In today’s dynamic business landscape, procurement professionals are becoming influential leaders. Their roles transcend traditional purchasing responsibilities to encompass a diverse range of functions, such as business intelligence, talent analytics, growth strategies, and risk and compliance management. As procurement continues to evolve, leading organizations are recognizing the importance of forming long-term supplier relationships to extract more value from the global supply base. In this blog, we explore how procurement professionals can build mutually-rewarding partnerships with staffing suppliers to ensure superior performance, cost savings, quality, and service.
Staffing suppliers are essential business allies
With the advent of the sharing economy and project-based work, the nature of employment has undergone a significant transformation. Contract workers are no longer seen as temporary solutions for menial positions; instead, they have become essential contributors and integral members of many organizations. Many are skilled leaders and experts who have chosen non-traditional employment for flexibility and independence, making them highly sought after. By 2023 and beyond, 80% of executives aim to hire a record number of contingent workers. This growing demand places added pressure on procurement leaders to partner with staffing providers who can consistently deliver top-notch talent.’
The vital role of staffing suppliers in contingent workforce management
Staffing suppliers play a vital role in contingent workforce management by providing access to a diverse pool of skilled and specialized talent. As organizations increasingly rely on contingent workers for flexibility and expertise, staffing suppliers become essential allies in sourcing, vetting, and placing these professionals. They streamline the hiring process, ensuring the right candidates are matched with the right roles. Their expertise in compliance, talent management, and market trends helps organizations optimize their contingent workforce strategies. With their support, businesses can achieve operational efficiency, maintain cost-effectiveness, and stay competitive in today’s dynamic job market.
Retaining your staffing suppliers
Even as companies try to contain costs, it’s important to remember that staffing providers need to be compensated for more than a candidate’s pay rate. They’re paid for doing a great deal of work, including:
- Spending time and effort from the staffing partner’s internal recruiters and supporting resources
- Sourcing specific types of workers being sought, particularly for niche positions
- Spending additional time to recruit specialized skills when a scarcity of qualified talent exists
- Overcoming geographic challenges associated with certain sites (e.g., locating highly experienced talent in rural markets with small, dispersed populations)
- Providing the deep screening required for compliance with the organization’s policies or regulations
All of these factors contribute to the variable costs incurred by suppliers. One way to address these variable costs and retain staffing suppliers is to establish a mutually-beneficial compensation model that accounts for the unique challenges and efforts involved in recruiting and supplying specialized talent. Here are a few:
Provide competitive compensation and transparent communication
To ensure the continued success of staffing suppliers and avoid business disruptions, you can offer competitive compensation based on market-based rate structures and fair markup controls. Transparency in bill rates, including statutory costs and recruiting expenses, fosters trust and accountability in the supplier relationship. Effective communication is also essential to build strong partnerships. You can do this by hosting forums and events to convey clear messages about business strategies, future directions, and ongoing improvement recommendations.
Advocate for supplier success
In supplier management, procurement leaders must prioritize advocating for supplier success over mere rules enforcement. This shift in approach involves actively monitoring program metrics, providing constructive feedback, offering support to suppliers, motivating them to perform at their best, and maximizing overall program performance. By creating a collaborative environment and empowering suppliers, you foster a thriving ecosystem, encouraging innovation, efficiency, and sustained excellence in the dynamic landscape of talent acquisition and staffing solutions. Through these efforts, you can cultivate long-term partnerships based on mutual growth and success, ensuring a prosperous future together.
Use the power of long-term supplier contracts
Long-term supplier contracts can yield tremendous benefits for both procurement leaders and their organizations. By establishing stable agreements with top suppliers, you can enhance the value of your programs, optimize demands, facilitate innovation through continuous improvement initiatives, and refine forecasting and fulfillment processes. Long-term contracts also foster strong relationships and mutual understanding between procurement and suppliers, leading to more successful engagements.
Also, long-term relationships with suppliers enable a proactive approach to problem-solving. Suppliers who are familiar with the program and its requirements can anticipate potential issues and take preventative measures to address them before they escalate.
Connect with the best suppliers in the market
Prosperix revolutionizes the supplier selection process by seamlessly connecting businesses with the best suppliers in the market to meet their specific job requirements. Leveraging our advanced technology and exponential supplier network, we automate the vetting and matching process, ensuring that you are presented with top-notch suppliers that align with your unique needs. We simplify and streamline the critical aspects of procurement and empower organizations to make efficient, data-driven decisions that can help establish long-lasting, fruitful partnerships with suppliers.
Speak with us today to learn more about our array of contingent workforce solutions.
