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How to evolve your VMS strategy

CWS 3.0 - Contingent Workforce Strategies

How to evolve your VMS strategy

Adrianne Nelson
| July 9, 2024
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One thing is for certain: VMS use is growing and is available to a range of contingent workforce programs. Evaluating systems and finding a new provider or deciding to stay with what you have in place is no longer as difficult as it has been.

Here are a few things to consider as you evolve your VMS strategy.

VMS use has increased to 79% from 50% over the last 14 years by companies with more 1,000 employees, according to SIA’s most recent VMS Global Landscape & Differentiators report. Simply put, leaders of contingent workforce programs are expecting more from their VMS as usage grows. While programs will always emphasize cost savings and visibility, they also expect their VMS to help with strategic program initiatives such as:

  • Data analytics to make better decisions
  • AI that drives new sourcing efficiencies
  • Decrease of focus on traditional work models
  • Addressing the skills gap
  • Increasing end-to-end candidate management capabilities
  • Holistic insights leveraging multiple data sources

Supplier Selection

Knowing what you want out of your VMS will help in the selection process.

Attracting, recruiting and deploying talent. A VMS that has strong, scalable partnerships can help you stay on top of market trends. Engaging such a VMS can increase your speed to market, create meaningful and powerful data analytics and position your program to utilize the best talent technology available. SIA’s VMS Ecosystem Partnerships report, available to CWS Council members, lists 50 technologies that are currently in use by VMS providers.

Program management focus. Is your VMS a component of an overall spend management strategy or a talent-focused workforce management solution? Knowing how your organization views your contingent workforce is an integral part of VMS selection and deployment. The right VMS can change how your program is positioned in the larger organization by providing greater visibility, cost savings, higher quality, manager satisfaction and analytics that drive better decisions.

VMS pricing model. Fee as a percentage of spend remains the dominant pricing model among participants in the SIA report at 65%, with fixed monthly subscriptions at 17%. Less prevalent are a combination of fee per full-time equivalent and per timesheet processed and a combination of fee types.

Resources

SIA provides CWS Council members with a variety of resources to help in the VMS selection process, such as:

Webinars and complimentary resources: