Contingent workforce wisdom Advice from experienced contingent workforce program owners

Contingent workforce wisdom

Advice from experienced contingent workforce program owners

Workforce program leaders share seasoned insights

Defining the contingent workforce

Workforce program leaders share seasoned insights

Beeline conducted a webinar with Sourcing Industry Group (SIG), the premier global association for sourcing, procurement, and risk professionals.

In the webinar, contingent workforce management experts shared their experiences, lessons learned, and best practices for managing contingent workforce programs. Topics included program ownership, compliance, technology integration, talent sourcing, and program evolution.

Panelists included four members of Beeline’s Client Advisory Board:

• Koenraad Lecot, head of contingent workforce management for one of America’s largest insurers of vehicles, homes, and small businesses and provider of a wide range of other insurance and financial services products

• Lynn Morton, vice president of contingent workforce procurement for a global leader in investment management servicing nearly 10% of the world’s assets

• Vivian Cano, manager of contingent labor for a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases

• Chris Friedl, senior director of supply chain management for a financial technology firm that powers mission-critical operations for leading financial institutions and businesses worldwide

Defining the contingent workforce

Koenraad Lecot began the discussion by defining contingent workforce categories as temporary employees, consultants, independent contractors, and outsourced workers. He noted that these workers make up nearly 50% of the total workforce in many organizations.

For this reason, he said the importance of tracking contingent workers is increasing, not only for legal and regulatory compliance but also for spend visibility and workforce planning.

Accurate tracking and efficient management of the contingent workforce can lead to cost savings, risk reduction, and operational efficiencies.

Koenraad Lecot Head of Contingent Workforce Management for

one of America’s largest insurers

Why implement a contingent workforce program?

According to Vivian Cano, the primary business drivers for companies to implement contingent workforce programs are to:

• Ensure workforce flexibility – Contingent workers help meet staffing needs during peak periods and provide access to specialized skills

• Reduce long-term hiring risks – Organizations avoid long-term commitments and overhead costs associated with full-time employees

• Enhance agility – A well-structured contingent workforce program allows companies to adapt quickly to market changes

The importance of tracking contingent workers is increasing, not only for legal and regulatory compliance.

Vivian Cano Manager of Contingent Labor for a global biopharmaceutical company

Gaining corporate buy-in

Lynn Morton stressed that buy-in from business units is crucial for successfully implementing a contingent workforce program. Key strategies to achieve buy-in include:

• Developing clear policies & standards – Ensuring alignment across business units and key functional areas, including procurement, HR, and legal

• Implementing a regional leadership structure – Having regional leads working with managed service providers (MSPs) and vendor management system (VMS) providers to ensure ongoing program support

A formalized workforce engagement strategy is essential to ensuring the widespread adoption and success of a contingent workforce program

Lynn Morton Vice President of Contingent Workforce Procurement for a global leader in investment management

Who owns the contingent workforce program?

The panelists noted that ownership of contingent workforce programs varies across organizations. In three of the four companies represented, the program is procurement-led. The fourth, while owned by HR, cited a strong procurement partnership.

Regardless of the program’s ownership, all panelists insisted that crossfunctional collaboration with legal, finance, HR, and procurement is crucial for the program’s success.

Ensuring compliance and mitigating risks

Asked about her recommendations for ensuring legal, regulatory, and policy compliance, Lynn Morton cited three strategies her program uses to mitigate risks:

• Legal partnership – Regular legal reviews to ensure proper worker classification and contract compliance

• Supplier and MSP engagement – Aligning suppliers and MSPs with company policies and applicable regional labor laws

• Technology-driven enforcement – Using the program’s VMS platform to track contingent workforce activity and audit compliance

In addition, Chris Friedl recommended imposing two types of controls to mitigate financial and security risks:

• Financial controls – Restrict labor general ledger (GL) codes to ensure that all external labor expenses are managed through the contingent workforce program

• Security controls – Ensure that badges, system access, and user IDs are only issued to program-approved contingent workers and that all access is terminated upon completion of each contingent assignment

How to ensure business units use the program?

Many companies face challenges when business units bypass the program and directly engage contingent workers. Often called rogue engagement or maverick spend, these activities can drive up the cost of contingent labor, undermine workforce planning, and increase the probability of workforce misclassification risk.

The panelists recommended several steps to encourage business units to use the company’s contingent workforce program, including:

• Spend controls – Restrict certain budget codes to mandate that all contingent labor spending must go through the company’s contingent workforce program

• Security enforcement – Prevent worker access to company facilities, networks, and data except in accordance with the contingent workforce program’s authorized onboarding process

• Demonstrate program value – Instead of enforcing policy compliance, educate the business units on the benefits of using the contingent workforce program (e.g., cost savings, efficiency, visibility, talent quality, risk mitigation)

It is better for everyone if hiring managers are motivated by an understanding of the program’s value, not forced into compliance.

Chris Friedl Senior Director of Supply Chain Management for a financial technology firm

Implementing a contingent workforce program

The panelists explained that there are multiple approaches used to implement a contingent workforce program, and companies can be successful despite using different implementation models:

• Enterprise-wide rollouts (single-phase implementation) – In this model, businesses establish a consistent contingent workforce program across the entire company, with the program and its VMS automation technology going live for all worker categories in all regions simultaneously

• Phased rollouts – In this model, the company implements the contingent workforce program and its technology to cover one or more regions and/ or labor categories, with additional regions and/or labor types added later in a gradual expansion

• Hybrid approaches – In either phased or enterprise-wide rollouts, companies may choose to self-manage the program or use one or more MSPs to manage some or all the regions and/or labor categories

Separately selecting an MSP and a VMS provider can give an organization flexibility. While some companies select an MSP and let the MSP select the VMS, my company chose each provider separately, knowing that if my company later needed to change direction, ownership of both the MSP and VMS contracts would give us the greatest flexibility.

Chris Friedl Senior Director of Supply Chain Management for a financial technology firm

On the future of contingent workforce management

Asked about future changes to their contingent workforce programs, the panelists cited several areas of expansion, including:

• Predictive analytics – Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and workforce analytics to anticipate future talent needs

• Hiring process optimization – Reducing time to fill open positions using automated screening and automated decision-making tools

• Direct sourcing– Using their companies’ brand reputation to attract contingent talent without third-party suppliers

Direct sourcing allows my company to reduce supplier fees while engaging high-quality talent from alumni networks and referrals.

Chris Friedl Senior Director of Supply Chain Management for

a financial technology firm

enhancements

The panelists agreed that new technologies allow them to automate more manual processes and provide better workforce intelligence. This allows their contingent workforce management teams to operate more efficiently and helps hiring managers make more cost-effective buying decisions. New technologies cited include:

• AI-driven talent matching – Automating candidate shortlisting

• Real-time market rate analytics – Providing benchmarks for cost optimization

• API integrations – Enabling seamless data exchange between the VMS and enterprise systems used by HR, finance, and procurement

Lessons learned

The panelists shared some of the lessons they have learned from managing their contingent workforce programs, including:

Clearly define program objectives

Align program goals with business and talent strategy.

Collaborate early

Engage all stakeholders – HR, legal, finance, and procurement – early and often.

Communication is key

Keep stakeholders, hiring managers, and suppliers informed about program changes.

Compliance with labor laws

Understand regional legal requirements to avoid risks.

Improve workforce visibility and decision-making through technology and automation.

Technology adoption

Use a robust VMS platform to streamline processes.

VMS customization

For future scalability, stay close to the standard VMS offering. Excessive customization makes it harder to adopt new VMS features.

Focus on creating value for hiring managers.

Be adaptable

The workforce landscape is constantly evolving.

Conclusion

In addition to their specific recommendations, the panel reached a few general conclusions.

They noted that contingent workforce management has become a strategic necessity. Successfully managing a contingent workforce program requires stakeholder collaboration and user adoption. Company policy can enforce this, but demonstrating value is critical.

Technology, including VMS, AI, and analytics, is essential for efficiency, compliance, and workforce planning. Your VMS platform’s analytics and reporting capabilities help demonstrate the contingent workforce program’s value.

About Beeline

For over 20 years, Beeline has empowered businesses worldwide to achieve competitive advantages with their extended workforce. Beeline Extended Workforce Platform gives companies the visibility needed to mitigate risk, achieve cost savings, and meet dynamic business needs. With tailored solutions that solely focus on the complexities of the extended workforce, clients leverage Beeline products that fit their unique requirements. Through thousands of integrations, clients can connect their extended workforce data from all technology stacks, including major procurement and HR systems. Join the list of renowned brands benefiting from Beeline’s deeply seasoned experts, collaborative innovation, and industry-leading partner network.

Explore more at beeline.com

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Contingent workforce wisdom Advice from experienced contingent workforce program owners