Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/73199
MSP Managed relationships with preferred suppliers. Before outsourcing contractor hiring, Telefónica had many challenges with its suppliers. For one, the company didn't know how many it was using. And it was even being charged different fees from the same agencies, depending on the country. Properly managed suppliers were a must for efficiency and cost containment. Economies of scale across Europe. With a global presence in six countries across Europe, the company wanted to to get all operations on the same page. "This was a big one for us," explains Parsons. "We wanted one experience, one process for our employees, and one continuous way of working across Europe." Simple processes with single points of contact and expertise. Hiring managers needed direction. There were times, Parsons recalls, that managers would look on the Internet or call agencies themselves in order to fill a position. Not very time efficient! A team with go-to experts to provide hiring resources would reduce both time-to-fill and cost-per-hire rates. Contractor talent pools. "We see the future of our agile workforce as really being critical to how we develop, and having a contractor talent pool is critical for that," Parsons says. A pipeline of qualified and recommended workers will increase efficiency and delivery of projects. Other important deliverables, Parson notes, included identification of permanent vacancies; support and mitigation for legislative change; reduced line manager time and effort; and impressive cost savings. While the solution was clear to Parsons and her team, she still needed to earn executive buy-in. To do this, she used all of the team's research—from resourcing to finance to procurement—to develop a compelling story. But she knew that hard numbers would make a better case, and the proof would be in the pudding. The organisation ran a small trial at the U.K. office to rationalise the supplier base. The savings? More than £1 million. Finding the Right Partner With the green light from the executive committee, Parsons went on to secure a suitable partnership for Telefónica's global footprint. "For us, it was really about finding the right partner, especially after seeing the promise of this model," she says. "This was an opportunity to make a big change to our business, and we wanted to make sure to put it in a safe pair of hands." Parsons' laundry list wasn't that long. She was looking for excellent cultural fit; expertise in contract hiring; understanding of business and needs; the best value for the money; and a global reach. Other differentiators were abilities to flex and scale, ease of implementation, and in-country presence. She led the vetting processes by inviting providers to a workshop at Telefónica headquarters to help develop a common understanding of objectives. This laid it all out on the table. "Face-to-face interaction was really important in selection," she recalls. "Don't rely too much on RFP and paper process." One curve ball that the organisation was thrown was that not one single provider had a presence in every country where Telefónica had hubs. A few options were considered—choosing a partner with the largest footprint, dual partnering to split the geographies, or choosing different partners in each country. Ultimately the company selected one partner, Randstad Sourceright. The engagement is still in its infancy—only one year into the programme—but Parsons is already impressed. "A provider will want to work with you and build an understanding," she says. "Learn as much as you can from them. Our contingent labour is in touch with our customers and they impact our business in the same way as our permanent employees." SPRING 2012 | www.hroglobal.com [29]