In today’s dynamic business landscape, organizations recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are not just buzzwords — they’re essential components of a successful workforce. While the concept of supplier diversity isn’t new — President Richard Nixon established it through an executive order in 1969 — it has evolved from simply providing opportunities for minority-owned businesses, such as African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans, to now including supplier scorecards, certifications, supplier diversity goals, outreach and development, and supplier relationship management.

Managing global contingent workforce programs, I have seen firsthand the positive impacts of embedding equity, specifically when it comes to the collaboration among staffing suppliers, clients and managed service providers (MSPs).

In my experience, diversity breeds diversity. When the client sponsor is intentional and passionate about having diverse supplier representation, it can lead to a more diverse and innovative supply chain, support economic growth and job creation within minority communities, and show commitment to uplifting equity-seeking populations. Further, including diverse supplier groups into your contingent workforce programs not only pushes the business model forward in faster, more efficient ways, it can also spur diverse practices throughout your organization.

How to Engage the ‘Big 3’ for Supplier Diversity

When it comes to creating diversity within the contingent workforce, we first need to determine who needs to be involved in the creation and implementation of the strategy to engage minority diverse suppliers. In doing so, I believe it’s imperative to engage what I call the “Big 3.”

Client executives. The entire movement toward supplier diversity starts with executive buy-in. Once you have that, you have the freedom to drive your DE&I initiatives and can influence the stakeholders inside the company to understand that creating equal opportunities for all ultimately enables diversity to breed diversity. A client I’m working with now truly cares about “making room” for diverse suppliers, which leads to a collective mentality of diversity and more opportunities for diversity within the program.

Staffing suppliers. The key differentiator for suppliers who want to be recognized as “diverse” is to be upfront about the unique qualities they bring to the table and be able to deliver upon them. It’s imperative that diverse suppliers are forthcoming about how they are impacting the diverse group they’re representing. For example, one of our diverse supplier partners had only one resource to start with, but our team recognized their unique scope, marketed their abilities to other business groups and — in partnership with our internal sponsor and sourcing team — the supplier has proven their ability to deliver and now has over $5 million in spend with that client.

Managed service providers. As the MSP team, it’s our job to foster awareness and empower executives to make informed decisions that not only align with DE&I values but also encompass the passion of the client sponsors. We’re in a unique and valuable position, as we understand what both the client and supplier can do — and are able to bring it all together to push the narrative forward. We then set measurable goals for supplier diversity—tracking spend with diverse suppliers, holding leaders accountable and celebrating achievements.

While the process of embedding diversity in the contingent workforce starts with the client executives, it advances when everyone involved in the program is intentional in collaborating with clients to identify diverse suppliers and ensure their inclusion in the talent supply chain. I’ve found that the phrase “proximity curates care” applies to the concept of diverse supplier partnerships, in that if you’re close to something, you care about it.

The Big 3 in my current program have demonstrated this philosophy time and time again. The suppliers are seeing the underrepresentation of certain groups or individuals, which causes them to develop a passion for addressing it. Simultaneously, the client is intentional about bringing diverse, underrepresented groups into the program. And we, as the MSP team, are committed to meshing these passions together and measuring accountability towards progress.

With that said, supplier diversity isn’t just a checkbox — it’s a strategic imperative. We need to continue to collectively champion equity by recognizing the passions of the three key constituents of the contingent workforce partnership to thereby foster an ecosystem where diverse suppliers thrive.