Readers of last week's Outsource Monthly email were treated to a unique gift when they opened their mail: a free copy of a report produced by Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) with the support of Jay Lash entitled 'A Business Case for Outsourcing the Management of Your Contingent Workforce'. As I pointed out in my intro to that email, "contingent workforce management (CWM) is very big business these days - and that's no surprise considering the scale of the savings that can be made by those adopting the model." It's not all about the savings, of course, hefty though they can be; the capabilities of today's CWM specialists are sufficiently impressive to warrant at least a second look almost at any cost. Quoting the report: "Today, managed services programs (MSP) providers are seeing an inflection point in their businesses, based in part on improvements made to the technology that automates tactical processes and functions (vendor management systems or VMS)."
It’s the attainment of that inflection point which prompted the creation of the report, on behalf of the host of potential users of these services who might currently be unfamiliar with the space, but who recognise at least the need for further investigation to see whether these solutions might be right for their businesses and, if so, what might be appropriate way forward. In its own words, “this report will strive to give buyers the knowledge needed to make a well-founded decision. Based on research and data shared by leading MSP providers and the clients they serve, a solid business case for outsourcing will be made. If buyers fit that case, the report will guide them to the next step and help them determine the right solution for their organisation. Regardless of a company’s choice, this report is designed to bring workforce sourcing options to contingent labour management professionals wrestling with this decision.”
It was my great honour to have been invited to write the foreword for this publication, and so I can’t pretend there isn’t at least a tiny degree of bias when I extol its virtues: however, those virtues would speak for themselves regardless of who authored the introduction, and I’m both happy and keen to recommend 'A Business Case for Outsourcing the Management of Your Contingent Workforce' to any Outsource readers with even the vaguest interest in this topic (while for those for whom it’s of direct relevance to their daily activities this should obviously be considered mandatory reading…).
To download your free copy, simply click here – you can send feedback to me at jliddell@sig.org , where I’d also be delighted to hear your suggestions for topics for future reports.
