Apr 27

More on Misclassification

By Beth Mesechoff Contingent Workforce Management Comments Off
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The Payroll Fraud Prevention Act (S.770) [PFPA], introduced April 8th, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 intended to eradicate employer misclassification of employees.  The PFPA is focused specifically on independent contractors for payroll and unemployment purposes.

If enacted, the PFPA will:

  • expand the FLSA to include independent contractors, placing their employment under DOL supervision making employers subject to audits
  • require the DOL to report any misclassifications directly to the IRS
  • institute a penalty from $1,110 to $5,000 per employee for employers caught violating payroll classifications
  • set a provision of triple damages if an employer is caught violating the minimum wage or overtime laws for misclassified employees
  • require companies to provide all employees with written notice on current policy detailing their individual status with the company
  • pierce the so-called “corporate veil” to include independent contractors with business entity types of corporation or LLC
  • establish under federal law a provision that makes it a “special prohibited act” to “wrongfully classify an employee as a non-employee” 

Consistent with the labor policy of the current administration, the PFPA is a revision of the 2010 Employee Misclassification Prevention Act bill that ended up buried in subcommittees. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are the driving force of the Act, having sponsored both the EMPA and PFPA. For the 112th Congress, the Senators polished up last year’s language adding a section that calls for the Department of Labor to establish web page explaining how the PFPA impacts the FLSA should S.770 pass.

So far, the PFPA is still under consideration, assigned to the Senate Committee on Heath, Education, Labor and Pensions. It has yet to be introduced to this session of the House and as of now, has far less sponsors than its predecessor. Stay tuned. 

For the latest info on the PFPA, check the bill’s Thomas page at the Library of Congress website.

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Apr 19

2011: The Year of Growth

By Rebecca Callahan Recruitment Comments Off
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At SourceRight Solutions, 2011 is off to a great start. We’re definitely seeing growth in certain market sectors, especially IT and financial services. More professionals have opted to become part of the contingent workforce as “free agents,” which has created a highly qualified talent pool to fulfill the uptick in exempt hiring requirements. In fact, we’re seeing an increasing trend in recruitment process outsourcing towards exempt-level hiring – a sharp contrast since historically RPO was more transactional – and now we’re being called into situations where our full range of skills and tools are being leveraged to source hard-to-find, passive candidates.

To oversee this growth, companies need to commit resources – whether internal, external or both. All of us witnessed organizations letting their recruiters go during the recent downturn. Many of our clients are now turning to us not only to help recruit but to also be part of broader strategic discussions with their hiring managers. Leveraging your MSP/RPO partner to counsel on how talent is developed and where the next wave of talent is coming from is becoming more commonplace.

Also becoming more frequent is the use of interim executives. An interim executive can fill the gaps created by winnowed-down management teams or newly created initiatives.  The interim executive can also lay the groundwork for someone within the company to assume the responsibilities. This free agent-driven “knowledge transfer” approach has enormous benefits as companies gain the benefits of senior talent – including C-level – with considerably more experience than could be brought on staff. While images of grey haired sages might come to mind, the reality is that many of these interim executives are far from retirement age and possess unique entrepreneurial skills.

There’s also a new position being created within many forward-thinking organizations: the Global Talent Acquisition Leader. These individuals are responsible for overseeing organizational talent acquisition strategy, effectiveness and spend.

In closing, we anticipate growth in improving the management of “blended” workforces across all categories of talent—full-time, part-time contingent, contract, and alumni—by using integrated infrastructure, tools, and analytics to strategically optimize the resourcing and management of talent globally.

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Jan 21

SourceRight Advisor Innovation Bulletin: Service Excellence is a Hard-Wired, Best Practice

By Cathy Clauss Contingent Workforce Management, Managed Service Programs, SourceRight Advisor Bulletins Comments Off
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Most organizations have initiatives and programs that focus on the quality of the products or services that they deliver to their clients.  This is important at multiple levels from retaining long term client relationships to cutting the general cost of operating the business.  Getting quality institutionalized in the culture of an organization produces competitive differentiation for both the provider and the buyer involved in a quality service transaction.  The question is how do you institutionalize a quality commitment in an organization’s culture?

SFN Group institutionalize quality through-out its operating culture by rolling out the “Service Excellence” quality management program.  This was accomplished through a series of tools, best practices (some compensation-related) and integrated technology to drive a high quality, service delivery culture.  Key attributes of the SFN Group Service Excellence program are the constant quality measurement of services delivered to clients and the visibility of that ongoing service performance to the client base and account management teams simultaneously.  Quality service management is embedded in the organization’s culture.

With regards to MSP industry solutions, they typically engage the service metrics and satisfaction tracking capability of the deployed VMS tool in the MSP engagement.  Hence, the comprehensiveness of the quality management program can vary across MSP programs. In order to engage a more comprehensive service quality management protocol SourceRight MSP is leveraging both the deployed VMS tool and SFN Group’s Service Excellence quality management program infrastructure.

To ensure customer, employee and supplier satisfaction, all “buyer” stakeholders within the MSP engagement will receive automated performance surveys (sent via e-mail) to gauge the success of the individual placements and their overall experience with SourceRight.  SourceRight incrementally leverages two key survey processes to create visibility of MSP program satisfaction and service levels.  The first is to leverage SFN Group’s well-established “Service Excellence” survey infrastructure to continuously collect the viewpoint of hiring managers and enterprise buyers engaging SourceRight’s MSP solutions.  The second survey infrastructure used to measure SourceRight’s MSP engagement quality is the VMS tool being used in the client’s program.  The VMS tool infrastructure is used to reach out to candidates and suppliers engaged in the client’s MSP program. 

An MSP engagement involves multiple constituents/stakeholders and each has their own wants and needs in a services management solution.  Assessing ongoing quality levels for satisfaction, service metrics and compliance are fundamental to sustaining high levels of quality in the MSP program.  But making sure all the stakeholders engaged in the MSP program have a voice on service quality levels is critical to understanding the actual value being produced and delivered. 

Results from SourceRight’s MSP team commitment to quality service delivery and hard wiring it into its operating practice can be measured by high rankings received in HRO Today and SIA industry customer satisfaction survey rankings.  As a consequence, clients view SourceRight MSP as a “trusted advisor” based on the ability to understand key business drivers and identify cost-effective solutions/improvements.  All this is facilitated by creating a comprehensive and visible service delivery baseline that all stakeholders in the MSP engagement can view, judge and leverage in delivering a high quality service experience.

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Dec 13

SourceRight Advisor MarketTrends Bulletin: Staffing Growth Forecasts Counter Slow 2011 Outlook

By Mary Anderson Contingent Workforce Management, Managed Service Programs, SourceRight Advisor Bulletins Comments Off
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According to recent press reports, the consensus view of 50 economists surveyed in the most recent Aspen Publishing’s Blue Chip Economic Indicators survey, is that gross domestic product (GDP) will rise an anemic 2.5% in 2011.  The Conference Board is less optimistic presently forecasting 2011 Real GDP at 1.7%.  At these rates of growth, pre-recession levels of unemployment will not return until sometime late in 2013 or beyond.

But even with “anemic” GDP growth prospects the staffing industry is forecasted to experience healthy market demand in the near-term.  Staffing Industry Associates is forecasting that temporary staffing revenues will grow at a range of 9% to 12% over the next few years. G. Palmer & Associates have published a 2010 fourth quarter forecast of 20.9% compared to the same period in 2009.

Part of this growth activity is beefing back up temporary workforces that were naturally flexed down during the recent recessionary period.  This was, and remains, a major competitive workforce structural benefit to those organizations that employed temporary workforce strategies to deliver their required business production.

Hence, another major element of the forecasted growth of the temporary staffing marketplace is more and more businesses are engaging temporary staff and independent contractors as they experience some growth but remain uncertain about long-term, sustainable business levels.  Meaningful full-time employment growth will not return until businesses have a more confident view of their future prospects.

Additionally, Littler Mendelson predicts that up to 50% of jobs “re-filled” after the recession will be contingent.  Further claiming that “the workplace of tomorrow will feature small, core management teams for key corporate functions such as management and strategic direction.” This will leave production and service requirements to independent contingent resource relationships and/or partnerships.

Businesses strategic leverage of temporary staffing and independent contractors is very evident in the current and near-term growth forecasts of the staffing industry.  The open questions are how permanent will this workforce restructure be, moving beyond the near-term, and how best to manage/optimize this evolving blended workforce structure?

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Sep 10

Going Global: Talent acquisition without borders…

By Rebecca Callahan Global Talent Acquisition, Managed Service Programs, Recruitment, Recruitment Process Outsourcing Comments Off
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For years, organizations seeking brand recognition, greater market share, and revenue growth have been expanding not only nationally, but globally. As this trend towards doing more business with fewer borders continues to evolve, the hunt for talent has gone global as well.

Organizations are making different hiring decisions than they’ve made in the past. Hiring talent outside the United States supports new markets, products, client bases and customer cultures. Another compelling reason for recruiting without borders: The quest to find the best and brightest employees, regardless of their geographic location.

Identifying talent and implementing appropriate recruitment practices around the world is fast becoming a key part of overall business strategy.

As a result, more and more employers are turning to “outsourcing talent acquisition providers” who can ensure the organization’s network gets bigger, as the world gets smaller.

By working with a single partner globally, the organization realizes tremendous cost savings and sourcing efficiency. If you are considering partnering with a talent acquisition partner to manage your global hiring and workforce management needs, here is what you should look for:

  • Expertise in employment laws, regulations and customs in various countries
  • Fluency in different languages
  • Sensitivity to cultural diversity 
  • Consistent processes and a common technology platform across countries
  • A single point of contact for account management
  • Local presence, with a global reach
  • Access to a wide network of skilled talent
  • A global, shared database of active and passive talent
  • Utilization of a variety of recruiting techniques
  • Strategies for filling hard-to-fill and niche positions
  • Expertise in your vertical market
  • Recruiting for full-time positions as well as temporary staffing
  • Established performance metrics and tracking

Technology and the increasing sophistication of outsourcing service providers have made it feasible for organizations to turn to a single provider for hiring needs across the planet. And that’s good news, because as business expands beyond borders, the war for talent has gone global too.

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Sep 06

SourceRight Advisor MarketTrends Bulletin: Significant Increase in Light Industrial Staffing Spend

By Wendy Linden Contingent Workforce Management, Managed Service Programs, Recruitment, SourceRight Advisor Bulletins Comments Off
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Our most recent top MarketTrend: The significant market increase in Light Industrial staffing spend. SFN Group itself saw a 40% increase in this staffing segment in Q2 2010, with some direct competitors in this segment saw even more of an increase. Consequently, this increase demand is also causing some significant increases in average bill rates for specific sectors of the Light Industrial staffing marketplace. Why?  

Bill Ravenscroft, Director, Strategic Accounts for SFN Group, shares some important ground level insight:

 ”To weather the storm in 2009, we saw the retail and technology sectors reduce their on-hand inventory & full time staffing levels to the lowest in decades.  Unfortunately, there were not a lot of increases in supply chain productivity and efficiency during the economic downturn that could sustain any quick turnaround surge in demand.  As a result, when demand in these market sectors increased significantly in late Q1 2010, companies steadily increased their inventory levels in response; however, they were not comfortable in corespondingly adding full time staff.  This means the increased ratio of temporary to full time employee in light industrial staffing will likely remain in place with some small ebb & flow throughout the economic recovery well into Q2 or even Q3 of 2011.”

Some other trends picking up steam:

1) Tweets by companies seeking employees on their open jobs.

2) The surge in the use of “Quality of Fill” Metric in both contingent and full time analysis..…the quality of the hire analysis.

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Aug 16

The pond is only so big…….

By Wendy Linden Contingent Workforce Management, Managed Service Programs, Recruitment Comments Off
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As we compiled this past month’s ugliest and hottest jobs data, from across our clients’ market experiences, a theme began to repeat itself. In multiple places, supply could not meet demand but in very different types of locations. As dissimilar as the customers were in these various locations, and the talent needed, (for example, one being high level IT in Silicon Valley and one being short term call center talent in rural North Carolina), the question was the same, ……

……..What can be done to find more talent in a challenged, talent marketplace?

The first call to action/reaction in these situations is to bring in more suppliers to deliver the sort-after talent. Its not a bad strategy, but it is a short sighted one. Additional, new suppliers will in assence drive their recruiting engines at the same talent pool that existing suppliers are already focused on.  A few more fishing poles in the pond doesn’t necessarily guarantee a bigger catch of the day.

So what’s the answer?

You have the have the best fishing lure in the pond, and the ability and willingness to cast far and wide to other types of pools of talent in the locale.

The client examples mentioned above couldn’t be more different. The high cost of living in Silicon Valley coupled with a long recession saw local talent forced to relocate to more affordable areas of the state and country. As the demand of Silicon Valley companies for IT and Engineering talent started to uptick, the required talent supply to draw upon wasn’t available locally in the same numbers.  In North Carolina, locale played a part; so did the prospect of the call center moving from the area. Low pay wage and stringent background and credit checks were also responsible for shrinking the available talent pool greatly.

Talent challenges like these need to have companies and the staffing program partners employ creative strategies of attracting contingent talent in the same manner they would go to employ their full time staff. Flex time, virtual opportunities (technology enables us to grab some levels of talent from anywhere); drawing upon resources that have left the work force (retirees, full time mothers) or those looking for a way to enter it (college student interns, change of career professionals) and offering them even part time opportunities as a way to cast the lure into these new ponds of talent opportunity.

Developing a joint training program with a staffing partner, especially in the technical arena, can entice professionals looking to learn a newer, hot technology, while developing the resources needed by the client.

But sometimes the best lure is the green one with Benjamin Franklin’s face right in the middle. Occasionally pay rate increases are necessary in drawing talent; but other valuable enticements can be part of any program. Signing bonuses, completion bonuses, performance and attendance rewards in monetary or goods add to levels of attracting and retaining talent. Sometimes it’s just the question of how above and beyond a company will go in creative solutions that have you catching fish out of the pond all day long.

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Aug 02

SourceRight Advisor MSP Bulletin: Ugliest and Hottest Jobs in America

By Wendy Linden Managed Service Programs, SourceRight Advisor Bulletins, Ugliest & Hottest Jobs Comments Off
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Ugliest Job in America, July 2010

This month the Ugliest Job in America would be expert level Security Engineers.

Why? Is it a market that is tapped as far as available talent/supply? No, actually, their is still quite a bit of contingent talent available and willing to go to work, even travel to smaller metropolitan areas to fulfill needs. But the need here is not for contingent talent, or at least only partially. Contract for Hire is what the client desires in a market filled with career independent contractors whose willingness to go full time is completely dependent on their willingness to give up the gravy train they make on a hourly basis and the freedom to move from project to project at will. In other words, this highly skilled and experienced talent is difficult to attract on a full time basis, especially in smaller markets that can’t offer the compensation levels they would be willing to accept.

What to do when stuck in this “rock and a hard place scenario”? The answer varies from client to client, but their has been a measureable level of success in bringing in the high level talent the way they prefer, contingent contract, for a length of time as a company simultaneously hires  more novice and intermediate talent on as contract for hire or directly full time. This lets the “contingent contract” experts impart their knowledge until all are satisfied that the new employees have gained the necessary skills and/or knowledge to perform the full time job. In this transition scenario, the career independent contractor has added value while giving them the ability to move onto the next comparatively lucrative project, while the client has potentially grown the full time talent resources they need.

Ugliest Job runners up this month:

1) Part time call center talent, for a location that is closing

2) Account Managers for Sales and Marketing 

3) User Experience Architects in a talent tapped marketplace

Hottest Job in America, July 2010

The hottest jobs in America all have something in common, they are Technical in nature, mainly IT related.

Project managers, Tech Writers, Software and Application developers are titles we continue to see a sustained and sometimes increased demand. The hottest jobs continue to be challenged in some markets, with bill rates still at recession levels while the contingent workforce in expecting pay increases. Our customers should be aware that though unemployment remain near 10% overall, white collar/knowledge worker unemployment in at 5 1/2% overall, and that it is leading to a supply squeeze in some areas. Clients willing to flex on their bill rates are grabbing the talent.

Hottest Job runners up this month:

1) All Light Industrial titles continue to see high demand

2) Recruiters

Data Source: An aggregation of SourceRight Solutions MSP client engagement activity

Definition: “Ugliest Job” category is defined as the most difficult to fill position with the “Hottest Job” category being positions with the highest demand.  A job position can be defined as both simultaneously.

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Jul 23

That will be 25 cents please….

By Wendy Linden Contingent Workforce Management, Global Talent Acquisition, Managed Service Programs, Recruitment Comments Off
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In early June, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) propose a fee, tariff and/or tax on every 800 number call place in the United States that is routed to a foreign country/off shored call center. Furthermore, his proposed law would require companies to alert the consumer that the call they have placed is being routed to another country and identify the country in which the call is being transferred.

“If we want to put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs, then we need to provide incentives for American Companies to keep American jobs here,” Schumer was recently quoted in a recent AP article about the proposed transaction tax.

A lot of the buzz on this law is whether it is logical or not; how comprehensively it would be implemented; whether the intended effect of offshore call centers coming back onshore will actually occur or if the “fee” will just be passed on to consumers in the form of price increases. It seems opinion is divided across the political spectrum.

Regardless of one’s “red” or “blue” beliefs, this law may pass, or one similar down the road. Proactive planning needs to be considered with customers who offshore call/contact center/help desk business as to what action to take if/when a statute like this passes.

Clearly, there will be some increased level of staffing needed in the United States should this law pass; the labor arbitrage advantages and cost savings of off shoring will be diminished by the level of fee imposed and how companies have decided how to counter it. The effect may truly be the movement of offshore to onshore and recruitment and staffing efforts have to be prepare for that as quickly as a customer may want to flip that switch. Others have mentioned the use of a level 1 type contact center in the US, (live agent, internet chat or automation have all been mentioned) to resolve the call here first before they would move overseas to more skilled resources.

Dialogue is already happening within organizations that may be facing this call transaction fee. We have to make sure as a staffing provider and Managed Service Provider partner; we are part of those conversations and have solutions at the ready to what could be a fast changing landscape.

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Jul 23

SourceRight Solutions in the News…with SourcingEdge and SourceRight Advisor

By Rebecca Callahan Contingent Workforce Management, Global Talent Acquisition, Managed Service Programs, Recruitment, Recruitment Process Outsourcing Comments Off
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As organizations are becoming more sophisticated in sourcing talent and demanding better results from their sourcing strategies, SourceRight Solutions is reinforcing their commitment to providing workforce management innovations by offering greater transparency on contingent workforce trends and providing an exclusive edge in a highly competitive environment. 

SourceRight, recently announced the launch of SourcingEdge, a proprietary candidate sourcing methodology that is designed to help talent acquisition outsourcing clients gain a competitive edge in identifying the best and brightest talent from active and passive candidate pools. The SourcingEdge Career Networking Hub provides clients with rich talent pools; gives candidate access to thousands of job opportunities; provides career resources to aid in career searches; among other advantages.

SourceRight has also launched SourceRight Advisor for talent acquisition programs, a workforce analytics and thought leadership solution that draws on the company’s experience, aggregate business information, knowledge and scale to help businesses develop better-informed strategies to optimize their services and workforce management spend.  SourceRight advisor will deliver specialized expertise and guidance including policy, compliance, change management, market intelligence and supplier relations.

The launch of SourcingEdge and SourceRight Advisor is the next phase of the company’s commitment to continuously revolutionizing recruitment strategies and services for today’s emerging workforce population.

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