired by one another</h3>
Our partnership with Coupa dates back several years, but we are constantly inspired by the far-reaching potential of CCW. Especially from our perspective as the only MSP provider to sponsor Coupa Inspire 2022. Our clients have a strategic advantage when implementing CCW with its solid, creative approach to contingent talent.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve invested in certifying our global team on Coupa CCW"
<blockquote>We want to give customers the competitive edge of increased control over performance and spend. Along with real-time visibility into contingent labor and services spend data, including metrics that support their diversity and inclusion goals.</blockquote>
<h3>Sustainable, resilient and agile</h3>
The employment marketplace continues to see <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=68F1539898D848F3BC72924FC43A19AD&amp;_z=z">growth in the use of contingent talent</a>.&nbsp;Our MSP customers need the flexibility to quickly identify and deploy quality talent. Coupa CCW can accelerate that process, while also improving overall contingent talent management.
&ldquo;The integration of Coupa&rsquo;s CCW power application into our core Business Spend Management (BSM) solution, provides a unified platform across departments, geographic boundaries and worker types,&rdquo; says Dennis Kanegaye, Coupa Contingent Workforce (CCW) Global Alliances&nbsp;
&ldquo;The results for MSP clients using Coupa CCW are improved compliance and cost controls, increased efficiency and transparency, competitive intelligence for better buying decisions, and expanded adoption by users across the enterprise&rdquo;
<h3>A partnership built on unification.</h3>
We&rsquo;re already looking forward to attending Coupa Inspire 2023 at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas, April 3-6. But we don&rsquo;t want you to have to wait until then to learn about Guidant Global and Coupa CCW. <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4B869BD5E834489390D7CFB82F3F3DD6&amp;_z=z">Contact us today</a>!
Guidant Global has been a Coupa Advantage partner since 2019, as well as Coupa&rsquo;s chosen partner to implement CCW since 2020.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Coupa Inspire 2022:  Unifying for smarter MSP spend

<div id="_com_2"></div>
<div id="_com_2">Managing global, flexible workforces has become hugely complex. HR teams are juggling worker contracts, resource planning, supplier management, compliance challenges and much more. It&rsquo;s no wonder that so many are turning to <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/what-is-outsourcing/what-is-msp">Managed Services Providers (MSPs)</a> to shoulder much of this responsibility.</div>
<div id="_com_2"></div>
<div id="_com_2">If you&rsquo;re engaging an MSP for the first time, you want things to go smoothly. In the spirit of the sharing community that HR is known for, we asked our clients what they wish they&rsquo;d known before they bought their first MSP solution to help you implement yours.</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Get advice in the early stages</h2>
<div id="_com_2">Before you consider issuing an RFI or RFP speak to a Managed Services Provider. Having an unofficial conversation with someone outside your business can bring to light new challenges or other barriers that you might not have on your radar. You don&rsquo;t have to engage an MSP to have a conversation so reach out early on to start things off on the right track.&nbsp;</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Engage an MSP before a VMS</h2>
<div id="_com_2">A top-notch Vendor Management System (VMS) is needed to run any MSP solution. Our clients advise others not to rush choosing a VMS provider without engaging a Managed Services Provider. Not only will an MSP have the knowledge to know what set up is best for your unique needs, but they will also often have their own VMS. Using their technology will streamline the process for you and significantly reduce the administrative headache of shopping around for the best product.</div>
<div id="_com_2"></div>
<div id="_com_2">If you already have a VMS in place, does it work as well as it can? Before you move ahead with any VMS decision, speak to an expert to save time and even money.</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Get help building the business case</h2>
<div id="_com_2">Building a business case for any people solutions is a tough job, but you don&rsquo;t have to do it alone. As our client, Baljit Sidhu from Johnson Matthey told us, &ldquo;MSP is a mature market and model so let your selected MSP provider help you make the business case to ensure you have full sponsorship with resource allocated to support mobilisation from the HR or Talent Acquisition team in your organisation. Once these stakeholders see the process efficiencies and data that come from the MSP solution and the visibility they get, they will be eager to expand.&rdquo;</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">It&rsquo;s not a perfect process</h2>
<div id="_com_2">An MSP solution is unique in nature. It&rsquo;s adapted to the needs of your business so you can&rsquo;t take an off-the-shelf solution and run with it. Given the need to adapt the offering, it won&rsquo;t be a perfect process. Changes will be needed even following go-live, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean something&rsquo;s gone wrong. The solution needs to be adaptable. If it isn&rsquo;t changing regularly, it&rsquo;s not doing what it should.</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Know what resources you need</h2>
<div id="_com_2">An MSP will reduce workload for you in the long run, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean there won&rsquo;t be an initial investment in time. The <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/how-long-does-it-take-to-see-the-benefits-of-an-msp">initial discovery stage will take time</a>, but the information gathered at this stage will dictate the success of a new MSP solution. Invest the time up front and you&rsquo;ll see the reward.</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Have dedicated points of contact</h2>
<div id="_com_2">Agreeing who is responsible for what and having one point of contact in both your business and the MSP will be valuable. Too many cooks and decisions will take too long. On the flip side, a lack of clarity around responsibilities and progress will be slow.&nbsp;</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Clarify volume and territory restrictions</h2>
<div id="_com_2">One of the benefits of an MSP solution is that it's scalable. However, it&rsquo;s good to know if global expansion is dependent on meeting certain volume requirements. Be clear about what the criteria for growth might be (if any). Identifying any global limitation of a VMS or Managed Services Provider is also important. You don&rsquo;t want to invest time into a new solution only to find future global expansion is limited.&nbsp;</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Data is the key</h2>
<div id="_com_2">An MSP solution is <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/the-power-of-contingent-workforce-visibility-through-data-analytics">data-driven</a>, but you need access to the right information to make it work. An MSP will work with you to identify what&rsquo;s needed to launch a new process, but having a clear outline of what information you have and where it's held is necessary. This data will also prove valuable for your change management programme. As one of our clients put it:</div>
<div id="_com_2"></div>
<div id="_com_2">&ldquo;Depending on the level of autonomy that has existed within your firm you may face resistance from various business units quoting anecdotal facts about the incumbent supply or current processes. Your MSP will be collating data on your behalf through implementation which they will be able to play back as facts to help overcome any internal challenges.&rdquo;</div>
<div id="_com_2"></div>
<h2 id="_com_2">You don&rsquo;t know what you don&rsquo;t know</h2>
<div id="_com_2">Be prepared to be presented with information you weren&rsquo;t aware of about your business. For global brands in particular, there&rsquo;s a lot of &lsquo;hidden&rsquo; workforce spend and an MSP will find that data for you. It may be alarming at first, but in the long run it removes significant compliance risks for your business.&nbsp;</div>

<h2 id="_com_2">Have a trusted partner&nbsp;</h2>
<div id="_com_2">Trust is a crucial element for any supplier engagement. Your MSP will be acting on behalf of your business dealing with the most valuable aspect of your company: the workforce. Knowing that you have a partner that is <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/everest-group-cwm-peak-matrix-2022">knowledgeable</a> and will work side-by-side with you will make the process smoother and give you the confidence that you&rsquo;re developing a smarter way to work.</div>
<div id="_com_2"></div>
<div id="_com_2">If you&rsquo;re looking to invest in an MSP solution, our experts are on hand to answer any questions and let you know what else you need to know beforehand.</div>
<div id="_com_2"></div>
<div id="_com_2"><a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/contact-us">Contact us today.</a></div>
<div id="_com_2"></div>
<div id="_com_2">And why not join our online community and follow us on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/guidant-global/">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GuidantGlobal">Facebook</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/Guidant_Global">Twitter.&nbsp;</a></div>

What I wish I had known before I bought my first MSP solution

When<a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/making-an-effective-business-case-for-msp"> building a business case for an MSP</a>, the organisations we work with often ask how quickly they can expect to see value from a managed service programme. The answer is faster than you may expect.
<h3>What does it take to get an MSP off the ground?</h3>
When customers begin their MSP journey, the key questions we&rsquo;re always asked to focus on are around implementation and investment.
&bull; What does it take to get an MSP off the ground? &bull; How much does it cost? &bull; What do you need from us as we plan for implementation? &bull; When will we begin to see results?
In terms of MSP costs, a <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/customer-success-stories/amway-sow">supplier funded model </a>means that the management costs of the programme are absorbed by the supply chain at no extra cost to your business. When it comes to resource allocation and what we need from your people, <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/the-msp-mvp-why-it-takes-less-effort-than-you-think-to-get-an-msp-off-the-ground">this is often less than you at first imagine.</a>
You&rsquo;ll need to assign a project manager (PM). This will not necessarily have to be an IT specialist: implementing an MSP is not an enterprise resource planning project. The best PM is someone who's already familiar with contingent talent management within your organisation so that they can be a point person to answer questions. This is also good from a budget perspective as it won&rsquo;t need to be their full-time job.
Timelines vary, but often when businesses are at the stage when they&rsquo;re beginning to consider the benefits of an MSP, they need to allow time for a Request for Proposal and Implementation. The implementation phase typically lasts between four and six months, depending on the scale of the project. We&rsquo;ll provide a breakdown of what is expected from internal stakeholders over this period in terms of time. For a PM, this is usually around ten hours per week. For others in the business, it may average an hour a week but be frontloaded or come in phases.
<img style="height: 1110px; width: 700px;" src="-/media/7acca850925b41129477b7c9a2d65c05.ashx" alt="">
<h3>Client readiness matters</h3>
It&rsquo;s worth noting that when it comes to how many hours will be spent on an MSP project internally, client readiness makes a huge difference.
If everyone&rsquo;s on board and the whole team is ready and raring to go, this paves the way for the implementation team to finish on time and everything could be completed in 14 weeks. You have the data ready to share, you know who your workers are, who your suppliers are, and who your contractors are, and implementation runs smoothly. Don&rsquo;t panic if you&rsquo;re not at this stage though &ndash; we can help get you there, but it does add time into the project.
On the other hand, implementation projects can be more difficult if a business is not working towards a fixed date, managers are unresponsive, and leadership isn&rsquo;t sending clear messages to suppliers. The reason we detail all this is because in reality, how quickly you will see results often depends on the level of buy-in you have from the wider company.&nbsp;
<h3>Staffing supplier adoption</h3>
We&rsquo;re often asked how staffing supplier adoption impacts the length of time it takes for your business to start seeing benefits. It can take time negotiating contracts &ndash; but you can go live without everyone adopting. As long as key partners are invested, it&rsquo;s possible to launch before all suppliers are able to accept requisitions. Separate training can be offered to stragglers to catch them up when they are ready.
<h3>The benefits of a big bang launch: impact vs effort</h3>
When an organisation makes the decision to use an MSP, they&rsquo;ve two choices: start off small and pilot the programme internally to build a business case or go all in and plan for a &lsquo;big bang&rsquo; launch across all service lines and locations.
With a &lsquo;big bang&rsquo; approach, the programme is designed so it works for all stakeholders: we&rsquo;ll spend time with partners from lots of different areas of the business, with different labour categories, so we can tailor processes and the feel and functionality of the VMS to suit the company. If we are talking to managers and suppliers who are engaging warehouse operatives, for example, the process may be streamlined to jump straight to background checks.&nbsp;
From a cost perspective, if all the spend comes in at once then we are able to use &lsquo;supplier finder fees&rsquo; to support the programme. With phased implementation this amount will be less.&nbsp; If you are running constant implementation cycles, it also takes longer to see the benefits to the business.
A big bang approach means we can deliver great results for you quickly and you can see the full impact and true benefits early on. Managers and stakeholders usually prefer this approach too, as the implementation can be &lsquo;in and out&rsquo; in four to six months rather than staying for years.
<h3>How long until you see cost benefits?</h3>
While you won&rsquo;t necessarily see all potential cost benefits on the day your MSP programme goes live, you will begin to enjoy advantages immediately.
From day one, you will already have greater visibility than ever before. Assuming you have opted for a big bang approach, your MSP will capture everything which is known about contingent spend within your business. This will be accessible in one place, enabling advanced reporting the likes of which were previously unimaginable.
From launch day, processes for your hiring managers become infinitely easier: they will never again have to pick up the phone and call four of five staffing suppliers. One simple online requisition and the work is done.
The approval process also becomes much slicker, while making spend compliant and eliminating rogue spend. Compliance is also managed by the MSP from day one. And a standardised rate card means the cost benefit is quickly felt.
Full cost savings will become apparent in six to 12 months. From launch, we recommend a stabilisation period of six months. At this point we take a snapshot and recommend that is used as a baseline for improvements in areas such as cost, time to fill, and participation of staffing suppliers. From here we can create KPIs and move into a different phase where we are really firing on all cylinders.&nbsp;
<h3>Let&rsquo;s build your solution together</h3>
When it comes to building an MSP which delivers results quickly, there is no &lsquo;one size fits all&rsquo;. Here at Guidant Global we like to do things in a better way and there is no such thing as a standard build. We listen to our clients&rsquo; goals, get to know the culture of the business, and develop a solution in partnership.
Remember, the sooner a programme is up and running, the sooner you&rsquo;ll see the value.
Contact us today to discover how quickly your business could start seeing the benefits from an MSP.&nbsp;
<div>&nbsp;</div>

How long does it take to see the benefits of an MSP

We&rsquo;re delighted to announce that Guidant Global has won MSP of the Year at the APSCo OutSource Awards for Excellence 2022.
These yearly awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the recruitment outsourcing sector. The MSP of the Year award recognises the <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/what-is-outsourcing/what-is-msp">managed service provider</a> that has most consistently demonstrated the professional values and conduct associated with APSCo OutSource membership and provided exceptional service to their customers throughout the past 12 months. Ann Swain, Global CEO, The Association of Professional Staffing Companies said: &ldquo;The judges expressed how apparent it is that this company is both customer and supplier centric. It is clear that ED&amp;I is not a one-off initiative for this organisation but is embedded in the company&rsquo;s DNA and that investment in their supplier engagement ensures the very best service for their customers.&rdquo; This announcement comes at a time where our work has been acknowledged by many other governing bodies and award programs. In the past two months alone, these have included:&nbsp; &bull; TALiNT Partner&rsquo;s Highly Commended Employer Brand of the Year&nbsp; &bull; Named #1 staffing company in the UK &bull; Everest Group confirming Impellam, LEADER in two highly contested categories &bull; Finalist for TIARA Diversity Equity and Inclusion Award, and &bull; We were featured in a question on the BBC TV show &lsquo;Only Connect&rsquo; too. Karina Townley Managing Director Client Services EMEA Guidant Global commented: &ldquo;This is excellent news and affirmation of the direction we&rsquo;re heading towards and values we aspire to. Our collaborative approach brings trust, agility and an innovative way of working that our employees and clients relish and thrive within.&rdquo;&nbsp; Congratulations to all this year&rsquo;s entrants and well done to the teams who worked so hard every day to achieve peer recognition and winning results!

Guidant Global wins MSP of the Year at the APSCo OutSource Awards for Excellence

There are a number of decisions to make when choosing to engage a Managed Service Provider (MSP), from which expert you&rsquo;ll partner with to the detailed scope of the work. One key element of the decision-making process is which MSP model is most suitable for your business needs.
In this article, we take a deep dive into an MSP model that now accounts for around a third of all contingent labour expenditure via third party managed service programs: the hybrid MSP model.
First, here&rsquo;s a quick reminder of the three main MSP models.
<h3>What are the different MSP models?</h3>
There are three different managed service program models that employers can utilise:
<ol>
<li>A vendor neutral model, where the MSP and the supply chain remain separate. Under this model, a <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">managed service provider</a>&nbsp;doesn&rsquo;t directly fill contingent vacancies, but manages the recruitment suppliers who do and the decision on who fills the order is down to which is the best vendor with the best candidate.</li>
<li>A master vendor model, which essentially sees one vendor associated with the <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=EB8A0A448A1E42E1847184B64C11DE1D&amp;_z=z">VMS</a>&nbsp;- or the managed service provider itself - handle the majority of contingent vacancies, tapping into second tier vendors to fill additional roles as needed.</li>
<li>And a hybrid model, which we&rsquo;ll look at now.</li>
</ol>
Each has its own strengths and the MSP model you choose should be decided by the unique needs of your business. But, as promised, let&rsquo;s take a closer look at the hybrid MSP model.
<h3>An overview of the hybrid MSP model</h3>
You&rsquo;ve probably already guessed that the hybrid <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=F890C930FCEB4A0185AE4B34AACACFE7&amp;_z=z">MSP</a>&nbsp;model is a combination of both vendor neutral and master vendor. In essence, this particular workforce solution combines the best parts of the other two models - those that are most suited to your contingent workforce management needs - to provide a fully tailored hybrid solution.
This option is becoming increasingly popular as global managed service programmes continue to flex and evolve in a constantly changing economic environment. While both the vendor neutral and master vendor models are still relevant and beneficial today, the hybrid model provides the level of unique adaptation that more businesses are seeking.
<h3>What are the benefits of the hybrid MSP model?</h3>
There are a number of reasons why a hybrid approach can be valuable, but the key benefits are:
<ul>
<li>It&rsquo;s a more strategic and efficient model of contingent workforce engagement</li>
<li>The end client (you) keeps the main point of contact or master vendor relationship where needed, but doesn&rsquo;t have to &lsquo;put all its eggs in one basket&rsquo;</li>
<li>It can be tailored by location or function</li>
<li>The full capabilities of the provider and the entire supply chain are being maximised</li>
<li>It often involves having staff from the MSP on site</li>
<li>It&rsquo;s highly adaptable and &lsquo;evolvable&rsquo;, making it future fit no matter what lies ahead</li>
</ul>
<h3>How does hybrid MSP work?</h3>
It&rsquo;s difficult to concretely define what a hybrid model will look like as it is tailored to the corporate objectives and specific workforce mix of the end organisation. However, hypothetically, it could combine the elements below:
<ul>
<li>A single provider is used to supply the end client with specific temporary workers from a particular geography or function that are commonly recruited for or in constant demand. These tend to be high volume or strategically important roles.</li>
<li>Where roles are less frequently recruited for or come as more of a &lsquo;one-off&rsquo; need, secondary suppliers are used to fill positions.</li>
<li>The Managed Service Provider team that is based on site will handle hiring manager demands directly.</li>
<li>The MSP will also manage vendor relationships and worker compliance.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Direct sourcing and hybrid MSP</h3>
<a href="~/link.aspx?_id=ACB8A582DA6549F49645972DE4DA70DD&amp;_z=z">Direct sourcing</a>&nbsp;often plays a central role in hybrid MSP recruitment. This is where companies utilise their <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=6F970ED9CF4445C5AE1CDF8DE359B5E4&amp;_z=z">employer brand</a>&nbsp;to build a pool of pre-vetted, specialised contingent talent that can be engaged with for future roles. When it&rsquo;s deployed in the context of an MSP, <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=ACB8A582DA6549F49645972DE4DA70DD&amp;_z=z">direct sourcing</a>&nbsp;is handled by the workforce solutions provider who sources, engages, manages, re-engages and pays the workers directly. Read our guides on direct sourcing to find out more:
<ul>
<li><a href="~/link.aspx?_id=A80503C4C493488896369D6F4175D4B6&amp;_z=z">What is direct sourcing and how can it help your business?</a></li>
<li><a href="~/link.aspx?_id=991EDE4BAE214FB5B69899FEC172D53D&amp;_z=z">What are the benefits of direct sourcing?</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Choosing the right MSP model for you</h3>
While a hybrid model brings multiple benefits, both vendor neutral and master vendor options are also viable for many businesses. <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=6447A46EB1E24EC5838D7884D03892D0&amp;_z=z">Which MSP model is right for you</a>&nbsp;will depend on a number of factors, including the scale of your <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=F67702A65365420F98BB8870C71A31E7&amp;_z=z">contingent workforce management</a>&nbsp;needs, your workforce mix and the current processes that have been set up for your non-employed workforce.
Power your contingent workforce with <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=52F69B198F0F42ACB3FACBD3ECF44A9A&amp;_z=z">Advanced Direct Sourcing</a>, Guidant&rsquo;s integrated approach to direct sourcing activates your EVP and employer brand to attract, curate and engage exclusive talent communities to support repeatable hiring needs without the need for suppliers. Advanced Direct Sourcing drives cost savings whilst increasing talent quality.&nbsp;
Speak directly to an MSP about your specific needs to find out what will be best for your organisation. <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4B869BD5E834489390D7CFB82F3F3DD6&amp;_z=z">Contact Guidant Global today</a>&nbsp;to find out how we can help.
&nbsp;

What is the hybrid MSP model?

While Statement of Work (SOW) engagements can allow employers to hire the best contingent talent to complete a project, the approach you take to building SOW into your talent strategy can vastly impact the end results.
In this article, we look at how implementing SOW as part of a Managed Service Programme (MSP), and using the expertise of a Managed Service Provider, can realise far greater cost savings than simply managing current supplier relationships within a Vendor Management System (VMS) alone.
<h3>The rise of Statement of Work services procurement</h3>
Increasingly, companies are moving away from input-focused time and materials services contracts to outcome-led SOWs in an effort to generate cost savings, as suppliers are paid based on agreed deliverables and milestones.
But research by VMS software provider SAP Fieldglass found that a staggering 1 in 4 projects weren&rsquo;t completed on time or to budget with just over a third (36%) not meeting objectives. And 41% reported &lsquo;maverick&rsquo; spend on service providers.
So what can organisations do to <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=BB85E359155B4D4980D0F714A25FF12D&amp;_z=z">maximise statement of work ROI</a>&nbsp;by controlling costs and maintaining full visibility of their spend?
The most important thing is to engage with the right Managed Service Provider (also referred to as an MSP) who can help them achieve value for money by treating SOW as part of their existing <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">Managed Service Programme</a>&nbsp;- and not something that exists outside of it.
By engaging with the right MSP, businesses can draw on years&rsquo; worth of knowledge and experience of managing and negotiating with suppliers &ndash;&nbsp;and can start to benefit from more favourable terms and conditions. An MSP will also typically assist in supplier onboarding and VMS training, to ensure that processes are optimised just as much as terms.
But the important point about drawing on the expertise of a reputable MSP is that its experts will make a big difference to organisational spend at the source-to-contract stage of an SOW transaction &ndash; also known as the &lsquo;upstream&rsquo; stage &ndash; when pricing, scope of work and contract negotiations take place.
This is where the biggest <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=D609E35615E84C6B807D64164812C85C&amp;_z=z">statement of work</a>&nbsp;gains are to be found and, because many organisations lack specialist supplier negotiation skills and labour market intelligence, upstream optimisation is arguably the biggest benefit of managing SOW within an MSP.
<h3>How does SOW work within a Managed Service Programme?</h3>
In practical terms, an MSP will help shortlist suppliers and their Request for Proposal (RFP) responses, which provide details of timelines and project pricing, and they will also identify the most suitable candidates with the appropriate skills for the work.
Another critical element of an MSP&rsquo;s upstream SOW support is compliance, ensuring that workers are classified correctly. This is vitally important, as misclassification can result in fines and even legal action.
By using a VMS to manage the project brief creation and distribution, as well as the analysis and selection of suppliers, and not just the progress and completion of the project itself, organisations start to achieve real benefits around standardisation of terms and supplier performance evaluation.
This is the difference between treating SOW <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=AFAA29FE9BF94CB582309899168CE5E7&amp;_z=z">services procurement</a>&nbsp;as part of your wider MSP and keeping it separate &ndash; one approach leads to greater visibility, control and cost savings, whereas the other leads to inconsistency, greater risk, and higher costs.
<h3>Want to know more? Get the guide</h3>
To summarise then, a reputable MSP will bring the knowledge and expertise to add rigour to the buying process, so that procurement leaders can get maximum ROI from every supplier. The right MSP partner will also have the market insight and technical capability to achieve greater external workforce efficiencies while driving down costs, reducing risk and standardising processes.
If you&rsquo;d like to know more about this topic, get your copy of our guide &lsquo;Services Procurement: How to boost ROI from your hidden workforce&rsquo;. <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=BB85E359155B4D4980D0F714A25FF12D&amp;_z=z">Download here</a>.
&nbsp;

What are the benefits of using statement of work as part of an MSP?

Maintaining full visibility of your non-employed resources, and being able to ensure that the contingent or non-permanent workforce is compliant, is of primary importance in today&rsquo;s changing world. Having an effective end-to-end solution that can scale quickly is vital for all firms trying to navigate these unpredictable times, where being agile enough to respond to market demands can keep you one step ahead of the competition.
But even though many companies use a <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">Managed Service Programme (MSP)</a>&nbsp;to manage their contingent workforce requirements, lots of them are missing out on efficiency gains by keeping their <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=D609E35615E84C6B807D64164812C85C&amp;_z=z">Statement of Work (SoW)</a>&nbsp;services procurement outside of their MSP. By bringing SoW spend into their programmes, organisations can gain significant contingent workforce management efficiencies and reduce costs across other parts of the enterprise that utilise non-employees to get work done.
So, what are the benefits of having an all-encompassing solution?
Here are our five key reasons to incorporate SoW spend into your MSP.
<ol>
<li>
Deliver substantial cost savings
Centralising SoW services procurement allows you to generate further cost savings in the supply chain as you&rsquo;ll be able to quickly see which vendors provide you with the greatest value for money. This will enable you to considerably reduce your SoW spend as part of your overall Master Services Agreement (MSA). Project-based work can be costly, but savings can be achieved through: - improved supply chain management - contract management negotiations - competitive bidding through Request for Proposals (RFPs), and - tighter budgetary controls. Supplier funded models, for example, can help reduce the financial burden of the end user. </li>
<li>
Dispense with the administrative burden
Managing many different suppliers can prove very difficult for HR, procurement and hiring managers &ndash; particularly at times when demand and competition for resources is high and internal talent management teams are overstretched. Furthermore, having a disjointed and inconsistent approach will only add to the amount of administration that needs to be dealt with in the long-term. Bringing SoW contracts and services procurement into scope of your MSP enables your organisation to get far more control and visibility, as well greater consistency, over the management of contracts and key performance indicators (KPIs). </li>
<li>
Allow hiring managers to be more strategic
Hiring managers have a lot on their plates and are often not experts in specialist areas such as compliance and the mitigation of security risks. The misclassification of workers, for example, is one of the biggest risks with SoW services procurement, as it&rsquo;s difficult to track and can result in penalties for the employer. Similarly, contract management and supplier negotiations can drag on as both parties strive to attain their desired outcomes. Having your Managed Service Provider handle this for you will free up your people&rsquo;s time to focus on other business matters. That&rsquo;s not to say that hiring managers should not be involved in the process; their buy-in as key decision makers is fundamentally important at all stages. But they should be focused on making the right appointment decision, not on specialist tasks such as contract and rate negotiations. </li>
<li>
Ensure your business remains profitable
Although organisations are operating in an extremely volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, business continuity must still be achieved wherever possible. For <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=F67702A65365420F98BB8870C71A31E7&amp;_z=z">contingent workforce management</a>&nbsp;programmes in particular, you need to have the processes and systems in place that allow you to conduct business seamlessly. In this way you can adapt to market conditions and maintain - or even increase - your service offering to meet customer demand. </li>
<li>
Provide solutions enhanced by data
Having accurate, real-time data you can rely on is vital in making timely and efficient resourcing decisions - whether they&rsquo;re about your temporary staff or your SoW suppliers. As well as knowing which people you have working on a particular project, you&rsquo;ll also be able to: - analyse your recruitment spend - report on deliverables, and - track supplier performance.</li>
</ol>
By having your data housed in one place, you have greater visibility and a holistic view on all aspects of your contingent workforce.
<h3>Statement of work and MSP: a perfect match</h3>
Even if you already have a specialist MSP to manage your contingent workforce, the SoW <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=BB85E359155B4D4980D0F714A25FF12D&amp;_z=z">services procurement</a>&nbsp;aspect can often be overlooked. But by bringing this area of spend into your MSP, you&rsquo;ll be able to drive further improvements and cost efficiencies while streamlining supplier and vendor management processes.
What&rsquo;s more, partnering with a temporary workforce expert will ensure you meet all compliance requirements and enjoy greater transparency and consistency, as well as a more holistic view of how your entire workforce is being deployed.
Would you like to know how Guidant Global can help you incorporate SoW services procurement into your MSP? See <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=0091CCD057D84286AA4C5B734B66F846&amp;_z=z">how we helped our client Amway</a>&nbsp;do exactly that, and <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4B869BD5E834489390D7CFB82F3F3DD6&amp;_z=z">contact us</a>&nbsp;to discuss your needs.
<div>&nbsp;</div>

5 reasons to bring Statement of Work spend into your MSP

The speed of contingent hiring has accelerated rapidly in the last 18 months as huge numbers of businesses experienced an urgent need for a more flexible workforce. Almost overnight, employers faced a drop in demand in some areas while other, unexpected avenues of revenue spiked. As budgets tightened in the initial phase of the pandemic, those already tapping into contingent labour pools were under pressure to cut costs where they could.
And as employers look to grow their flexible workforces, HR and procurement teams are turning to <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">Managed Service Providers (MSPs)</a>&nbsp;for long-term contingent workforce solutions. The challenge, though, is to present a persuasive business case for MSP in the boardroom &ndash; one that helps your board see it as the no-brainer you know it to be.
<h3>Building a robust business case for MSP: what do you need?</h3>
A strong business case can be the difference between getting approval on the budgets you need and not. So, how can you create a successful MSP business case? Here are five things you can do to increase your chances of getting senior stakeholder buy-in:
<ol>
<li>Provide an executive summary: Summarise the key information for the business case you&rsquo;re building. But remember, its main purpose is to provide high-level information that grabs the attention of the decision-maker - so don&rsquo;t delve into too much detail. Focus instead on highlighting the pain points that the business case will address.</li>
<li>Define the problem: It may seem obvious what the problem is from a HR and procurement point of view - after all, you&rsquo;re fully embedded in contingent hiring on a day-to-day basis. But for the decision-makers you&rsquo;re presenting the business case to, you need to clearly define the issues and, perhaps more importantly, the business impact if this goes unchecked.</li>
<li>Anticipate the outcome: What do you believe an MSP partnership will deliver for the company? This particular section will be the benchmark for success once you get the buy-in from the decision-makers, so be honest and realistic (don't be afraid to seek advice from a potential MSP partner beforehand to ensure the right information is being included).</li>
<li>Make informed recommendations: As with the expected outcomes, many of the recommendations you put forward will come from a Managed Service Provider - or should at least be steered by them. So, ensure you seek and collate the advice of an MSP for this part.</li>
<li>Go big on benefits and ROI: For many decision-makers this section will have the biggest influence. Highlighting the financial benefit of an MSP to the business in the long term will be hugely appealing, so ensure you&rsquo;re armed with all the ROI information to demonstrate this in the business case.</li>
</ol>
It&rsquo;s also important that any business case for MSP speaks directly to the stakeholders. Aligning the benefits and recommendations with corporate strategies will certainly be beneficial, as will including language that is commonplace for the decision-makers you&rsquo;re addressing.
Read more: <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/gated-content/building-a-business-case-msp/">Building a business case for MSP: the complete first generation guide</a>
<h3>Tips for developing an MSP business case roadmap</h3>
One critical element to include when you build a business case for utilising Managed Service Providers is a roadmap. This will tie into the anticipated outcomes and recommendations and will help the audience you&rsquo;re speaking to visualise exactly what will happen. Perhaps more importantly though, it provides you with a solid foundation to build on once you have the buy-in from the business.
The roadmap needs to outline the scope and purpose of what you&rsquo;re trying to achieve through an MSP solution and how it will be executed. To make this overview of plans realistic and achievable it&rsquo;s advisable to gain the input of key stakeholders to define the specific business challenges that need to be met, and then feed this information into the roadmap.
But what should your MSP business case roadmap include? At the very least, it should include the following five elements:
<ol>
<li>Project scope</li>
<li>Goals and objectives</li>
<li>Assumptions based on the current state of the contingent workforce</li>
<li>Potential risks and how to avoid them</li>
<li>Milestones and an anticipated timeline</li>
</ol>
For a detailed breakdown of each point and a handy template, see our guide <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/gated-content/building-a-business-case-second-generation-msp/">Building a business case: Second-generation MSP.</a>
<h3>Get the full guides</h3>
Developing a compelling business case for MSP solutions does require an investment in time, but the results are worth it. If you need to get buy-in from business decision-makers, you&rsquo;ll find the knowledge and experience of a Managed Service Provider hugely beneficial - whether you&rsquo;re implementing an MSP for the first time or looking to evolve an existing solution.
For more advice on creating the business case for MSP and developing a roadmap, download our guides:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/gated-content/building-a-business-case-msp/">Building a business case for first-generation MSP</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/gated-content/building-a-business-case-second-generation-msp/">Building a business case for second-generation MSP</a></li>
</ul>

How to build an MSP business case roadmap

The value of a <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">Managed Service Provider (MSP)</a>&nbsp;has rarely been as clear as it is today. With the Covid-19 pandemic changing the world of work beyond recognition, the talent supply chain must become more streamlined and flexible while also delivering cost-savings for tighter budgets. Managed Service Programmes are playing a crucial role in this period of adjustment, and in future-proofing workforce strategies.
Reliance on contingent talent is growing as agile workforce solutions become the go-to solution for meeting the peaks and troughs of demand that many sectors are facing. But with the compliant acquisition of contingent labour resources complex to say the least, the need for an expert MSP solution is critical.
In fact, we&rsquo;re having more and more human capital conversations with global businesses that are looking at their talent acquisition and contingent worker management strategies now in order to future-proof their organisations.
So, as more HR and procurement teams turn to MSP solutions, here&rsquo;s what data is needed to implement MSPs efficiently and get a great ROI on your organisation&rsquo;s investment.
<h3>Invest in getting it right now to reap the rewards</h3>
Having gone through a rigorous approach to select an MSP and the technology platform - or VMS - needed to support the programme, the implementation process will need careful management to make sure it works for everyone.
Your MSP will completely guide you through the process and you should have an implementation team managing the roll out. In order to guide you through what to expect in the process, though, we have developed an essential guide to MSP implementation which outlines the most important steps.
One area in particular that can act as a barrier to success is data.
<h3>Data access: collating information from across the business</h3>
When it comes to data, it is often a case of the more you have, the better informed you&rsquo;ll be. As HR and procurement teams are fully aware, though, when it comes to gathering information from every division in the company that is using contingent labour, a lack of centralised systems can often make the process an administrative headache.
There will be a need to collate the information from across HR, legal, procurement, accounts payable, hiring managers and any staffing suppliers so your MSP team can feed this into the VMS. But don&rsquo;t stress, a good Managed Service Provider will assist with this process.
<h3>So, what data do you need for a successful MSP implementation?</h3>
Here are the main data points that businesses need to collate:
<ul>
<li>Current worker classifications, which business areas they are deployed in and which locations fall within the scope of the MSP implementation</li>
<li>Data sets containing lists of workers, suppliers and relevant business components (such as cost centres)</li>
<li>A list of key stakeholders, timelines for contracts or projects and key milestones for each</li>
<li>Geographic location data including name, address, unique business rules, labour disciplines involved and the details of any suppliers that are being used</li>
<li>Integration points and names of any third-party applications</li>
<li>Job template data, such as titles, descriptions and rates for the non-employed workforce&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Much of this information will have already been gathered as part of the original request for proposal process. However, anything that wasn&rsquo;t should be gathered swiftly as it&rsquo;s likely to be dotted across the business and may take time to locate.
Having these conversations now will be hugely valuable. With most businesses likely to have experienced significant change in the last year, this planning will allow them to:
<ul>
<li>better understand the state of their supplier relationships</li>
<li>see how contract terms and rate cards have changed, and</li>
<li>develop a clearer picture of where contingent spend is being directed.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Get the full MSP implementation guide</h3>
For more information on how to best set your business up for success, <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=CD64FF563A544FF788FA9E4597F6FAF5&amp;_z=z">download our Essential guide to successful MSP implementation</a>.

What data do you need for an MSP implementation?

With more employers looking to reduce the cost of their contingent workforce, many are turning to technology to better monitor and manage flexible talent pools and the suppliers that deploy these workers. A Vendor Management System (VMS) is often the natural solution to this problem.
VMS software facilitates the procurement and management of contingent workers, providing the data and automation needed to get maximum value from an increasingly flexible worker population. But while a VMS may have all the &lsquo;bells and whistles&rsquo; on paper, configuring it correctly for your business and its supply chain is no easy task.
In this article, we make the case for avoiding a DIY approach to configuring your VMS and getting a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to handle it for you instead.
<h3>MSP responsibilities</h3>
Before we delve into the reasons why you should avoid configuring your VMS yourself, it&rsquo;s important to stress that an <a href="https://guidantglobal.turtl.co/story/the-msp-handbook-part-1/?teaser=yes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MSP</a> can do so much more than simply configure your VMS. An MSP will also take responsibility for:
<ul>
<li>Full supply chain management</li>
<li>Contingent workforce data collection</li>
<li>Compliance review</li>
<li>HR systems integration</li>
<li>Change management</li>
</ul>
Read our blog on the <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=EB8A0A448A1E42E1847184B64C11DE1D&amp;_z=z">differences between and MSP and VMS</a>&nbsp;for more information on what to expect from each solution.
Here are the main reasons why you should avoid a DIY approach to VMS integration and utilise the knowledge and experience of an MSP instead.
<h3>Making informed decisions</h3>
There&rsquo;s a wealth of VMS technology on the market for employers of all shapes and sizes. The challenge, though, is knowing which one is right for your company. For example, a solution may have creative tech integrations built in, but are they really necessary? Or is this an additional cost that you could do without?
Equally, it&rsquo;s important that any VMS solution is adapted to suit your company, its existing systems and those used by its supply chain. Taking a solution that works for one business and shoe-horning it into your systems will create extra work and will likely impact not only the success of the VMS configuration, but also the timescale for roll-out.
This is where an MSP can add real value. They will have extensive experience of working with VMS providers and integrating VMS solutions across multiple businesses - and will know what is and isn&rsquo;t feasible when it comes to fully optimizing a VMS to drive strategic business value.
<h3>Utilising the knowledge and prior experience of an expert</h3>
No one business unit can be the source of all workforce knowledge. Just as HR and procurement teams would utilise the expertise of employment lawyers before amending or reviewing contracts and health and safety experts when setting up an office in a new location, so too should these teams use the knowledge of an MSP.
As the old adage goes, &lsquo;you don&rsquo;t know what you don&rsquo;t know.&rsquo; If VMS integration is new for you or your firm, it&rsquo;s difficult to know what questions to ask. As a result, you may get a solution that can provide an element of what you need, but doesn&rsquo;t really meet the true requirements of the business. Or perhaps, you have the internal expertise to configure the VMS for your current needs, but not to ensure the configuration is scalable to include other geographies and business units.
An MSP will bring years&rsquo; of experience in configuring Vendor Management Systems in other businesses, seeing what works well in specific situations, to make recommendations for yours. This knowledge is crucial to getting a programme that provides real value.
<h3>Finding the root of the challenge</h3>
Similarly, the fact that you and your colleagues are so embedded in the company can make it harder to identify what you really

3 simple reasons why an MSP should configure your VMS

Workforce management has become increasingly complex. How people are engaged, compliance requirements and what talent pools want has evolved drastically over the last decade. And with this change, workforce solutions have adapted. Employers can now tap into a wealth of external support, whether that&rsquo;s through a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solution. But what are the differences between an MSP and RPO? And which solution will deliver the best results for your business?
<h3>An overview of an MSP and its benefits</h3>
A <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">Managed Service Provider</a>&nbsp;typically focuses on the temporary workforce and is responsible for the complete end-to-end management of a firm&rsquo;s contingent workers. This includes controlling and streamlining supplier relationships and performance, the development and implementation of strategic workforce plans, worker compliance, <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=D609E35615E84C6B807D64164812C85C&amp;_z=z">statement of work</a>&nbsp;management - and much more. For HR and procurement teams seeking to efficiently manage a globally flexible workforce, working with an MSP has multiple benefits: Visibility: The non-permanent workforce can often be a bit of a hidden secret in a business. With multiple suppliers being managed by different groups it can be a challenge to keep track of spend, resources and performance. However, an MSP partnership can remove the administrative burden and provide the information, data and visibility of contingent workforces to inform strategic resource decisions. Agility: An MSP has the experience to implement agile solutions for your non-employed workforce. The ability to respond to market shifts with ease is a significant competitive advantage for today&rsquo;s business and a Managed Service Provider will be a perfect partner to find the flexible talent you need, when you need it. Scalability: With businesses facing continued disruption, spikes in demand for resources and seasonal fluctuations, having the contingent resources on hand to scale up operations (and scale back) when necessary is significantly valuable in the modern workplace. An MSP will ensure your firm is never caught short with its contingent resources. Compliance: Employment law for the non-permanent workforce is highly complex and widely nuanced across geographies. However, by partnering with an MSP employers can rest assured that no matter where and how a worker is employed, they will be engaged in a compliant manner.
<h3>An overview of an RPO and its benefits</h3>
So, if an MSP manages the non-permanent workforce, what does an <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=3247651558BE4168A49D96245C7137E2&amp;_z=z">RPO</a>&nbsp;do? Essentially recruitment process outsourcing covers the management of permanent recruitment. Under an RPO solution, an external provider will embed a talent acquisition team into the business, including onsite recruiters, to run strategic, flexible hiring processes and incorporate the right recruitment technology to drive efficiencies across a company&rsquo;s permanent resources. While an RPO solution focuses on the perm workforce, the benefits are not too dissimilar to an MSP: A focus on quality: An RPO is responsible for driving up the quality of hires and sourcing for hard-to-fill or high-volume permanent roles. They help HR and talent acquisition teams build global strategic talent plans and run these for the business. Cost savings: An RPO is usually measured on time-to-hire, cost-of-hire and quality-of-hire, so it is in the provider&rsquo;s interest to drive recruitment cost-efficiencies without compromising on the quality of talent. This includes reducing advertising budgets and talent acquisition spend through the implementation of more strategic hiring processes. Agility and scalability: While the permanent workforce isn&rsquo;t awarded the same high level of flexibility as its contingent counterpart, agility and scalability is still crucial. In order to be prepared to respond to changing demands and the evolving global market, employers need to develop strategic talent pools &ndash; a task that an RPO is well-placed to deliver. Global compliance: Just as with the contingent workforce, compliance for the permanent workforce is also highly complex and volatile. Employment law is constantly being adapted and the international variances can present significant challenges and risks for a global business. Having the right Recruitment Process Outsourcing solution in place can drive compliance across your permanent workforce. Technological advancements: There&rsquo;s a plethora of recruitment technology available, making it difficult for employers to know what will truly work for their perm staffing needs. That&rsquo;s where an RPO can add real value. They will have worked with a range of tech platforms and software in the past and will be able to both guide your decision and manage the implementation of any new processes. A focus on employer brand and candidate experience: An RPO will also help develop a strong and competitive brand that has the candidate experience built into its foundations, to ensure business are not only able to attract the best talented people but also retain them.
<h3>What about Contingent RPO and Total Talent Management?</h3>
While the above certainly paints a picture of the differences between an MSP and RPO solution, other options have emerged which have led to some confusion around how separate MSP and RPO are. In particular, the use of the term <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=02FF23F7542A4D2191C6BA24B85782D5&amp;_z=z">Contingent RPO</a>&nbsp;has grown recently. Contingent RPO combines the benefits of a recruitment process outsource solution &ndash; technological implementation, employer brand development, dedicated direct sourcing team and an employer value proposition &ndash; within a contingent MSP model. It is often used when an employer needs to significantly scale-up high-demand and low-supply skillsets. With more employers managing a hybrid of flexible and permanent talent, workforce management solutions have also expanded to incorporate the two, leading to the concept of <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7E2E0E9156A141B1BC878F31A1D77AA3&amp;_z=z">Total Talent Management (TTM)</a>. This solution integrates RPO and MSP programmes to deliver a holistic, all-encompassing talent management strategy and is, in our experience, becoming an increasingly attractive approach in the modern world of work. But to make sure you&rsquo;re getting the most of your solution, having a partner with experience across MSP, RPO, Contingent RPO and TTM can leave HR and procurement teams safe in the knowledge that their workforce is in good hands.
<h4>Want to learn more about Guidant Global&rsquo;s RPO and MSP capability? Discover <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=9D320FB7DD4B4492A8F5F432C5E76CA9&amp;_z=z">our range of global workforce solutions</a>.</h4>

What’s the difference between MSP and RPO?

We&rsquo;re delighted to announce that Guidant Global has been shortlisted in the MSP of the Year category at the inaugural APSCo OutSource Awards for Excellence.
These new awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the recruitment outsourcing sector, and will be judged by a panel of carefully selected industry specialists.
The MSP of the Year award recognises the <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">managed service provider</a>&nbsp;that has most consistently provided exceptional service to their customers throughout the past 12 months. We&rsquo;re joined on the shortlist by NES Fircroft and NHS Professionals. We&rsquo;re thrilled to have made the shortlist for this award, in a year when we&rsquo;ve enjoyed some incredible recognition of our work from the sector. In June, <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=68C5829E0F184AD598C48CF8F17298B9&amp;_z=z">we received the eTeam Client Service Award</a>&nbsp;at the US TIARA Awards, and this was followed by the <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=8F063CB87D1B43FC88DEB71345D6C946&amp;_z=z">Best Use of Technology Award</a>&nbsp;at the European TIARAs in October.
<a href="~/link.aspx?_id=B6B8D29A2E7543F780CD052857203970&amp;_z=z">Simon Blockley</a>, CEO of Impellam Global Managed Services, commented:
&ldquo;The biggest challenge for our business this year has been adjusting to huge changes in the market. We&rsquo;ve swung from the supply-rich environment we saw at the height of furlough, to a landscape of acute talent scarcity and supply chain crises. &ldquo;Throughout all this, our people kept the candidate experience at the heart of their decision-making, acting quickly to ensure nobody was disadvantaged by the shift to remote processes - and keeping that all-important human touch despite a reliance on software and screens. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so pleased for, and proud of, the team for this recognition. No matter which name is announced as the winner at the awards ceremony, this is a fantastic achievement for all at Guidant Global.&rdquo;
Congratulations to all of this year&rsquo;s shortlisted entrants. We look forward to seeing everybody at the awards ceremony in December, and best of luck!
To find out more about the awards and to see the shortlists for all categories, <a href="https://www.apsco.org/article/apsco-outsource-2021-awards-for-excellence-shortlist-announced-4843.aspx">visit the APSCo website</a>.
<div>&nbsp;</div>

Guidant Global shortlisted for MSP of the Year at the APSCo OutSource Awards for Excellence

The shift towards greater use of contingent &ndash; or external &ndash; workforces has gained momentum over recent years. The global pandemic has certainly fast-tracked this evolution as &lsquo;flexible&rsquo; becomes the new norm. With streamlining costs increasingly important in an uncertain economic environment, many organisations are facing the same staffing challenges.
Most now recognise that the external workforce can provide real value for money for their business. However, many now need guidance on how to best manage their contingent workforce.
Procurement leaders and human resources teams face an array of options, from insourcing, to moving to a master vendor model, to outsourcing fully to an MSP and of course utilising technology. However, we often find there is some confusion as to what you can get from an VMS and an MSP.
<h3>What&rsquo;s the difference between a VMS and MSP?</h3>
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) and a Vendor Management System (VMS) both have benefits when it comes to managing your contingent workforce. However, there&rsquo;s often an element of confusion surrounding exactly what level of support you get with each and how they can actually work together to improve your contingent workforce management solutions.
So, what is the difference between the two and what will work best for your business?
<h3>A Vendor Management System (VMS)</h3>
A VMS is essentially a software system that can facilitate the procurement and management of contingent workers. The main features of a VMS include:
<ul>
<li>Supplier management</li>
<li>Order distribution</li>
<li>Consolidated billing</li>
<li>Risk mitigation</li>
<li>Headcount tracking</li>
<li>Significant enhancements in reporting capability over manual systems and processes</li>
</ul>
It&rsquo;s often cloud-based and acts as a mechanism for businesses to manage staffing services and third-party suppliers. These systems will collect an array of data, automate transactions and aid on-boarding.&nbsp;
A VMS will store a wealth of metrics including payroll or invoicing data, finance tracking and candidate information. This is all designed to provide employers with the information they need to assess and manage vendor performance. All combined, this is often referred to as providing a company &lsquo;visibility&rsquo; into their external - or contingent - workforce.
<h3>A Managed Service Provider (MSP)</h3>
A <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">Managed Service Provider</a>&nbsp;is an outsourced provider that manages either all or part of the temporary worker recruitment for an organisation. They will be responsible for the full end-to-end management of the contingent workforce &ndash; from supplier engagement to strategic workforce planning and offboarding. Other services an MSP can provide include payroll, candidate marketing and talent pooling, amongst others.
It&rsquo;s important to note that an MSP will have the knowledge and experience in-house to navigate technology platforms on-behalf of your business.
<a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">Discover more about MSP</a>
The key difference between an MSP and a VMS is that the managed service provider is managed by people, but supported by technology. In comparison, the vendor management system is the software you can use as a business, but without the expert human support.
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<h3>The benefits of combining VMS and MSP</h3>
Often a mix between a VMS and managed service provider is that balance required to deliver significant value. That&rsquo;s where the right MSP can really be beneficial to your business. A managed service provider will often have developed a basic and cost-effective VMS themselves that can be built into your HR systems, or they can use the software that already exists in your organisation, or support with the selection and migration to a new partnership with one of the more advanced VMS technology providers.
This means that for HR teams facing a growing external workforce that needs to be managed, an MSP can provide you with complete support. This includes access to the appropriate VMS that will work for your staffing needs and the full guidance to help you attract the right talent in a competitive market.
<h4>Expertise + technology</h4>
The combination of software and expert knowledge means that they can ensure you are streamlining costs, making the best use of available data to identify where vendor management can be improved and, perhaps more importantly, have access to a constant stream of contingent workers to keep your company operating smoothly. For any business that already has a vendor management system in place, it&rsquo;s likely that there will soon be a need to make better use of the tools to reduce costs. A managed service provider can work with the technology you already have in place and use the expert knowledge of the team to help you make the data work harder for you.
<h4>Supply chain management</h4>
A truly strategic MSP program can streamline an organisation&rsquo;s contingent supply chain. This will ensure that you are making the most of the contingent staff and skills that are available to your business, while also using the right technology solutions to source and manage the external workforce. And where multiple staffing agencies are working with your company, a managed service provider can drive vendor neutrality and align multiple suppliers to ensure your business is strategic, efficient and consistent as it recruits candidates across the globe.
That&rsquo;s why working with an MSP is, in most cases, one of the most effective, cost-efficient ways for a business to source and manage its contingent workforce.
To find out more about the&nbsp;benefits of a first-generation MSP and to help you understand if it's the right solution for you, <a href="https://guidantglobal.turtl.co/story/the-msp-handbook-part-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">download our MSP handbook</a>.
<a class="turtl-embed" style="width: 340px;" title="The MSP Handbook Part 1" href="https://guidantglobal.turtl.co/story/the-msp-handbook-part-1/?teaser=yes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-turtl-embed-type="animation" data-turtl-link-text="Click to read" data-turtl-width="340" data-turtl-display-mode="lightbox" data-turtl-animation-mode="hover" data-turtl-color="#1eb1c7" data-turtl-story-id="5e835058d1ae7d5b9ad443c6">Click to read The MSP Handbook Part 1</a>

What’s the difference between a VMS and MSP?

The rise of the contingent workforce has made day-to-day workforce management increasingly complex for HR and procurement departments. Could working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) be the answer? 
Businesses across the globe are experiencing uncertainty. Whether it be increasing skills gaps, market pressure, or technological disruption, driving consistent business growth has never been so challenging. But one business trend that looks set to stay is the rise of a dynamic, flexible contingent workforce. In <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/human-capital/at-2018-deloitte-human-capital-trends.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deloitte&rsquo;s Global Human Capital Trends report</a>, only 42% of 11,000 respondents reported that their business was primarily made up by permanent employees. Meanwhile, 50% were using a significant number of contracted workers, 23% were using a significant number of freelancers, and 13% of businesses using a significant amount of gig workers. This new, flexible workforce is, of course, a double-edged sword &ndash; especially for HR leaders. While greater flexibility allows businesses to adapt to changing needs, it also vastly increases the complexity of managing an unstable, shifting workforce. HR experts are employing a number of tactics. Some are utilising existing in-house technology services, some are seeking to increase collaboration between HR and procurement, but many are resigned to dealing with the increasing pressure head-on. Adjacent to this, we are also seeing a significant increase in the utilisation of Managed Service Programmes. Market analysis by <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/590884/worldwide-managed-services-market-size/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Statista</a> indicates that the global managed services market is expected to grow to US$296 billion by 2023 &ndash; a 70% increase from 2018. So what are the drivers behind the expected growth, and what are the fundamental business advantages of working with a Managed Service Provider?
<h3>Benefit 1: Time, resource and cost efficiencies</h3>
When a business outsources its contingent workforce management to a Managed Service Provider, HR teams find themselves with more time on their hands. While some senior managers may see a reduced workload in a negative light, the reality is HR finds that it is easier to focus their time and skills on activities which have greater value to their business. Businesses that work with Managed Service Providers also experience significant cost efficiencies. With predictable pricing models, outcome-based pricing, reduced third-party recruitment fees and a more strategic approach to staffing, MSPs are proving to be hugely beneficial for organisations adapting to the new world of work.
<h3>Benefit 2: Workforce agility</h3>
Managed Service Providers not only enhance efficiencies, but they also facilitate greater agility within an organisation. With digital transformation coming in often unexpected waves, it&rsquo;s important for all businesses, in almost every sector, to be able to react to a changing market. MSPs ensure that a business can attract the right talent, at the right time, even in highly competitive environments.
<h3>Benefit 3: Access to the latest recruitment tech</h3>
Implementing technology in an organisation is expensive, especially when it comes to recruitment tech. It&rsquo;s not surprising to see that most businesses aren&rsquo;t willing to invest millions of pounds in technology that only has one purpose. For most, they&rsquo;re not commercially viable. But by engaging with a Managed Service Provider, a business can access the latest tech without making huge technology investments. Why? Because a Managed Service Provider is able to focus all of their attention on technology that is only applicable within their specialisms. Though no two MSPs are the same &ndash; a business should look at multiple options when deciding on the MSP that is right for them &ndash; a Managed Services solution can enhance an organisation&rsquo;s data analyses capabilities and ensure that their workforce is fully optimised.
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<h3>Benefit 4: Global reach</h3>
For large organisations, accessing talent worldwide can be an issue &ndash; especially when expanding into new, unchartered territories. Managed Service Providers that operate on a global scale have the capabilities to attract, onboard and retain the best staff across multiple domains. Another advantage is that global Managed Service Providers ensure that all contingent labour hired complies with local laws and cultural norms. Even the most developed businesses can struggle in this regard, so handing over to the experts can save an organisation time, money and potential legal damages.
<h3>Benefit 5: Industry knowledge, expertise and insight</h3>
As a business, you know your industry inside out. Unless your industry is workforce solutions, however, the chances are that your specialist knowledge doesn&rsquo;t stretch to the complex working world. If you work in HR, you&rsquo;ll likely have some knowledge, but working with a Managed Service Provider means you&rsquo;ll be able to harness its years of experience working exclusively on attracting, hiring and retaining talent. In addition, your Managed Service Provider will have accrued knowledge across multiple sectors while working with other clients. This deep, cross-sector intelligence allows an MSP to understand great swathes of the market, ensuring that they can build deep talent pools packed with contingent candidates who can enter your business and drive positive change &ndash; both culturally and economically.
<h3>To sum up</h3>
Working in partnership with a Managed Service Provider carries a whole host of benefits for a business &ndash; especially those that want to operate effectively in an increasingly complex talent market. The world economy is in flux and the way people want to work is evolving, but by acquiring an MSP solution, you can ensure that you have all of the knowledge, technology and industry expertise in place to make sure that your business succeeds &ndash; even if the odds are stacked against it.
<h4>To find out what an MSP solution really means for your business, download our MSP handbook <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/outsourcing-guides-and-insights/the-msp-handbook-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.&nbsp;</h4>
<h4>If you&rsquo;re looking for more information about Managed Services, <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">check out our &lsquo;What is MSP&rsquo; guide here</a>.</h4>
<h4>Want to speak to someone about implementing an MSP solution in your business? <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4B869BD5E834489390D7CFB82F3F3DD6&amp;_z=z">Get in touch today</a>.</h4>

The 5 benefits of working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP)

Everest Group has recognised Guidant Global as a <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=F890C930FCEB4A0185AE4B34AACACFE7&amp;_z=z">Managed Service Provider Leader</a>&nbsp;in its PEAK Matrix&trade; MSP Market report August 2019. Everest Group highlighted Guidant Global&rsquo;s technology focus as one of the key reasons why it acknowledged the firm as an MSP Leader. The company has established an internal center of innovation to develop and partner with next-generation technologies. It also plans to create an ecosystem of tools and technologies to serve its clients effectively and efficiently. The report also recognized Guidant Global for going beyond the core tenets of the contingent workforce program to enable its clients to take strategic decisions around location strategy and talent sourcing strategy. The fact that the firm leverages innovative engagement models &ndash; such as the gainsharing model &ndash; with its longstanding customers to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business outcomes, was also highlighted in the report. Everest Group&rsquo;s PEAK Matrix&trade; reports provide the analysis and insights enterprises need to make critical selection decisions about global services providers, locations, and products &amp; solutions within various market segments. Leading organizations around the globe trust these comparative assessments because of their unbiased evaluation of factors such as vision, capabilities, functionality, talent availability, market success, impact, and cost. Following the announcement, Simon Blockley, CEO of Guidant Global, commented: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fantastic to be recognised as an MSP Leader, and to be named among other top organizations in this year&rsquo;s Everest Group&rsquo;s PEAK Matrix&trade; report. Everest Group&rsquo;s research practice is led by a group of prestigious professionals, and it is an honor to be profiled by them. Here at Guidant Global we champion a better, more forward-thinking way of working &ndash; and it is fantastic to see that our people-centric approach to managed services is noticed and valued.&rdquo; Arkadev Basak, Vice President, from Everest Group added, &ldquo;Guidant Global&rsquo;s focus on innovation and digital, evident from investments in new tools, setting up of internal center of innovation, and strategic partnerships, as well as its efforts in expanding its geographic coverage, positions it appropriately to capture the next phase of growth opportunity in the MSP market.&rdquo;

Guidant Global named a ‘Leader’ in prestigious Everest Group’s MSP PEAK Matrix™ report

As businesses struggle to attract talent, many are turning their attention towards contingent talent &ndash; not only to ensure they have the skills to succeed but also to increase the flexibility of their workforce.
With high volumes of non-permanent staff to source, hire, onboard, manage and keep track of, many internal talent acquisition and HR functions are struggling to keep on top of an ever-growing workload. For this reason, smart businesses are turning to Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to efficiently manage their ever-expanding, highly flexible contingent workforce.&nbsp; MSP programmes are not only engaged to reduce the pressure on internal teams, however. They manage regulatory risk, ensuring compliance with local labour laws &ndash; even when operating on a global scale. Furthermore, businesses frequently experience significant uplifts in efficiency and cost savings when buying an MSP solution.&nbsp;
<h3><a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">What is a Managed Service Programme? | Click here to find out</a></h3>
<h4>The global talent market: an expert view</h4>
<div>With the global talent market as it is today, it&rsquo;s not difficult to discern why spending is on the rise in the MSP market. As Cameron Robinson, Guidant Global&rsquo;s Client Solutions Manager states: &ldquo;The share of contingent work in the global economy continues to grow. Without effective means in place to manage its potential problems like compliance risk, inconsistent quality and overspending are susceptible to snowballing as well. All too often we see organisations who, prior to implementing an MSP, couldn&rsquo;t even begin to count the number of workers they have, let alone determine whether they&rsquo;re getting value for money. At the same time, competition for in-demand contingent skills is fiercer than ever. When you consider the critically important roles that many contingent workers fulfil (think of the number of contractors assigned to business transformation projects or agency workers brought in to scale up during peak periods), why wouldn&rsquo;t you want to ensure you can access the very best and widest talent pools in the market, too?&rdquo; &ndash; Cameron Robinson, Client Solutions Manager, Guidant Global 
<div>&nbsp;</div>
Armed with this knowledge, how should you create a strong business case to introduce an MSP solution to your business? Writing a business case is not a simple process. To help, here are some tips for building a winning business case for MSP.</div>
<h4>Start with the pain points</h4>
For an MSP business case to be successful, the company needs to be fully on board with your plans. The most obvious place to start when putting a business case together is to evaluate the pain points within your organisation. These could be anything from spending too much money on the contingent workforce, a lack of transparency across the business, risky hiring practices or simply inefficient or inconsistent processes.&nbsp; Of course, not every HR or talent acquisition team will encounter all of these pain points &ndash; often, pain points can vary from department to department, region to region &ndash; but if your business case is to be successful, you need to effectively gather these pain points in a powerful problem statement. A successful MSP solution will, of course, answer all of the pain points in managing a contingent workforce. But for the senior stakeholders signing off a business case, you will need to provide data to back up your existing preconceptions of MSP. When researching Managed Service Providers, review case studies or industry reports that can put the meat on the bones of your business case. An effective MSP provider will publish their content online, but it&rsquo;s essential that the data and research you gather are relevant to your own circumstances.
<h4>Get the right people on board</h4>
Once you&rsquo;ve defined the pain points, gathered the data through research, and written a problem statement that resonates, it&rsquo;s time to speak to people within the business to better understand the situation at the ground level. The best place to start is to focus on areas of the business which experience the highest number of pain points. Logically, this is the section of the business which utilises the highest volume of contingent staff, engaged under different models. In many organisations, this is the IT or digital transformation departments. For your business case to be successful, you will need the support of senior stakeholders within these departments to help drive the initial implementation of the MSP solution. If you listen and understand their problems and present an effective potential solution, getting the buy-in for a Managed Service Programme should be seamless. Once you have the buy-in from key stakeholders, speak to other departments within the business which would also benefit from a wider MSP solution. Assess common themes that run across the organisation, as well as the individual challenges within departments. All of this information will be integral to your business case. The more information, the stronger your case.
<h3><a href="~/link.aspx?_id=4ACADCD17772453CBFF426A86E733B41&amp;_z=z">Read the latest insights from Guidant Global | Click here</a></h3>
<h4>Discuss solutions with MSP providers</h4>
While it&rsquo;s important to understand your own business, it&rsquo;s also worth seeking out the opinions of MSP providers. Doing so will allow you to work out which solutions will effectively solve the problems unique to your business. No two MSP providers are the same. Though the solutions they offer can look similar on the surface, they are often different in application. Cultural alignment is key here. A Managed Service Provider will, if successful, be an extension of your business &ndash; managing hundreds, if not thousands of contingent workers. A positive company culture match will increase the likelihood of solution success. Get it right, and you can address every single pain point you&rsquo;ve encountered in your research while simultaneously saving the business money. Get it wrong, however, and you could wind up costing your business &ndash; both in terms of its reputation and its bottom line.
<h4>Understand the future impact of an MSP partnership</h4>
<div>While a strong MSP partnership can answer your current pain points, it&rsquo;s also important to consider the future of your business&rsquo; contingent hiring needs. As Doug Edmonds, Director of Guidant Global APAC states:</div>
<div> &ldquo;One of the areas that I think gets forgotten in an MSP business case is how the MSP partnership can be used to strategically drive talent into the organisation.&nbsp; We often concentrate on the here and now of cost savings, reduced risk, improved visibility, streamlined process etc. We need to help potential customers use an MSP as part of their overall talent strategy. How talent enters the workforce through the MSP, either directly, through the cloud or suppliers &ndash; can shape how your organisation develops and invests. Building a talent strategy in which the MSP plays a part goes a long way.&rdquo; &ndash; Doug Edmonds, Director, Guidant Global APAC </div>
An MSP is not a quick-term fix. It&rsquo;s a long-term collaboration that, if successful, optimises the way you manage contingent talent. As more and more businesses move towards hiring temporary, contract and gig workers, the competition for the brightest talent will surely intensify &ndash; especially in sectors and industries that require highly technical skill sets.&nbsp;
<div>If you approach making the business case in the right way, you will not only get a solution that addresses the immediate organisational pain points but also ensures that your business is fully equipped for the future.</div>
&nbsp;
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</a>
&nbsp;

Making an effective business case for MSP

The most successful recruitment operations are those that continually adapt to meet changing market needs to deliver fresh solutions for the workplace of today.&nbsp;
Previous research by Guidant Global has found that while MSPs are generally viewed as industry experts which can use their experience, expertise and knowledge to drive relevant business efficiencies, there is a widespread desire for the industry to deliver in a better way by focusing the lens firmly on innovation and people.&nbsp; The research went as far as to highlight how customers feel a lack of innovation is as detrimental to relationships as poor performance and that there is a greater desire for strategic thinking and not just tactical solutions as the global market continues to shift.&nbsp; Customers also reported that a flexible service model is needed to accommodate changing needs and expectations and that international expertise is desirable even to those not seeking an international solution. With this in mind, we have several systems in place to ensure that we continue to deliver on these requirements.&nbsp; Firstly, we offer Program Maturity Modelling which is a process that aligns to SIA industry-standard constructs and is supplemented by our own expertise of what makes a highly successful programme.&nbsp; Secondly, we have developed our own Programme Performance Model to offer full transparency for our programmes and to drive innovation and operational excellence.&nbsp; It comprises of three key stages: stage one is a transactional audit to ensure the programme is fully compliant and meets the standards and KPIs expected; stage two is a more detailed end-to-end assessment of the programme processes to understand exactly how it is managed &ndash; including technology, supplier optimisation, business reviews and stakeholder engagement; finally, stage three is the identification of areas for improvement and prioritisation of specific project plans to advance, grow and expand the programme in partnership with the client and in line with their evolving business needs.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3 class="lead"><a href="~/link.aspx?_id=7BBDEF02CA3042E8BA27F0A1892A63DE&amp;_z=z">What is an MSP? | Find out more</a></h3>
In addition, we have also invested in Talent Data Exchange (TDX) &ndash; the world&rsquo;s most advanced, AI-driven workforce analytics platform. This provides industry performance benchmarking against a wide range of indicators. &nbsp; Finally, to measure success through competitor benchmarking, we call on a wide range of mechanisms including internal win/loss reviews and third party research from organisations including SIA, Everest and Nelson Hall.&nbsp; Becoming a market leader doesn&rsquo;t happen by accident. We pride ourselves on offering a collaborative, consultative and holistic approach to talent acquisition which differentiates Guidant Global from its competitors &ndash; and benchmarking is key to ensuring we stay ahead of the curve.&nbsp;
To find out what an MSP really means for your business, download our handbook <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/outsourcing-guides-and-insights/the-msp-handbook-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

What are managed service providers (MSPs) using to benchmark and assess their processes?

MSPs establish the foundational structures that empower contingent workforce programs. As programs develop, MSP&rsquo;s should evolve from tactician to innovative strategist, transforming program excellence into real competitive advantage. &nbsp;
<a href="https://guidantglobal.pagetiger.com/MSP-in-the-digital-age-report/1">Download our guide to MSP in the digital age here.&nbsp;</a>
The contingent workforce is increasing in size and importance. Not only is it the fastest growing segment of the US labour force post-recession, it&rsquo;s a global trend. &nbsp;
According to Deloitte, there are 77 million formally identified freelancers in India, Europe and the US. 40% of workers in the US are now employed in contingent, part-time or gig work &mdash; an increase of 36% in the past five years alone. &nbsp;
Deloitte&rsquo;s latest Global Human Capital Trends Survey showed 50% of businesses reported a significant number of contractors in their workforce. The tide is not just turning, it has already turned.&nbsp;
Managed Service Provide (MSP) programs are widespread. <a href="http://staffingindustry.com/">Staffing industry Analysts (SIA) </a>reports 63% of respondents in its US buyer survey use an MSP to manage their contingent workforce. &nbsp;
Given this trend, it is critical a true MSP innovator makes the leap from implementation to innovation in order to uncover strategic opportunities to generate new and ongoing value for workforce management programs. &nbsp;
Additionally, with a widespread talent shortage (especially in STEM professions), there is an increased focus on leveraging your MSP for a global total talent acquisition program. &nbsp;
MSP in the digital age &nbsp;
There is an evolving significance of managed services. MSP establish the foundational structures that empower contingent workforce programs. They implement procedures, manage technology and mitigate risk. They drive measurable and effective results. &nbsp;
As programs develop, however, the MSP should evolve from tactician to innovative strategist, transforming program excellence into real competitive advantage. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Taking your programs to the next level &nbsp;
Some MSPs are great at implementing the basics, but fail to take their programs to the next level. This is true of internal, as well as externally managed MSPs. &nbsp;
The MSP that fails to understand growing trends, and doesn&rsquo;t innovate to meet them, cannot drive effective change. &nbsp;
Insourced MSP programs start with industry best practices but can grow insular &mdash; losing pace with industry advances as workforce strategies continue to evolve to reflect the changing workforce of the digital age. &nbsp;
If your MSP is not at the forefront of strategic initiatives, you will not be able to attract the best talent for your business. Your MSP should be a trusted advisor that spearheads transformational initiatives to reconfigure the value proposition of your contingent workforce program. &nbsp;
Delivering MSP 2.0&nbsp;
When your MSP is a true consultant and strategic partner, rather than a tactical solution provider, you open up opportunities for greater overall value generation &mdash; increasing your ability to successfully access the best talent in an increasingly competitive world of work. &nbsp;
<a href="https://guidantglobal.pagetiger.com/MSP-in-the-digital-age-report/1">To find out how to take your MSP to the next level, download our guide here.&nbsp;</a>
&nbsp;

MSP in the digital age: from implementation to innovation 

If you&rsquo;re to invest time and money into sourcing a contingent workforce solution, you need to know that your business will realise the benefits of an MSP.
In recent years, we have seen huge growth in the number of flexible workers in the global marketplace. That trend is unlikely to change, especially as businesses seek to increase their agility in light of an ever-changing, ever-unstable economic outlook. Likewise, <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/how-gen-z-will-transform-corporate-workplace-culture" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Generation Z</a> and millennials are more likely to demand flexible, contingent work than previous generations.
With a bigger, more complex contingent workforce, it&rsquo;s little wonder that businesses are considering an MSP as a viable option.
Indeed, for large organisations, MSP makes complete sense. Having experts to focus on attracting difficult to find talent, managing legislative complexity while simultaneously saving costs is clearly beneficial. But for smaller organisations or those with a predominantly permanent workforce, an MSP is unlikely to be the best solution.
<h2>An MSP manages your contingent workforce</h2>
In our industry, acronyms are equally comprehensive and confusing, particularly for the unaware. The term MSP is even more confusing in that it&rsquo;s also an outsourced solution (though different in makeup) in the IT industry. But the MSP we&rsquo;re talking about here is specifically a recruitment outsourcing solution that manages your temporary workforce.
<h5><a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/what-is-outsourcing/what-is-msp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What is MSP?</a> | Take a closer look at managed services&nbsp;</h5>
<h2>Managed service programs suit businesses with a large temporary workforce best</h2>
An outsourced workforce solution is a significant commitment. Even for billion-dollar global enterprises, it can take upwards of a year to confirm your requirements, engage potential providers, choose a suitable partner and implement the program. For this reason, it can lead to HR and procurement professionals questioning whether an MSP is the best solution. But the business value which can be unlocked&nbsp;&mdash; both operational and financial&nbsp;&mdash; is significant. For some businesses, however, an MSP may be the wrong choice. If you don&rsquo;t use a significant number of contingent workers (and we're talking about dozens in a key location or hundreds/thousands across your wider business) you might achieve better value sooner with a smaller-scale solution.
Before deciding to pursue an MSP, you should ask yourself the following questions:
<ul>
<li>Is your contingent workforce becoming more complex?</li>
<li>Are you using more contingent labour than you have done previously?</li>
<li>Do you have concerns about the compliance of your temporary workforce?</li>
<li>Is having visibility of contingent workforce spend throughout your business a challenge?</li>
<li>Are you struggling to find the talent you need to drive business success?</li>
<li>Does recruiting and managing contingent workers distract your managers from their core priorities?</li>
</ul>
If your answers to any of these questions are a firm &lsquo;yes&rsquo;, then the chances are, an MSP solution could be the right one for you. If not, it may be worth considering other options.
<h2>You need buy-in from senior stakeholders if MSP is going to be a success</h2>
For MSP to be successful, you will need the support of senior stakeholders to help drive the initial implementation of the MSP solution. If you listen, understand their problems and present an effective potential solution, getting the buy-in for an MSP solution should be relatively seamless. But you should always get buy-in before going to market either with an RFP or a more informal evaluation process.
<h5><a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/news/when-is-an-rfp-not-appropriate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Is an RFP always the best option?</a> | Read our latest insight to find out</h5>
<h2>An MSP is not just cost-savings, it needs to align with your company culture</h2>
As with any key strategic investment, deciding whether to partner with a managed service provider (yet&nbsp;another&nbsp;use of the MSP acronym!) should not be a decision taken lightly. For it to be worthwhile, it needs to provide a business with measurable impact. Though in years past, only assumed to only bring cost savings, a well-designed, well-implemented MSP can produce a number of other significant benefits.&nbsp; Procuring an MSP solution isn&rsquo;t always about saving money, it&rsquo;s often about building partnerships that help to grow your business long-term &mdash; saving money, or spending it better, should be a given if your program and partner are in sync. It&rsquo;s also about working with a partner that closely aligns with your core company values, that understands your business, and becomes an extension of your existing teams.
A hands-off supplier management approach is, of course, an option. But if you want to attract, retain and engage your contingent talent, the partner managing them needs to be closely aligned with what you believe in as a business. Without this, the friction between your permanent and contingent talent could lead to high attrition rates and low productivity &mdash; the two scourges of modern business. There are also an increasing number of workforce solutions providers who build their business on a tech-focused approach, where the tech does the work, and the human element is forgotten. For some, the attraction of AI and machine learning will be enough. But for others, a relationship will need to be built on honest conversations, and face-to-face feedback.
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">An MSP is more than just a solution, it&rsquo;s a partnership</h2>
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When you&rsquo;re assessing potential MSP partners, make sure that it&rsquo;s one you, your senior leadership team, your procurement and your HR functions will all want to work with. These relationships lead to greater understanding and honest conversations, ultimately driving long-term success for your business.
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And finally, lean on your chosen partner's expertise to help <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=F6E26BCF94594E1FB5F98E2B409CE06E&amp;_z=z">build your business case</a>. If you answered 'yes' to some of those questions above then there's clearly a case to be made for an MSP. But to make sure that your decision lands correctly with each stakeholder group, utilise the knowledge and experience of your partner.
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To find out more about how an MSP provider could benefit your business, <a href="https://www.guidantglobal.com/resources/outsourcing-guides-and-insights/the-msp-handbook-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">download our handbook</a>.&nbsp;
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Are you ready for a Managed Service Program (MSP)?

Is your MSP a trusted advisor that spearheads transformational initiatives to attract the best talent for your business? If not, it&rsquo;s worth considering whether they are actually providing true value and innovation for your business.&nbsp;
All MSPs establish the foundational structures that empower contingent workforce programs. That&rsquo;s what they do. They implement procedures, manage technology and mitigate risk. They drive measurable and effective results. As programs develop, however, the MSP should evolve from tactician to innovative strategist, transforming program excellence into real competitive advantage.
Today, the most forward-thinking MSPs partner with forward thinking companies to introduce innovation and strategic initiatives designed to ensure continuing value generation. They can serve as both guide and facilitator as you explore the opportunities inherent in total talent management. And there are plenty of opportunities to improve talent acquisition and workforce management programs - this includes using the latest AI and machine learning technology.
What may have worked for your company three years ago may need reinvestigation and renegotiation. We&rsquo;ve produced a new guide to help you assess whether your MSP is stuck in the post-implementation tactical phase, or whether they are constantly evolving with you to support your business strategy and the fast-changing needs of your workforce.&nbsp;
<a href="-/media/85141486fe754960ae407bdd7cf8f4b4.ashx">Download your copy now. </a>
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Is your MSP stuck in the post-implementation tactical phase?

Guidant Global has been included in the Everest Group Peak Matrix&trade;, which assesses global managed service providers, as a leader and star performer for the first time. The PEAK Matrix has been designed to assist buyers of global Managed Service Provider (MSP) programs and is the, &lsquo;one of the most trusted source for comparative assessments of providers, locations, and products &amp; solutions.&rsquo;
Everest Group stated in its report, Managed Service Provider (MSP) &ndash; Service Provider Landscape with Services PEAK Matrix&trade; Assessment 2018: The market is undergoing tremendous change owing to buyer requirements for more strategic solutions. In addition to the traditional temporary labor, buyers are increasingly relying on their service providers to manage additional types of labor including services procurement/SOW, independent contractor (IC), and permanent labor.
In order to service these additional requirements of buyers, service providers are continuously investing to expand their capabilities in these new areas. They are gradually increasing their technology leverage in analytics, SOW management, and IC management areas to optimize the contingent workforce programs of their clients. The leaders in the MSP space have developed a unique vision for their clients and themselves to act as a differentiator going forward.&nbsp;
Everest Group classified 20 MSP service providers on the Everest Group PEAK Matrix into the three categories of Leaders, Major Contenders, and Aspirants. Guidant Global was one of 6 providers identified as leaders.&nbsp; Based on the year-on-year movement of different service providers on the PEAK Matrix, Everest Group also identified three service providers as the &ldquo;2018 MSP Market Star Performers&rdquo; &ndash; which included Guidant Global. For the full Everest Group report please <a href="https://www2.everestgrp.com/reportaction/EGR-2018-25-R-2775/Marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.
<img src="-/media/bcfdb7b602d54d68a9d516d033223b01.ashx" alt="Everest Peak Matrix grapgh" width="626" height="453">

Guidant Global identified as MSP Leader and Star Performer by Everest Group

Guidant Global, has been recognised by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) as the best organisation in our class for the third consecutive year.&nbsp; We celebrate beating off stiff competition to take home the APSCo Award for Excellence in the category of RPO/MSP company of the Year, after judges were impressed by our commitment to ethical practice, demonstrable operational excellence and superior supply-chain engagement strategies.&nbsp;
We also took home the APSCo Award in the same category in 2015 and 2016. The latest win follows a string of accolades the we have celebrated over the past 12 months including the Investors in People Platinum accreditation and making the Sunday Times list of the Best 100 Companies to Work For.&nbsp;
In response, Simon Blockley, Guidant&rsquo;s Managing Director, commented:
&ldquo;The APSCo Awards for Excellence have a reputation for being extremely rigorous, the bar is notoriously high and to be recognised just once is no small feat. For our hard work to be validated by independent experts three years running is phenomenal.&rdquo;
Our success can be attributed to our amazing team. It&rsquo;s a competitive market and differentiation is very difficult, but our strategy of placing the satisfaction of our key customer groups at the heart of what we do is something that our people passionately deliver &ndash; and this is reflected in our impressive net promoter scores and the fact that the majority of our supply partners rate us as the best RPO/MSP they work with. To be accredited in this way, by such a highly respected third party, gives our employees yet another reason to be proud to be part of #TeamGuidant.&rdquo;
Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo, added:
&ldquo;Guidant Global is continually breaking new ground around what an RPO/MSP can be. In order to take home the award for best RPO three years on the trot the team has not only demonstrated to our judging panel what it can do for customers beyond filling a place, but also that it is not resting on its laurels.
Ultimately, Guidant Global embodies what it means to be an APSCo member and it is clear that the organisation is promoting best practice APSCo values across the supply chain by supporting suppliers to become better businesses.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Guidant Global crowned best RPO/MSP for third consecutive year

<h2>We’ve been recognized by the industry</h2>

<h2>Insights to drive workforce performance</h2>

<h2>Workforce insights in your inbox</h2>Sign up for our newsletter with the latest workforce management news, insights, analysis and more.

<h3>Unlock your non-employee workforce’s full potential through a unique collaboration of recruitment industry leaders.</h3>

<h2>@Pace</h2>Rethink your non-employee workforce management.

<h2>Delivering #ABetterway</h2>Our prime objective is to change the quick-fix, profit-first, impersonal approach that prevails in our industry. Put simply, we deliver #ABetterWay. In the new world of work, we need new solutions, motivational work practices, and leading technology. We anticipate what’s needed to help our clients achieve not just their program KPI’s but ultimately build better businesses.&nbsp;

<h1>Workforce solutions #ABetterWay</h1>We provide global workforce management solutions that help companies find the best contingent and permanent talent. Our uniquely shaped solutions, people-centric approach, culture and collaboration with others truly sets us apart from others in our industry.

<h3>Join #TeamGuidant</h3>People. Lead. Growth. Three simple words. That’s the secret to our people-centric approach.

<h2>Find out more about Guidant Global</h2>

<h1>Making an ESG impact</h1>As part of Impellam a key area of our focus is our global ESG impact. Below are just a few of the initiatives we are delivering at Impellam to play our part in cultivating a better world.&nbsp;

<h2>Drive better workforce performance</h2>Book a discovery call with our workforce experts and find out the art of the possible. Filling in the form is the first step to better performance.

<h2>We’ve been recognized for our CWM, ED&amp;I &amp; direct sourcing capabilities</h2>

<h2>Advanced direct sourcing insights</h2>

<h3>Benefit from employer brand-led, technology enabled talent communities managed by our expert recruiters.</h3>

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<h2>Unique in the market</h2>Our approach is not reliant on technology alone. It’s a holistic, integrated solution that includes talent marketing and talent delivery expertise - underpinned by the latest technology. We work in partnership with you to develop a bespoke direct sourcing strategy and build talent communities.

<h2>We’ve been recognized for our CWM, MSP &amp; SAP capabilities</h2>

<h3>Rethink your non-employee workforce management</h3>

<h2>Unlock your non-employee workforce’s full potential through a unique collaboration of recruitment industry leaders.</h2>Introducing @Pace from Guidant Global and SAP Fieldglass.

<h1>Recognized as leaders</h1>Awards, accreditations and outstanding analyst rankings - we’ve been recognized by many of the leading institutions and analysts in our industry.&nbsp;

<h2>Consulting and Talent Advisory insights</h2>

<h3>Access our brightest minds on a project basis.</h3>

<h2>Consulting &amp; Talent Advisory</h2>Access our brightest minds on a project basis.

<h1>Making a difference is in our DNA</h1>We’ve actively taken the lead within the recruitment industry for diverse and inclusive workforce strategies. By actively working with our clients, suppliers and industry partners, we’re opening doors for people historically overlooked by the recruitment sector.&nbsp;

<h2>Our ED&amp;I partners</h2>We’ve been pioneering diverse workforces for years and along the way have built a network of credible and specialist partners we work with in the ED&amp;I space.

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<h1>Global workforce solutions that put people first</h1>We champion #ABetterWay – a forward-thinking way of working; moving away from ‘recruitment by numbers’ and shifting the perspective to focus on people.

<h2>Our solutions</h2>Agile. Digitally enabled. Scalable. Evolving with you. Our solutions are designed to help organizations achieve new levels of workforce quality, cost savings, compliance and efficiency.

<h1>Integrated Workforce Solutions&nbsp;</h1>Guidant Global is proud to be part of Impellam, a connected group offering unparalleled workforce and STEM talent solutions expertise to provide your organization with mission-critical skillsets to future-proof your business. Our blended approach fuses extensive workforce solutions expertise, with access to deep communities of STEM talent.&nbsp;As one of the largest workforce and STEM talent solutions companies in the world, we help clients to get the best possible ROI from nearly £4.5bn of workforce spend and 2,900 supplier relationships, across nearly 80 countries.&nbsp;

<h2>Impellam’s journey to Net Zero</h2>We've made a long-term commitment to our blended working policy, which encourages less impactful working behaviors – such as working from home and conducting meetings online.We calculate our environmental impact across Scope 1, 2 and 3 (selected categories) for our UK operations. Our 2022 UK emissions were 894,249 kgCO2e (down from 969,569 kgCO2e in 2021). This is an average impact of 442 kgCO2e per £m revenue (down from 582 kgCO2e per £m in 2021).We achieved carbon neutral certification for 2022 by offsetting our carbon emissions, as stated above, using the PAS2060 framework.2022 was our first full financial year of purchasing 100% renewable electricity for our UK operations. In 2021-22, our supplier’s fuel mix was zero carbon and 100% renewable energy, made up of 82.5% wind, 9.3% solar and 8.2% hydro power.Our head office has achieved accreditation to ISO 14001 in relation to its environment management systems.<h2>UNITY - Our inclusion council</h2>We want to create workspaces that reflect the diversity of our society. Where everyone – from any background – can be their authentic selves and do their best work. We are inclusive and welcoming for people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, disabilities, abilities, military statuses, socioeconomic statuses, ages and faiths.We do this internally through UNITY, our equity, diversity and inclusion council, and externally by working with our clients, suppliers and ED&amp;I partners to design strategies to attract and engage under-represented groups and to remove barriers to recruitment.

<h1>Our people are different&nbsp;</h1>Our people bring our #ABetterWay mission to life. We are a collective of like-minded, passionate, experienced and approachable individuals united by #ABetterWay. Many of our people have appearing on SIA’s famed lists covering ‘SIA 100 Europe and North America’, ‘Women In Staffing’, ‘40 under 40’ and ‘ED&amp;I influencers’.

<h3>Optimise contingent workforce performance with an MSP solution built around you.</h3>

<h2>MSP solutions</h2>Optimise contingent workforce performance with an MSP solution built around you.

<h3>RPO solutions giving you a direct pathway to the best quality permanent talent</h3>

<h2>RPO</h2>Giving you a direct pathway to the best quality permanent talent.

<h3>Giving you a direct pathway to the best quality permanent talent.</h3>

<h2>RPO solutions</h2>Giving you a direct pathway to the best quality permanent talent.

<h3>Enhance enterprise outcomes through optimized services procurement management.</h3>

<h2>Services Procurement (SOW)</h2>Enhance enterprise outcomes through optimized services procurement management.

<h2>We’ve been recognized for our services procurement and SoW sourcing capabilities</h2>

<h1>Solutions to drive workforce performance</h1>Agile. Digitally enabled. Scalable. Evolving with you. Our solutions are created on the unique challenges of each client. Not the one-size-fits-all, quick-fix, impersonal approach that prevails in our industry.

<h2>Solution benefits</h2>Not the one-size-fits-all, quick-fix, impersonal approach that prevails in our industry.

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<h1>#ABetterWay for supplier relations</h1>MSPs often neglect suppliers. At Guidant Global, we do things differently. We partner. We collaborate. We nurture.

<h1>Award winning SRM&nbsp;</h1>Our supplier and strategic partner relationships have helped us win APSCo’s coveted RPO/MSP of the Year Award four times – and three awards in consecutive years — the only RPO/MSP to ever achieve this!We’re well-versed in assuming control of existing supply chains and preferred supplier lists, giving them the opportunity to supply within a Guidant MSP program. We then install governance that allows us to review performance so we can refine the supply chain to include only the very best suppliers. <h2>Using our INfluence. Driving inclusion through supplier diversity</h2>Our INfluence Supplier Diversity Program has a vital role to play in nurturing more minority suppliers into our supply chain. Working in a two-year partnership, Guidant Global provides selected diverse suppliers with multiple tools to help them achieve greater success and the platform to build mutually beneficial relationships with our clients to help inform and support their ED&amp;I goals. <h2>Suppliers driving candidate diversity</h2>We work with pre-selected suppliers to create a set of diversity metrics which both Guidant and the supplier commit to. For example – if the client is focusing on driving female representation in an area of their workforce, our suppliers agree that 3 out of 5 candidates submitted will be women.&nbsp;&nbsp; <h2>Aligning suppliers to Impellam’s ED&amp;I UNITY program</h2>At Impellam we have UNITY – our internal ED&amp;I program. UNITY brings our people together to build communities, find allies across our regions, to raise awareness and champion change. Our BRG’s (business resource groups) align to each protected characteristic (and more, such as veterans). We align strategically suitable suppliers to each BRG area, based on the accreditations they hold and initiatives the supplier promotes.&nbsp;This is designed to both extend the reach of our BRG’s but to also help clients find capable suppliers who can help drive specific areas of diverse talent into their workforces.&nbsp; <h2>Supporting growth</h2>Our Ascend program is designed to identify a small number of suppliers each year and forge a deeper partnership, resulting in growth and brand amplification for both Guidant and the supplier. We achieve this through access to a host of Guidant resources, alignment of shared values, shared intelligence and collaboration across our teams, especially with Sales.

<h1>Become a supplier</h1>We only work with the very best recruitment suppliers. Like-minded partners that share our candidate-centric approach. If you would like to know more about becoming a Guidant Global supply partner, get in touch.

<h2>Access best technology in the industry</h2>

<h2>The right technology partners. Configured to meet your unique needs.</h2>Our end-to-end technology approach covers identification and configuration to training, change management and ongoing support.

<h2>Discover data &amp; analytics insights</h2>

<h1>Vision. A powerful, personalized data ecosystem.</h1>Vision is powerful. A dataset built from your own workforce data and that of thousands of global suppliers’ integral performance data, past and present.