How to treat your customers to promote a symbiotic relationship

By Peggy O'Neill

Contingent workforce managers and programs invariably need to rely on vendors for temporary hiring needs, which makes for a symbiotic relationship. As a CW manager, I want to work with vendors that are trustworthy, reliable, understand our requirements and identify qualified candidates in a timely manner. Vendors that make the final cut for me are those that demonstrate a willingness to build relationships that evolve to a true partnerships.

Here are some recommended dos and don’ts for vendors to consider in their engagement with clients, whether you are working with a contingent workforce program, sourcing and procurement or some other HR-related entity that is responsible for acquiring contingent labor.

DO

• Understand the foundational requirements of the client. These issues will likely include but are not limited to contractual/regulatory requirements, credentialing, criminal background checks, etc. Many of these issues are immutable; in other words the CW manager cannot engage the vendor unless these conditions are met.
• Advise the CW manager early if there is a problem acquiring the class of talent. As a client, I can handle bad news, but I need to know as soon as possible.
• Make a best effort in trying to understand the nuances of the client’s organization. This will enable both the client and the vendor to reach an optimal working relationship.
• Ensure your account representatives are properly trained. Assigning neophytes to learn while on assignment with the client can result in pushing us to use other vendors with fully trained support staff.

DON’T

• Attempt to avoid client’s requirements regarding items such as having the requisite level of insurance, delivering timely reports, abiding to established mark-up rates, etc.
• Try to circumvent company hiring procedure. Commonly this occurs when the vendor attempts to approach the assignment manager directly rather than working through the program office. When a vendor goes against company procedure this can cause internal conflict between the hiring manager and CW manager. Vendor behavior like this is unproductive, causes friction at many different levels and ends up being an unpleasant experience. Personally, it causes me to question the trustworthiness of the vendor, which could lead to the termination of the contract.
• Try to fit a square box in a round hole and present candidates that blatantly don’t meet the requirements. An example is the client requires a specific work history and the vendor tries to sell a prospect that doesn’t meet the requirements.
• Just throw stuff up against the wall to see what sticks when meeting a challenging request. Often vendors want to present some candidates rather than admitting they don’t have the available talent. It’s better to be honest early than waste time getting there.

Vendors that don’t meet a program’s requirements, circumvent company procedure or can’t deliver the necessary talent become problems, not solutions.

I and other CW managers rely on our vendors; they are important stakeholders in any contingent workforce management function. The partners I appreciate are trustful, follow procedure and execute on a timely basis. I look forward to working and growing with those vendors over the long term.

Peggy O’Neill is Disney’s director of staffing contingent workforce.