Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/124894
MSP Value-Added Staffing Leaders from procurement, HR, and the provider world offer slightly different takes. By Catherine Tooher At the recent HRO Today Forum in Dublin, a session chaired by Louise Parsons, European resourcing manager of Telefonica, explored how organisations can increase the success of their MSPs. The panel brought very different perspectives to the debate. Vincent Lattimore offered a procurement professional's insights. He leads Microsoft's international managed service programme (MSP), which covers 16 countries ("everywhere except the U.S.") and 40 staffing codes; 50 per cent of Microsoft's workforce is contingent. Peter Wareham, head of experienced hire recruitment at PWC, provided an HR leader's viewpoint. His teams deliver several thousands of temporary and contract experienced hires each year, from the administrative level to partners. Morgan Lobb, managing director of Diversity Jobs, the United Kingdom's largest accessible and inclusive careers site, works with large-scale employers to create an inclusive workplace. His guidance about how employers and suppliers can engage with a more diverse talent pool added a yet another dimension to the discussion. In Lattimore's experience, once an MSP has reached a "steady state," it is vital to guard against complacency. The best defence, he says is great communication: "There is no science to managing an MSP. What you need is clear and open lines of communication." Re-investing in internal stakeholder relationships through a strong training and communication programme is essential to refreshing the organisation's knowledge of the MSP after the implementation team has handed it over and as people move on. Giving [36] HRO TODAY GLOBAL | WINTER 2013 stakeholders as much insight as possible into "what's behind the programme curtain" can also help build wider understanding. He adds his belief that clear communication about the programme's goals and commitments is critical: "Define what you are going to do upfront, and you've a chance of success," he says, "otherwise people will form their own expectations of what you are going to achieve, and you are doomed to fail." In particular, he added, ensure that you establish a clear reporting framework with finance: misjudging their expectations can, he warns, "kill an MSP stone dead." One more thing. Constantly re-evaluating the programme will keep it relevant to the organisation's needs, he advises: "If your business strategy is evolving year on year, why aren't you?" Alignment of Objectives For Lattimore, another critical success factor is effective supplier partnerships: "Empower them to help you—ensure your objectives and their objectives are aligned," he advises. "It is not just about cost." PWC's Wareham picked up this theme as he outlined HR's perspective on working with procurement in contingent staffing programmes. Wareham's hypothesis is that MSPs are not delivering their true commercial value, but all stakeholders in the process must share responsibility for this.