Defining a credible strategy is a foundational component of the development of any contingent program.

Having a strategy in place helps define the roadmap for the program’s goals and objectives and maintains focus on its execution and direction — whether you are creating a completely new contingent program, adding SOW to an existing contingent program, incorporating independent contractors or simply implementing worker tracking. The strategy will structure the initiative’s operational support, solution design and scope. As the initiative progresses with success, the strategy will need to evolve to account for operational changes or improvements.

Poor strategic planning leads to capability weaknesses such as lack of management focus and conviction of executive sponsorship. Your program will touch a wide range of departments and constituencies, so be sure to incorporate their feedback and understand the pain points you can resolve with a strategy. To obtain organizational buy-in, including C-suite approval, your program strategy should align with your organization’s overall goals and objectives. Your value proposition should add value to the organization, and your message to the business needs to convey why the organization will benefit from these changes.

Among other program benefits, a well-developed strategy can:

Set the course. Establishing a program strategy will take time, focus and potentially several phases of development, but it lays the foundation and sets the course for your long-term journey.

Create competitive advantage. It creates a competitive gain for an organization and helps establish effective operational leverage.

Create ROI alignment. Your program’s strategy helps establish return-on-investment drivers and practices to deliver the results hiring managers require.

Establish “What’s in it for me.” Building a strategy around the how the stakeholder benefits enables quick adoption and effective decision-making support.

Build buy-in through confidence. The right strategy increases the confidence and understanding of senior stakeholders to support decision making.

Maintain focus. A well-developed strategy prepares your program to deal with change and unforeseen circumstances by keeping the established end goal in focus.

Strategy Elements

The strategy will structure the program’s shape, form and reach, and it will need to evolve as reliable quality management services capabilities and engagement management capacities are established and required.

Some key elements of a strong strategy are:

• Clearly defined goals and a mission that speaks to the desired outcome and the reason why you are putting a strategy in place.
• Comprehensive sponsorship, which should include executive leadership and corporate function sponsorship (CXO, HR, procurement, finance, etc.).
• Defining the type of program management solution, such as labor based, services based, compliance, or savings focused.
• Incorporating process management-enabling technologies, such as sourcing or data management platforms.
• An established reporting mechanism and consistent cadence to provide visibility into overall program performance.
• Key stakeholder and hiring manager feedback on the overall program performance.
• Establishing the geographical, functional coverage that will be included in the contingent program.
• Governance and oversight of the overall contingent program so that everyone understands their role and responsibility within the program.
• A clearly defined rollout plan indicating a pilot or a “big bang” approach.

While having a solid and effective strategic plan in place is imperative to the success of your program, keep in mind that it also needs to be reviewed and revised regularly. Making sure that your strategic plans don’t get relegated to the back burner is particularly important because the industry is always changing and evolving, including technological advancements, the legal/regulatory environment and talent engagement options.