What did we learn? What are HR and procurement pros talking about? Well, we already know that total talent management (TTM) solutions are dominating the conversation as a holistic workforce solution—but when it comes to specific services that teams are looking for, here are three that people are talking about.

1. Direct Sourcing
Take a bite out of traditional recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and you get direct sourcing services: a third-party solution with an in-house feel. Direct sourcing is when the client, or the MSP, uses its ATS and various talent pools to find temporary labor.  That labor is then routed to a payroll provider, which acts as the employer of record. To paraphrase a perspective from our CWS panel: “We have no internal recruiting organization. That’s why we needed RPO and admin capabilities.”

With Broadleaf, we customize RPO according to your needs—we work alongside your team to customize talent solutions that help you recruit the people you need, when you need them. With proven adaptive sourcing models, we’ll manage all of, half of, or just some of your internal sourcing functions. It’s your call.

2. Payrolling
A good number of exhibitors at the conference were dishing out payrolling services as a standalone service to HR and procurement teams. While this is a reasonable strategy, it fails to acknowledge the cohesion needed between both departments. As we heard from our panel, “We had a highly decentralized organization, but MSPs allowed us to develop a relationship between Procurement and HR.”

Broadleaf’s MSPs (managed service programs) are specially designed to help you source candidates, consolidate invoicing, manage contracts, and more—all as a single service. With all your HR and procurement needs in the same place, you can reach peak efficiencies.

3. IC Compliance
IC compliance was another hot topic among vendors wheeling and dealing at the CWS Summit, and for good reason. Keeping tabs on your independent contractors can save you thousands of dollars come tax time—but sometimes a more flexible statement of work (SOW) and procurement management solution is the better option.

Why? How? With SOW services, you get a standard process for tracking and managing independent contractors and suppliers. That means unlimited visibility of all your contract developments in real time, a single system of record for all non-direct employees, and a standardized approval process at your disposal. Paired with a vendor management system (VMS), SOW is more than just IC compliance—it’s a symbiotic, streamlined solution.

One of our panelists said it best: “Moving ICC to SOW model has allowed us to reduce the number of invoices—our PO process is more streamlined. Down 60% in volume of POs.”

Sure, these three services can be effective on their own. But when you put them under the same umbrella, or TTM strategy, they are even more effective. Why take one or two management services from this company or that? Instead, get your hands on a complete suite of total talent management solutions from Broadleaf Results.

For more insights about the global workforce and how to manage it, check out our Resource Center. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram!

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1. Solidify communications with HR.
We understand how complicated it can be to handle procurement responsibilities while managing a contingent workforce at the same time. When the landscape becomes too tough to navigate, or there just aren’t enough hours in the day, talk to your HR Department about a better way to get the job done. Our suggestion? Let us work alongside your teams to identify needs and deliver solutions that make a difference.

2. Get your Statements of Work (SOW) done right.
If you’re responsible for securing the best, most cost-effective solutions to carry out projects for thousands of suppliers every year, you’re probably working with limited time and resources. Want to simplify your tasks? Find a partner that will alleviate administrative duties, enforce business controls, and manage suppliers every step of the way.

3. Use a Vendor Management System (VMS).
A VMS is the technology that powers your procurement solutions. What’s more, these solutions are in high demand. Seventy-two percent of U.S. companies say they use an all-encompassing program to manage their vendors and labor. And, as the contingent workforce becomes more complicated in the coming years, that number could rise. Employing a VMS—or partnering with a company that has its own—will help you keep up as your procurement and workforce needs evolve.

As it happens, Broadleaf has handpicked several procurement-, HR-, and contingent workforce-related conferences to sponsor in 2019. Will you be at any of these shows? If so, stop by and say hi!

In the meantime, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

HRO Today Forum
National Harbor, MD | May 6 – 8
“HR thinkers, practitioners, technologists and partners that are building tomorrow’s World-Class Workforce today.”

CWS Summit
San Diego, CA | September 9 – 12
“The largest peer-to-peer networking event for contingent workforce professionals.”

HR Tech
Las Vegas, NV | October 1 – 4
“THE place to get the whole picture of the HR technology market.”

The post 3 Ways to Improve Procurement appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

Securing the talent needed for productivity and growth remains a challenge, but the methods behind work procurement have evolved.

Around 300 B.C., the first known large-scale organization of “work” was observed. During that time, the development of unique skillsets was born from necessity and influenced by both available resources and engagement of said resources. Work was organized based on a person’s abilities, and we didn’t have wide ranging labor classifications.  Form followed function, one might say.

During the 1800s and 1900s, the focus shifted as employer/employee relationships crystallized, and employers sought different kinds of resources to mitigate business risks and costs. With the industrial revolution, we saw the formation of unions, and freelancers, independent contractors, and temporary workers found footholds in the modernizing workforce. We saw function following form.

Today, advancing technology (together with other factors such as unemployment rates, talent shortages, millennial preferences, and healthcare/retirement packages) continues to evolve the talent landscape.  That evolution is bringing us back to a world in which form can follow function.  Technology is allowing companies to more readily align direct staff through RPO, contract employees through staffing companies, ICs and freelancers via management systems, and even SOW vendors.

But there is an elephant in the talent landscape. The elephant is the operational implication.  How does a company organize—and even harmonize—all of these processes across historically separately-owned HR and Procurement functions?

Total talent management organizes the workforce landscape. It manages the needs of both HR/Talent Acquisition and Procurement and provides tools to meet each party’s needs more effectively. TTM provides:

• Faster, greater access to talent
• Amplified cost savings/quality
• Unification of processes and goals
• Consolidation of points of contact
• Increased compliance controls
• Heightened economies of scale

Change is here, and we have a brave new world of talent.  Already, forward-thinking organizations are seeking to purchase not only contract labor through their successful MSPs, but also independent contractors, SOW vendors, and direct employees. They are making choices based not on resource type, but quality and cost. The right partner—who is consultative, strategic and technologically savvy—is critical to driving sustainable results… #functionoverform

The post The Elephant in the Landscape appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

One of the things we appreciate most about CWS is the connections…including with so many attendees who brought a variety of perspectives on industry topics and themes. One of the biggest takeaways from the event was that most companies—in our highly commoditized market—are in need of far more strategic solutions that better address their broad workforce concerns, and they are open to improving their overall total talent management. The majority of companies still have a lot of room for improvement/enhancement, regardless of their current talent landscapes.

A few key areas that companies seem to be challenged with include:

• Capturing rogue spend
• Developing a global strategy
• Standardizing across regions/business units, etc.
• Optimizing processes across all productivity channels and worker types

SOW vendor management continues to capture a lot of interest, but gaining support from Procurement and other stakeholders remains challenging for many organizations. In order to continue the conversation with key decision-makers around SOW, they must demonstrate a clearly defined business case that includes a well-articulated value proposition and an accurately prepared financial benefit.

Another theme we noticed throughout the Summit was the thirst for direct sourcing, self-sourcing, and alumni programs. These “threats” impact staffing suppliers as more companies begin to engage in exploration of these talent engagement strategies, which will be the next area to drive hard dollar savings within the contingent workforce space.

All in all, CWS was a major success for Broadleaf as we celebrated the launch of our new brand and broke bread with so many wonderful attendees. And a special thanks to all who came to celebrate with us at the House of Blues!

Check out the photos from the event:

The post Essential Takeaways from the CWS Summit 2017 appeared first on Broadleaf Results.

In today’s marketplace, companies are becoming more innovative in terms of streamlining their internal processes.  When done smartly, significant cost savings and process efficiencies can be had.

“Agility is what companies are after,” says Charles Moeser, Vice President at Broadleaf.  “Usually, their internal teams are saddled with responsibilities in which they don’t have expertise or that do not add value to core business missions.  That, or their time has simply been stretched too thin to afford proper attention to all duties.  Outsourcing those burdensome process points to experts in the field provides companies with the agility and flexibility needed to focus on and react to company growth and strategy.”

Indeed, the symptoms of struggling HR departments vary.  They range from overworked employees to escalating costs, and from missed deadlines to poor quality of work.  Inefficiencies in an HR department anchor the company and keep it from advancing.

Companies are increasingly turning to outsourcing as a solution, as evidenced in surveys conducted by the Broadleaf.  Some companies turn to experts for the outsourcing of entire process chains, such as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO).  Others bring in the experts to perform needs analysis and then outsource only troublesome elements of their workflows.  In either case, all firms reported increased efficiencies, reduced costs, and improved employee satisfaction after the deployment of outsourcing solutions.

So what are companies outsourcing?  In general terms, many are looking to industry experts to provide:

• Benefits Administration
• Co-Employment Risk Mitigation
• Employee Training
• Labor Relations
• On-boarding and Off-boarding Processes
• Pay Rate Benchmarking and Rationalization
• Payroll Processing
• Skills Management
• Strategic Workforce Planning
• Travel Management
• Workforce Scheduling

But it doesn’t stop there.  Many companies also seek out the services of workforce solutions providers to rationalize their recruiting cycles.  As stated before, firms can either outsource all of these processes or select elements:

• Job Posting Management
• Candidate Sourcing
• Candidate Screening
• Skills Testing
• Background Checks & Drug Testing
• Reference Checking
• Job Fair Administration

HR duties are complex, so how can you be sure that you are selecting the right firm to provide an outsourced solution?  The right provider will have years of experience in the industry and understand its nuances.  It will be attentive and provide customized solutions.  It will have its own Legal Department that specializes in employment law.  And the company will itself be agile, able to rapidly and expertly adapt to your evolving needs.

In the end, outsourcing has proved a boon for the companies that have leveraged it effectively.  Identifying the processes that are prime for outsourcing—and then selecting a provider that you trust—is key.

The post What HR Processes are Leading Companies Outsourcing? appeared first on Broadleaf Results.