digital disruption in procurement talent acquisition
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Digital disruption of procurement talent acquisition WRIT TEN BY
DA LE BENTON PRODUCED BY
ARRON R A MPLING
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w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
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Erin Hough, Senior Manager, North American Supply Chain at Allegis Global Solutions, discusses the digital disruption of global talent acquisition s the supply chain and
that make a difference for businesses
procurement industry contin-
worldwide. AGS is the global leader
ues to become increasingly
in Workforce Management Solutions.
professionalized, with businesses all
This requires a deep understanding of
over the world waking up to the value
a client’s requirements and expecta-
of procurement, it creates a need for
tions and AGS’ Supply Chain team plays
skilled professionals in order to unlock
a critical role in all of this. “We consult
the true potential and propel strategic
with our clients to ensure they are
growth. This is where Allegis Global
implementing innovative strategies that
Solutions (AGS) comes in. As a global
focus on risk mitigation, data govern-
talent solutions provider, AGS trans-
ance and visibility, as well as operational
forms the way the world acquires talent
efficiencies with their supply chain,”
by delivering client-focused solutions
says Erin Hough, Senior Manager,
A
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North American Supply Chain at AGS.
supplier partners providing talent in
“What they want is to acquire the best
specific industries, geographies and
talent, at competitive market rates and
skill sets. Over the course of her 13-year
at the right time. AGS’ Supply Chain
career in the staffing industry, Hough
team provides the market insights and
has held a number of roles across
tools that our clients need in order
North America. Prior to joining AGS,
to achieve this”.
she worked for a staffing firm providing
As part of the company’s Supply
sales and recruiting services. It was
Chain Management team, Hough is
then that she first encountered AGS
tasked with leading a team of consult-
and the growing presence of MSP’s. In
ants across North America. These
2012, she joined AGS to help grow the
consultants must ensure that its clients’
supply chain team. “Having experience
goals are achieved by having the best
with a staffing supplier supporting MSP’s w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
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provided the right foundation for my role here at AGS. It set me up for success as I have a greater understanding of suppliers’ pain points, how hard they work, how difficult their role can be to find, secure and ultimately retain the right candidate,” she says. “It also helped me to understand how to coach and mentor a supplier if they were struggling in our programs and provide them with key guidance and support in order to be successful.” Hough has seen first-hand the changing supply chain and procurement landscape, particularly in the way the company works with client partners. Historically, AGS would make supplier recommendations to its clients based largely on existing or previous relationships.” But, as Hough notes, while the importance of relationships has not changed, the methodology AGS uses to select its suppliers has evolved. “The relationship is still a key component for us but what’s important to
“ We will continue to evolve to be a thought leader in the industry, continue to be open minded and to be a consultant to our clients. We will strive to be a true partner to our suppliers because without our suppliers we can’t deliver the talent that our clients need”
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— Erin Hough, Senior Manager, North American Supply Chain at Allegis Global Solutions
procurement are proof points. With each recommendation we make to add, remove or even realign suppliers based on geographies or skillsets, our recommendations are driven mainly by data,” she says. “The strategies that we implement with our supply chain consistently aligns with our data analytics. The value of relationships is not eliminated, we know when a supplier’s team w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
is demonstrating a strong partnership to both AGS and our clients. The data simply paints a more complete picture and allows us to make the best business decision about their success or lack of success within one of our programs.” Hough acknowledges that industry wide we are experiencing digital transformation of both staffing and procurement. Technology, she notes, is changing the way procurement and hiring managers are attracting, motivating and retaining the right talent in 10
the marketplace. “What we are seeing is growth in artificial intelligence and automation in order to meet the needs of our clients. We are educating our hiring managers to think differently about the way that work gets done,” she says. “They might look at a role that is knowledge driven or has repetitive tasks as one that can be completed by a robot, or artificial intelligence.” “The digital transformation we are experiencing in our industry will enhance our service offerings and streamline our processes to make AGS more efficient. This will not eliminate the need for a human to be involved. Roles that require relationship building or a consultative
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘AGS INTELLECT 2018 STEVE PARKER EXPLAINS’ 11 approach would still need to be completed by a person,” Hough explains. Both AGS and its clients must navigate this changing landscape and so it is integral that AGS identifies trends and understands the digital impact in order to continue providing the best talent and maintain those leading relationships. Hough admits as much and notes that as AGS works across multiple global sectors, the best way forward for both AGS and its clients is to invest, collaborate and share knowledge. “Supply chain and procurement are evolving and we are experiencing those changes across all of the industries AGS supports. In order to stay on w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
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“These suppliers are part of our strategic supplier program, meaning they are our top 1% of suppliers across the globe. They have built strong partnerships and trust with us. We know that they are suppliers we can rely on. If we need honest feedback about what’s going on in the market place or a tough skill set that we need help with, we know that they’ll dedicate
a team to help us to make sure we’re supporting the client. Each of these suppliers have also contributed by providing us with market intel. Telling us what’s going on in the market, what their pain points are, giving us suggestions for ways that we could improve their user experience. They’ve just been true partners to us. They’ve been great.” 13
top of these changes, we have an
A key example of how AGS has
innovation team that is constantly seek-
embraced technology and innovation
ing out and testing new ideas,” she says.
is through the implementation of a
“We’re also partnering with our
proprietary workforce system called
suppliers to gain an understanding of
QUANTUM. The QUANTUM Platform
what they are experiencing in the market.
acts as a single point of entry to all
We are attending industry conferences
types of workers including contractors,
to learn more about the evolution of the
consultants and full-time employees.
industry, artificial intelligence, chat bot
QUANTUM simplifies the hiring manager
and the gig economy, so that we can
experience and enables AGS’ clients to
be better prepared.”
make data driven/fact-based decisions w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
more efficiently. Backed by robust data and the consultation of a talent advisor, QUANTUM has created a whole new user experience for hiring managers and is improving time to fill, cost and quality. “AGS’ talent advisors can work with the hiring managers to understand what their tasks and business objectives are and then create and develop a resource plan based on those specific needs. This approach coupled with client-specific data, comparative benchmarks and external market insights ensure that our hiring managers have evaluated the options 14
and they have been advised on the best talent in the right location for the best price�, she says.
One example of how QUANTUM creates efficiency – “It helps to highlight quality candidates that will be coming available and allows them to be redeployed within the same company, rather than them ending an assignment and having them sit on the bench to wait for another opportunity to come along. For example, if a particular candidate is rolling off of an assignment and is perfect for another opportunity within the same organization, we can redeploy them and have them back to work the next day with a simplified onboarding process,� says Hough. Implemented last year, QUANTUM is already showing great results: better than 50% reduction in time to fill, time to submit went from an average of 48-72 hours down to less than a day (usually a few hours) and an improved user experience through technology and the interactions with the talent advisors. By removing the antiquated process of waiting to see what talent is out there or waiting for a hiring manager to detail their needs, AGS can provide access to the best talent of today and tomorrow. This is but one example of how AGS has transformed its procurement process through technology. Hough points to the implementation of artificial intelligence that helps suppliers with their pre-screening processes and w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
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“From an operational perspective our clients and our operations can identify trends and start forecasting. Our suppliers that have access to this system they’re able to see how they’re performing in comparison to their competitors in that particular program” — Erin Hough, Senior Manager, North American Supply Chain at Allegis Global Solutions
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w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
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removing “black holes” that seem to
ed scorecards that provide real-time
exist after candidates are submitted.
performance analytics. “From an
Another key technology that AGS now
operational perspective, our clients
utilizes is the ACUMEN system. The
and our internal teams can identify
ACUMEN system is a platform that
trends and start forecasting. Our
displays and monitors key performance
strategic suppliers have access to this
indicators across the entire AGS
system and they’re able to benchmark
ecosystem of suppliers, clients and
their performance in comparison to
AGS’ internal teams. It highlights spend
their competitors within a particular
activity, as well as quality and speed
program,” says Hough.
metrics for a program. With this tool, AGS has been able to create automat-
“It also gives our program officers, our clients, and our suppliers the
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opportunity to make immediate changes
change and approach our clients with
as they start to see trends going in the
strategy and innovation by implement-
right or even the wrong direction.”
ing technologies such as ACUMEN
Industries all around the world will
and QUANTUM. This will allow us to
continue to evolve and so too will the
continually impact the lives of others by
skillsets needed to serve their needs.
matching great talent to great organi-
AGS embraces these changes by
zations,” says Hough.
providing universal access to all forms of talent. The ACUMEN and QUANTUM systems are two examples of this. “We must continue to position ourselves as thought leaders in our industry, embrace w w w.a l l e gi sgl o ba l so l ut i on s . com
7312 Parkway Drive, Hanover, Maryland, US 21076 T 410-579-3240 www.allegisglobalsolutions.com