6 smart strategies for leveraging technology to optimise your non-permanent workforce

Our recent roundtable discussion covered how technology can be leveraged to help optimise your non-permanent workforce. 

From AI to the evolving role of MSPs, and the importance of presenting a unified business case for tech change within your organisation, here are our 6 key takeaways:

1. AI: A Game-Changer Across the Talent Lifecycle

AI is actively streamlining sourcing and delivery processes, offering opportunities to enhance efficiency and precision. Its adoption, however, has proven much easier within Contingent Workforce Solutions (CWS) compared to permanent hiring scenarios.

AI should and is being deployed in contracting, writing Statements of Work (SoW), defining milestones, and managing supplier performance.

Possible resistance, stemming from job insecurity and uncertainty about AI's role, was acknowledged. Participants agreed that addressing this resistance through change management and clear communication is essential.

2. Future of MSP and Workforce Ownership

The ownership of non-permanent workforces remains blurred, with Procurement traditionally owning Services Procurement/SoW while HR increasingly seeks visibility and influence in this domain.

Unified governance, combining input from HR, Procurement, and Finance, was seen as the solution to enforcing meaningful change.

3. Vendor Management Systems (VMS): Opportunities and Challenges

Smaller businesses often face difficulties with VMS implementation due to the complexities of vendor relationships and lack of accountability for results. While larger solutions offer robust governance, start-ups can be a cost-effective first step away from basic spreadsheets.

The importance of identifying a strong tech owner and fostering real accountability emerged as critical to successful VMS management.

It was agreed that despite impressive demos, many VMS platform implementations and adoption falter in real-world scenarios without the right partner to ensure success.

4. Technology Maturity and Incremental Change

Discussions on the technology maturity model revealed variations among businesses. Most participants identified themselves at levels 1 and 2.

Over-reliance on incremental change was flagged as a potential risk, leading to inconsistencies and complexity, a strategic partner is vital to help businesses navigate this.

5. Building a Robust Business Case

CFO alignment and early Finance involvement are critical when it comes to obtaining buy-in for technology change and implementation. Market insights and ROI analysis can further strengthen the case for investment.

Being clear on the key business drivers for the change, the benefits it will enable and the roadmap to implementation are all crucial factors to consider. Improvement in the time-to-hire metric may be a component along with an emphasis on achieving “more for less”, enhancing efficiency Linking strategic objectives to measurable outcomes will also foster stakeholder support.

6. AI-Powered Tools and the Road Ahead

Generative AI was recognised as a powerful ally in reducing the time-intensive burden of administrative tasks. Many VMS providers are releasing tools, supplementing their platforms such as SAP Fieldglass Joule which assist in:

• Automating the creation of business cases, significantly minimizing the manual effort required from managers.
• Generating standardised documents such as Job Descriptions (JDs) with precision and speed, allowing HR teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than repetitive tasks.

This ability to simplify routine processes is not only streamlining operations but also creating opportunities to redirect human talent towards more value-adding activities. In addition, tools that support with the visibility of the total work force are increasingly popular for key hiring approaches such as skills-based hiring and determining the best route to market, empowering organisations to align talent strategies with business goals effectively.

The next roundtable in our series will be held in May 2025. You can also read our last article in this series, 6 smart strategies for reducing costs through your non-permanent workforce here.