Aug 16

The pond is only so big…….

By Wendy Linden Contingent Workforce Management, Managed Service Programs, Recruitment No Comments »

As we compiled this past month’s ugliest and hottest jobs data, from across our clients’ market experiences, a theme began to repeat itself. In multiple places, supply could not meet demand but in very different types of locations. As dissimilar as the customers were in these various locations, and the talent needed, (for example, one being high level IT in Silicon Valley and one being short term call center talent in rural North Carolina), the question was the same, ……

……..What can be done to find more talent in a challenged, talent marketplace?

The first call to action/reaction in these situations is to bring in more suppliers to deliver the sort-after talent. Its not a bad strategy, but it is a short sighted one. Additional, new suppliers will in assence drive their recruiting engines at the same talent pool that existing suppliers are already focused on.  A few more fishing poles in the pond doesn’t necessarily guarantee a bigger catch of the day.

So what’s the answer?

You have the have the best fishing lure in the pond, and the ability and willingness to cast far and wide to other types of pools of talent in the locale.

The client examples mentioned above couldn’t be more different. The high cost of living in Silicon Valley coupled with a long recession saw local talent forced to relocate to more affordable areas of the state and country. As the demand of Silicon Valley companies for IT and Engineering talent started to uptick, the required talent supply to draw upon wasn’t available locally in the same numbers.  In North Carolina, locale played a part; so did the prospect of the call center moving from the area. Low pay wage and stringent background and credit checks were also responsible for shrinking the available talent pool greatly.

Talent challenges like these need to have companies and the staffing program partners employ creative strategies of attracting contingent talent in the same manner they would go to employ their full time staff. Flex time, virtual opportunities (technology enables us to grab some levels of talent from anywhere); drawing upon resources that have left the work force (retirees, full time mothers) or those looking for a way to enter it (college student interns, change of career professionals) and offering them even part time opportunities as a way to cast the lure into these new ponds of talent opportunity.

Developing a joint training program with a staffing partner, especially in the technical arena, can entice professionals looking to learn a newer, hot technology, while developing the resources needed by the client.

But sometimes the best lure is the green one with Benjamin Franklin’s face right in the middle. Occasionally pay rate increases are necessary in drawing talent; but other valuable enticements can be part of any program. Signing bonuses, completion bonuses, performance and attendance rewards in monetary or goods add to levels of attracting and retaining talent. Sometimes it’s just the question of how above and beyond a company will go in creative solutions that have you catching fish out of the pond all day long.

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Aug 05

Variance Is Sometimes Necessary in Quality Recruiting

By Chase Wilson Global Talent Acquisition, Recruitment, Recruitment Process Outsourcing No Comments »

For those that know me and my penchant for process mapping, quality control, and all things compliance, the following blog may seem out of character. This all started after perusing an article from the Harvard Business Review, March 2009 titled, “When Should a Process Be Art, Not Science”.

Any Six Sigma professional likely knows that the enemy of process quality is variation and the push in any quality initiative is to work to identify variation in a process that results in waste, errors, or bottlenecks. However, the aforementioned article highlights another perspective in that there are many processes—namely recruiting and sales—that have an inherent element of “art” that cannot be ignored. Executors of the recruiting process wrestle with an effort to maintain consistency while at the same time addressing the nuances that come with the art of recruiting.

In a previous blog posting (http://www.sourceright.com/blog/?p=71 ), I espoused the advantages of a truly experienced recruiter in the recruiting process. Lately, I’ve been questioning the efforts of so much of the recruiting industry to standardize, standardize, standardize. More and more RPO providers are working towards a shared services center model with a strong push towards a standardized, commoditized approach to recruiting. The has been done to, ensure compliance, improve economies of scale, implement repeatable best practices, with the end goal guaranteeing process consistency. For some RPO solutions, this approach may suit the client’s specific talent acquisition needs very well. Analyzing the recruiting process and the many components that directly impact it, there are two key areas that should work towards standardization:

• ATS – Commonality of technology ensures a one-stop shop for compliance auditing and requisition tracking

• Measurements – While the individual targets may vary based on position complexity, the metrics themselves (e.g. time-to-fill, diversity of candidate pool, recruiting cost efficiency, etc.) should be the same

But should the methods and tools utilized for the Vice President of Product Development requisition differ from that of the next Customer Service call center class? Naturally, the techniques and avenues a recruiter exploits recruiting for these two categories drastically diverge. Even the people (i.e. recruiters, candidates, and hiring managers) involved in each example likely differ greatly in expectations, experience, and earnestness. Furthermore, the current job environment might impact each hiring category in very different ways, in turn, transforming the way a recruiter might approach each hiring challenge.

Going even more granular, every requisition has inherent nuances that an experienced recruiter will recognize and adjust to accordingly. I’m not suggesting that the process should evolve with each requisition nuance, but the critical to quality goal in most requisitions, is a quality hire in the shortest amount of time possible. An experienced recruiter knows where the process boundaries truly exist to maintain consistency, compliance, and client satisfaction while at the same time achieving that end goal.

Dartmouth Tuck School of Business professors’ Joseph M. Hall and M. Eric Johnson, who authored the article mentioned above, recommend some practical approaches to this Art versus Science dilemma in a business process. They conclude that each has important value development roles in many business processes. They specifically describe the role of art as “allowing for flexibility, creativity, and dynamism that a purely scientific approach cannot replicate.”

Future leading edge RPO best practices and processes will incorporate the strengths of both recruiting art and science and be measured by the appropriate customer (art) and process (science) focused metrics to determine future solution quality levels and success.

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Aug 02

SourceRight Advisor MSP Bulletin: Ugliest and Hottest Jobs in America

By Wendy Linden Managed Service Programs, SourceRight Advisor Bulletins, Ugliest & Hottest Jobs No Comments »

Ugliest Job in America, July 2010

This month the Ugliest Job in America would be expert level Security Engineers.

Why? Is it a market that is tapped as far as available talent/supply? No, actually, their is still quite a bit of contingent talent available and willing to go to work, even travel to smaller metropolitan areas to fulfill needs. But the need here is not for contingent talent, or at least only partially. Contract for Hire is what the client desires in a market filled with career independent contractors whose willingness to go full time is completely dependent on their willingness to give up the gravy train they make on a hourly basis and the freedom to move from project to project at will. In other words, this highly skilled and experienced talent is difficult to attract on a full time basis, especially in smaller markets that can’t offer the compensation levels they would be willing to accept.

What to do when stuck in this “rock and a hard place scenario”? The answer varies from client to client, but their has been a measureable level of success in bringing in the high level talent the way they prefer, contingent contract, for a length of time as a company simultaneously hires  more novice and intermediate talent on as contract for hire or directly full time. This lets the “contingent contract” experts impart their knowledge until all are satisfied that the new employees have gained the necessary skills and/or knowledge to perform the full time job. In this transition scenario, the career independent contractor has added value while giving them the ability to move onto the next comparatively lucrative project, while the client has potentially grown the full time talent resources they need.

Ugliest Job runners up this month:

1) Part time call center talent, for a location that is closing

2) Account Managers for Sales and Marketing 

3) User Experience Architects in a talent tapped marketplace

Hottest Job in America, July 2010

The hottest jobs in America all have something in common, they are Technical in nature, mainly IT related.

Project managers, Tech Writers, Software and Application developers are titles we continue to see a sustained and sometimes increased demand. The hottest jobs continue to be challenged in some markets, with bill rates still at recession levels while the contingent workforce in expecting pay increases. Our customers should be aware that though unemployment remain near 10% overall, white collar/knowledge worker unemployment in at 5 1/2% overall, and that it is leading to a supply squeeze in some areas. Clients willing to flex on their bill rates are grabbing the talent.

Hottest Job runners up this month:

1) All Light Industrial titles continue to see high demand

2) Recruiters

Data Source: An aggregation of SourceRight Solutions MSP client engagement activity

Definition: “Ugliest Job” category is defined as the most difficult to fill position with the “Hottest Job” category being positions with the highest demand.  A job position can be defined as both simultaneously.

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Jul 23

That will be 25 cents please….

By Wendy Linden Contingent Workforce Management, Global Talent Acquisition, Managed Service Programs, Recruitment No Comments »

In early June, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) propose a fee, tariff and/or tax on every 800 number call place in the United States that is routed to a foreign country/off shored call center. Furthermore, his proposed law would require companies to alert the consumer that the call they have placed is being routed to another country and identify the country in which the call is being transferred.

“If we want to put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs, then we need to provide incentives for American Companies to keep American jobs here,” Schumer was recently quoted in a recent AP article about the proposed transaction tax.

A lot of the buzz on this law is whether it is logical or not; how comprehensively it would be implemented; whether the intended effect of offshore call centers coming back onshore will actually occur or if the “fee” will just be passed on to consumers in the form of price increases. It seems opinion is divided across the political spectrum.

Regardless of one’s “red” or “blue” beliefs, this law may pass, or one similar down the road. Proactive planning needs to be considered with customers who offshore call/contact center/help desk business as to what action to take if/when a statute like this passes.

Clearly, there will be some increased level of staffing needed in the United States should this law pass; the labor arbitrage advantages and cost savings of off shoring will be diminished by the level of fee imposed and how companies have decided how to counter it. The effect may truly be the movement of offshore to onshore and recruitment and staffing efforts have to be prepare for that as quickly as a customer may want to flip that switch. Others have mentioned the use of a level 1 type contact center in the US, (live agent, internet chat or automation have all been mentioned) to resolve the call here first before they would move overseas to more skilled resources.

Dialogue is already happening within organizations that may be facing this call transaction fee. We have to make sure as a staffing provider and Managed Service Provider partner; we are part of those conversations and have solutions at the ready to what could be a fast changing landscape.

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May 17

Component Pricing of Contingent Labor Programs and MSPs: The Pros and Cons

By Cathy Clauss Managed Service Programs No Comments »

Managing the cost of labor is the No. 1 focus for human resource professionals in 2010. Procurement officers are under similar stress to deliver cost savings across all of their sourcing channels, including contingent labor. Add in significant increases in state unemployment taxes (SUTA) and other federally mandated taxes and you have the perfect storm, driving many companies to urgently look more closely at their contingent labor programs.

They are turning to their contingent labor suppliers and MSPs to help them address these issues. Specifically, they are looking for increased transparency regarding incremental costs. One extreme is pricing engagements that break out each component to the granular level, locking the supplier down to a cost plus price. Examples include MSP pricing for training and communication plans, staff and travel, help desk and technology fees. The staffing costs are also broken out with state by state mandatory taxes, return on SUTA caps, worker compensation rates, cost of sourcing and staffing companies’ profit margins.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to component pricing?

The Pro’s:
1. Companies can set cost savings goals on areas that are not mandatory or don’t involve fixed costs. There are strict rules on what is considered “cost savings” for contingent labor so it’s best to focus on the variable costs, as well as work with suppliers to add value and reduce costs overall.

2. Ideally, all parties can remain whole in terms of cost and profit goals. Suppliers have cost and profit goals just like customers. Build a sourcing plan that can be managed more effectively to meet profit goals on both sides of the relationship.

The Con’s:
1. MSPs and staffing companies may be limited in their ability to scale up and down to meet the changing needs of the customer engagement. While MSPs will often do their best to meet clients’ component pricing requirements, their services are typically comprehensive and it could be difficult to break them down too finely. They may deliver their value based on their ability to bundle and combine related services from shared service resources.

2. More meaningful savings opportunities, such as pay-rate management, may be overlooked. Considering that 70 to 80 percent of cost is labor, clients who seek savings across the board may not be taking advantage of the areas, such as labor pay rates, that can yield the greatest savings.

At the end of the day, the visibility garnered by deconstructing contingent labor and MSP pricing can potentially lead to some better understanding and cost-effective management of these solutions for the clients and providers involved. But the real value management opportunity lies in managing the effective usage rate levels of contingent labor itself.

Advising and assisting clients with their engagement rate levels of contingent workers will bring much bigger benefits then just fine tuning the MSP fee or auditing what is included in contingent labor rates. The starting point is more effective access to contingent labor program data and analysis that enhances the visibility of a client’s contingent labor usage trends, spend and organizational tendencies.

Providing expertise and guidance in the effective usage of contingent labor is the true and next most meaningful holy grail of cost-effective, contingent labor spend management.

Then the next step will be to enhance labor resource choices and decisions with a singular comprehensive view of an organization’s workforce options, from contingent to interns to project contractors to full-time employment solutions, etc., which will truly allow an organization to quickly enhance the cost-effective acquisition of its overall labor usage rates.

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