Five years ago, I shared in Staffing Industry Review magazine some guidance when approaching a new client, in “Do’s and Don’ts: How a former staffing professional would approach sales.” That advice is just as relevant today. But what about after you’ve earned the buyer’s business? How should you proceed to ensure your partnership stays on solid […]
It’s my least favorite part of my daily routine: the dreaded cold calls and emails from names and domains I don’t recognize. They come in throughout the day — increasing my inbox’s unread email count from five to 73 to 198. More often than I’d care to admit, I barely read more than the first […]
You’ve received your most recent supplier scorecard from an MSP, or maybe you have just received your latest monthly/quarterly satisfaction survey results (candidate, manager, etc.), or maybe it’s that time of the year that you have asked the key stakeholder at each client to provide your firm with a Net Promoter Score — but have […]
The problem: Inability to provide a sustainable talent stream to meet your buyer’s needs.
Solution: Focus on the five W’s and the H and what you can do to help provide the value the buyer seeks.
There are thousands of staffing suppliers in the industry — around 28,000 in the US, according to the US Census Bureau […]
In 2018, the procurement department at Northwestern Mutual oversaw the entire process of managing the independent talent pipeline — from handling SOWs to vetting the contractors. As part of our refocused strategic initiatives, we chose a technology partner that enables us to manage, build out and maximize our existing talent pool. However, our independent talent […]
If recent world events have proved anything, it is the value and impact people have on an organization, and by extension, the value of the companies that help to supply those people — both temporary and permanent workers.
Personally, I defaulted to my knowledge and expertise to confront the challenges the pandemic brought to us and […]
A common misconception of many suppliers is that partnership means meeting for coffee every month or maybe weekly calls. Or maybe it’s a travel mug and a pen. Maybe we even become friends! Here is the reality: Travel mugs are great, but as a contingent workforce professional, I can’t give my hiring managers travel mugs […]
As a procurement category specialist for contingent labor, I often convince and educate program stakeholders to accomplish various goals, and the training I received early in my career prepared me well to do that.
Over my years with various contingent labor programs, I have been responsible for, or influenced, the program’s supply base. But prior to […]
With this time away from the physical office, I’ve thought a lot about the world of work and how it has changed completely overnight. It’s as if we were suddenly thrust into a world that we had only previously seen on television and all we know for certain these days is that the world as […]
I propose a new staffing model: The connected talent cloud, which I call Tier 0.5. In this model, which brings together the traditional agency search and direct sourcing, staffing agencies play a vital, bridging role by working with clients and technology partners. Why am I suggesting this?
The big picture. Companies hire workers to generate revenue. […]
