Name: Breaking Down Silos: Effectively Incorporating Contingent Workers Into Your Total Talent Acquisition Strategy
Uploaded: 2025-07-15T10:30:08.669Z
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Description: Breaking Down Silos: Effectively Incorporating Contingent Workers Into Your Total Talent Acquisition Strategy

Transcript for "Breaking Down Silos: Effectively Incorporating Contingent Workers Into Your Total Talent Acquisition Strategy": Just gonna give everyone another thirty seconds or so to join us, then we will get, onward today's looking forward with the web based session. Okay. So I can see the, the participants creeping up. So, we're gonna have to go ahead and get started. So good morning, everybody. Welcome to today's, looking forward with workday session. And today, we're gonna be talking about, effectively incorporating contingent workers into your total time acquisition strategy. And that is a mouthful before your first cup of coffee of the day. Today, you have myself, Sammi Hartland. So I am, one of the principal partner account managers here at Workday. I specialize generally in the Findlay products that we've got. And today, I am joined by Frank Van Bussel, who is from one of our, excellent partners from Randstad Enterprise Enterprise, and he is head of service design for MSP. Randstad Enterprise is a partner who, supports us in many different avenues in terms of MSP support, also in deployment support. So hopefully, you'll get to learn a little bit more about them as we continue through today's presentation. Now it wouldn't be a Workday presentation without a product statement. So, during today's session, a little bit towards the end, I will talk a little bit about, some of the AI functionality that we've got coming through for Findlay. As with all future road map items, you know, this is subject to change, so please make any purchasing decisions based on the services, features, and functions that are currently available. A little bit of admin for us all. So this session will be recorded. You will receive a copy, within the next twenty four hours. There is a q and a section on the right hand side, so if you've got any questions, please feel free to submit those into the q and a. If we can get to them during the session today, we will answer them live. If not, we'll make sure we get those answers to you after the session. Right at the end of the session, there will also be a a survey for you to complete. I promise it's thirty seconds max. If you could share your thoughts with us at the end of the event so that we can, you know, review how we're doing these sessions and improve them for you, please do so. On that right hand side as well, you will also find there is a document section. So there's gonna be some documents that we reference and also that we've pulled some stats from, throughout the presentation today. You can go directly to these documents and put them and have a further read if it's a topic that is of interest to you and like the good stuff. So today, we're gonna be talking about, our contingent labor and mapping it into your talent acquisition strategy. So to start with, we're gonna make sure everyone's aligned with what total workforce management is. Then we're gonna have a look at some market trends, what's going on in the industry, what are we seeing, you know, happening. Then we're gonna look at what's the value. Like, why would you why would you take this route of pulling in your contingent labor into your, total workforce, and then some practical guidance and some tips. So when we think of, you know, bringing our contingent labor into our workforce, it's actually a a much more strategic, much bigger topic, isn't it? That total talent acquisition, total talent management. So it's really important for us to start understanding what is that, what does that mean. So total workforce management is, an organizational approach to planning, executing, and analyzing based on your entire workforce. So that includes your employees. It includes your consultants, your freelancers. It can go as far as kind of looking at those outsourced services as well. So if you've got cleaners that come in, those kind of things, that's all gonna be included. And then as we look forward, we look into the future, we also anticipate that all of our digital agents, our digital workers are also gonna become part of that broader workforce. So as they, you know, start to work alongside all the individuals and the people that are doing those jobs, taking on those tasks, that's also a consideration, something that you need to take into account. So when we look at that plan, execute, and analyze, what does that really mean? So for planning, that's looking at your total headcount, the required skills, and the workforce spend that you need in order to run your business. And that's across all of those work types that we just referenced. Our research shows us that organizations often don't account for up to 70% of their extended workforce in budgeting, planning, and forecasting activities. So if you think of what that means to your overall business when you're looking at profitability, if you haven't factored those in, that's gonna take that's gonna be a huge impact. Then we look at executing. So that's where we look at our integrated time acquisition strategies, our workforce management tools, and all those people related processes. How do you actually get somebody, you know, from that requisition to onboard in doing that work for you? Again, it has to be designed with all of that talent and that entire workforce in mind. And then analyzing. So through pulling the data that's related to all of those activities for all of those skill sets and all of those different worker kinds, you'll be able to make more confident decision making because you're gonna have that really comprehensive insights and analytics across all those work categories. And by adopting that work total workforce approach, organizations can optimize their talent strategy and adapt faster to the changing business requirements and improve operational efficiency. So we are seeing more and more organizations really want to look through that lens of total workforce management. And today, we are gonna talk about all of the execute pillars. And when we think about the execute pillar, it's really about total journey that we have from that kind of sourcing time, identifying that there's a need, all the way through that could that career, that journey into that retirement or that off boarding stage right at the end. That talent acquisitions piece, which is that source piece right at the bottom, that's where we're gonna look at how we fold that contingent worker into the talent strategies to ensure that you're looking at all of your options. And now I'm gonna bring in my trusty pal to start, bringing a different voice to the session. So, Frank, let's start by talking about what's going on in the market. Can you tell us a little bit about what you're seeing, across the contingent workforce space and talent acquisition? Yep. Happy to, Sammi. So hi, everyone. My name is, Frank van Bussel. So Sammi already introduced me. My role within the Randstad Enterprise is really look at, our MSP services. So how do we manage our external workforce for, for our clients? And therefore, also speak to a lot of clients on a on a daily basis and happy therefore also to give my my perspective today. Yeah. Well, if we look at what's happening in the, in the tenant landscape, what we are seeing is that it continues to be quite chaotic. And if we zoom out a bit further, if you also look at the macroeconomic environment that we're currently in, we still see that there's rapid fluctuations, in, in talent demand. Also, with all the technology changes that we're currently going through, we also see that there's quite a mismatch when it comes to skills that are needed by, by our clients. But it's not only the demand side where we see changes. We also see on the supply side, quite some changes. We see that top talent, not by definition, wants to be employed anymore. So we really see the rise of freelancers in our external workforce programs as well. And, with that, there's therefore a real focus both from supply and demand side on the external workforce. And we're seeing that, external workforce programs are gaining an importance. We need to deal with all of that agility that is that is needed by our clients. So oh, go ahead, Sammi. I was gonna say, so I feel like chaos is a, rather a brilliant word to to describe where we're at right now. And I think you're absolutely right with the changes in the technology, but also the changes in the behavior of the workers and the skills that we're wanting to engage, but also that the kind of looking forward in the AI piece and looking at the agents and the different skills that the the workforce need to have in order to work alongside those. We are in that just that state of kind of, like, flux at the moment where so much is changing, that it's, again, it's kind of looking at how do we get our get our arms around as much of this as we can so that we can help kind of build that direction so the organization kind of know how to take that next step, altogether. Definitely. And that's also where we're seeing that, more is being asked of external workforce programs. So where it used to be always around, managing agency workers, we're now seeing independent contractors, statement of work spend really coming in. So, also, the spend that is, that is that is the external workforce is also, changing in its composition or it's not really changing. The way that it's managed is changing. Yeah. Love that. Okay. For those people that maybe haven't thought about contingent workers as part of their talent strategy or perhaps they're much earlier on in their journey and just kind of exploring what that looks like, it might be useful for us to look at why an organization should fold this work and type into the talent strategy. And I think we briefly just touched on a little bit of this there. But, Frank, could you cover why companies should be thinking about this and what they can, what they can gain by bringing the contingent workers into their talent acquisition strategy? Yeah. Happy to. So especially the the stats that you've, just seen, I think are really driving that focus on agility and adaptability. So making sure that the external workforce is really a driver for the agility for your company and making sure that, you can move with the tides, and so to say. And, also, if you look at skill shortages that are coming up, the external workforce will be gained much will gain much more prominence, in that, in in that world as well. So, also when it comes to, I take for instance, worker preferences that we discussed, it's no longer about, always being employed, but it's also not always being on-site, for instance, and working remotely. So we're seeing that there, really is sort of a difference in, in how people want to work. And, also, and I really like the last point that you see on this slide here as well is the decision making process around your workforce. So we're seeing that, more and more companies are really asking themselves, how does actually how does work actually get done within my company, and how do I facilitate my end users to get the work done? So also questions like, what's the optimal mix between employees, agency workers, freelancers, project based workers, and also what does that mean, for instance, for my location strategy. So it's really not only looking at your internal workforce, but really taking a holistic view on your full workforce, and that includes your external workforce. Yeah. And I think not just the workforce today. Right? It's planning about workforce for tomorrow as well. So what are the the, the activities that are going on with your business that you're using to kind of drive back to your end customers, and how does your workforce need to adapt in order to get there. Right? So it's not just about what's on-site today. It's all about how do we do we move, do we move the organization forward. So we are gonna do a little bit of a poll now. So everybody on the line, there will be a poll coming up on, on screen very, very shortly. I hope. My, wizard's behind the scenes. Oh, beautiful. And it works. So our question to you today is, what is the biggest challenge you anticipate in bringing contingent workers into your talent acquisition strategy. So if you can go ahead onto your screen and vote for us. So we have lack of ownership of the contingent workforce program, program resourcing or lack of internal expertise, organizational change management challenges, or siloed core technology infrastructure. Let's see what we're getting there. Okay. So currently in the lead, we have lack of ownership of the contingent workforce program. Nice. And then we're, closely behind organizational change management challenges and the siloed systems. Fantastic. Okay. Well, thank you everyone for voting on that. I think that very luckily, you'll be pleased to know that for all of these different, answers, we have got some talking points around them today. So we're gonna go into a a level deeper, for each of those topics so you can get an understanding, you know, how you might overcome some of those, those challenges that you're that you're foreseeing today to help you get to, the next stage of bringing in your contingent like virtual total time acquisition strategy. And now if I can go back to my slip oh, just like that, the technology doesn't make it happen. I love that. Okay. So, I'm conscious that there's probably some people on the line today that have not looked at the contingent workers as as talent in that sense. There's really been kind of, like, a part of the organization in that way. They might not know some of the nuances. So, Paramet, let's just quickly talk about before we head into the, the five topics online, can you give everyone a sense of what the high level difference is between hiring an FTE versus hiring a a or contracting with a contingent worker? Yep. Happy to. So I think there's, there's different angles to take to that, but in principle, it always comes down to, how did the work actually get done and what is the work that needs to get done. And I think defining that and really, ensuring that you take time also with the business to ensure that you're all on the same page there is an is a very first important step. If you look at different elements, I think one of the the obvious one, of course, is is the work temporary. Yes or no? But, what we're seeing with, our more, advanced clients, within our portfolio is that they're also looking at, for instance, things like, is the project is it confidential, the work? What type of skills do we need? And are those skills, only temporary, or do we will we also need those skills in the future? How do we, do we already have a good project description? Do we know what the end or the start date is? So besides only looking at is it the work temporary as or no, it's also around what is the nature of the, of the work that needs to get done and what's also the best location to get that, to get that work done. Another important angle that you can take, of course, is the, is a compliance, a compliance angle. And with compliance, I mean, both sort of compliance to legislation, but also compliance to internal company policy. So with legislation, you can think about how do I actually work with a freelancer, for instance, and how do I ensure that freelancer is kept at arm's length? But also, how do we as a company how have we agreed that work gets done, and how can we also ensure that we follow that policy and enable the business, to find the right sourcing channels? Yeah. I think that's a really good point. And when we look at the compliance around, kind of contracting with contingent labor and kind of, like, external workforce, it's ever changing. Like, it doesn't stay stagnant. So there's lots of case law that comes out, lots of situations that organizations find themselves that, create this change in the way that we work with people. Right? And I think when we look at kind of outsourced services like having an MSP or, you know, a tenant acquisition team. It's being at the forefront of those changes so that as they happen, like, you can map them into into the processes and the things that you have, and that that becomes really critical to the risk reduction for the organization. Right? So, definitely, we understand it's not easy. Right? When we talk about just bring your contingent labels into this talent acquisition strategy, it's not the easiest thing in the world, but there are absolutely things that we can do to help organizations get there. Yeah. And I will touch upon change management a bit later, but it's also need how do you then, change the the behavior of your hiring managers that may have been have been working with some suppliers for years and years, and, how do you get them on the journey to, to optimize the way that they get their work done? Yeah. You're absolutely right. Okay. Let's start with, talking through program ownerships. This is actually the top poll response when, we just did that poll. So, understanding who actually owns the contingent workforce program often comes up as a challenge as we know. And without that clear understanding of who owns it, it's really difficult to understand who's taking the lead, who do you need to collaborate with, who are your roadblock is gonna be, and how do you overcome them. Could you talk through program ownership and the importance of clear ownership? Or maybe some recommendations you have on kind of where that should sit would be would be great. Yeah. Happy to. I think if we look at, advanced clients that we have in our portfolio and and and successful external workforce programs that we have running, I think it's very clear that, you at least need to have procurement at the table and also talent acquisition slash HR. I think both are extremely important, to make your program successful. On one side, of course, you're spending a lot of money on your external workforce, so you need to make sure that procurement is at the table to think about cost optimization to ensure the right suppliers are engaged, and really determining strategies around that together, with, with the program team. And at the same time, you also need to make sure that, it we're talking about talent. Right? And especially if you see the the movements in talent and how also the external workforce, really becomes part of your talent ecosystem, you need to have talent acquisition and HR at the table. And I think interestingly enough, and we've put some stats on on this slide here that are from staffing industry analysts, that for the first time last year, they found that, human resources is owning, these programs, more often than procurement is. So, also, there, we see quite a shift in, the questions that we when we run an external workforce program, the questions that we are asked. So we're talking much more around, workforce planning, around access to talent, and things like time to fill. So if you ask me and see how can what is a successful program and what, and who actually sits at the table, it's really both in my, in my opinion. Yeah. I love that. And I I agree that you've got procurement there because it it can be such an enormous portion of spend, especially when you know what it is. Right? When you've got that visibility as to who all that external workforce is, it it's a huge portion of spend at the organization. But on the flip side, we're not procuring pencils. Right? We're we're it's human beings that we're that we're working with. So having that kind of people touching from the from the HR side, I think, is really, really critical. And I think if I look back on kind of my my experience in the industry, when I first joined it, it was very much cost savings driven. Like, how are you gonna drive these costs down for me? As we've evolved to more of that HR side, you're absolutely right. It's what skills do I need? How is the work gonna get done? How are we treating these people? It's really been a very interesting evolution, and I think you're absolutely right. In order to be successful, it has to be maybe not owned by both because I think that could cause friction, but both need to have a voice in in what that looks like. Right? So, yeah, I I love that. Again, it's not an answer. It should be HR or it should be procurement. It's really one of those topics where both need to have a seat at the table and agree on what the strategy in the move forward is. Yep. And I think also the the natural tension that sometimes sits behind the two of between the two, also really helps with evolving programs and really pushes programs forward to have the right discussion also within the company and within within a business to make sure the right decision and the right strategy is actually being set. Yeah. I agree. Love that. Okay. Next up, we're gonna talk about executive buy in. So, now that we kind of know who owns it or who should own it or who should be at the table, let's say, it's then how do we connect that kind of that permanent and that contingent workforce strategy under under one's total time acquisition strategy, which is what we're really driving to. We're gonna need executives at that very highest level to to help build and drive that strategy. Can you give us some guidance on who those key executives might be, and maybe how it's best to engage them and approach them and start those discussions? Yeah. Yeah. On the, HR side or the people side, I really think it's the chief HR or the chief people officer. I think that's a a key person to have on board and to also really underline the fact that talent is not only on the payroll. It's also, engaged via suppliers. It might be independent contractors that are coming in and out. So really looking at your workforce holistically and also making sure that the tone at the top is also, in accordance to that. So having your chief people officer or your chief HRO on board, I think, is crucial to be successful in running a successful, contingent workforce program. On the procurement side, because I I do think it's important to have both at the table, what you naturally see is that the chief procurement officer or an a CFO, if that's a if that's a reporting lineup, will be naturally interested in probably one of the biggest indirect expense categories, contingent labor. But there, of course, it's important to, to your point, making sure that they realize that you're not just procuring rentals, but actually procuring talents that you need to keep and that you also and you want to make sure that you can get that you keep access having access to the best talent that there is available in the market. So also there, I think your chief procurement officer is key, to really underline the vision of, of total talent acquisition strategies. Yeah. I think the other one that I might add in there is also well, a couple actually. So, like, your CFO and your CIO as well. So if we look at, if we look at the more tactical side of it, your CFO is gonna gonna wanna know that the the the invoicing and all the the the money side of the activities behind that huge bucket of spend, is being done in an efficient way. And when we look at things like, how they're bringing on agents in order to process some of those those invoices, like, it's the millions of pounds that are spent on contingent labor. So how do we make sure that, you know, there's a way that we can drive that efficiency throughout the business? And then one of the CFO is almost at the end of the process, and then you've got your EIA. Like, what technologies are you using in order to drive that? And I know we'll touch on that a lot of bit on the technology ecosystem, but I do think it's almost like this holistic c suite discussion and agreement on how we're gonna manage all people that touch our business and how does that then funnel down. So, yeah, I think it's definitely a c suite discussion, and then they can help kind of bring it down. Right? Definitely. So access to expertise. So, something that companies could struggle with when they start looking at, kind of bringing everyone under one hat, let's say, is getting the functional buy in and and the resourcing to really do this effectively because let's be honest, these processes don't run themselves. There has to be there has to be people or technology in place to help. So the majority of companies will likely already kind of have a a process in place about of that FTE hiring. So let's talk about what the options are and how we might look at that on the contingency space. So when I think about it, we've kind of got these two different approaches. Right? We've got this, running it in house, so that might be sometimes we refer to as a PMO, so the program management office. But they everyone takes it in house. You run that almost alongside your FTE process, within time acquisition acquisition. So kind of what are the key roles, and expertise you'd need there? But then also and I know you know this space the best. Right? It's the MSP space and the outsourcing. So, how do we engage with MSPs? You know, what what is an MSP for maybe those that don't know what that is? And and what's the value that you guys bring them on the difference between kind of putting that in house? That was many questions, but I know you'll be able to absorb it and Oh, yeah. It it will not surprise you that I'm in favor of utilizing an MSP, an external, outsource partner that will help you do all this. But I'll give you some insights in, in why I think that is. And, and if you wanna do it in house, what's that important to do it successfully? So, I think what an, an external partner, like, on top enterprise source right can bring in, is external expertise. So, we keep looking at the market, and we keep working, with, with partners like like Workday and Vintly to really see what's out there and making sure that we incorporate the latest and greatest into our programs. What I also what I said in the beginning as well, we're seeing that our, the the spend on the management or the the talent that sits in these programs is also getting more diverse if you look at their where they source from. So from agency workers to independent contractors to, project based SOW workers, and that complexity and also the change in compliance that come with that, an external partner, will be on that and making sure that, there's compliance there. So I think that external voice is very important to get to get into your program, making sure that you are aware of what's, what's happening in the market. I think, secondly, the upside of bringing in an external partner is, that you have somebody to keep accountable, and that partner will also keep you accountable. So that means that there is, a focus on the program, that there are spotlights on the program, that there's a standard governance that come with that that's not only driven internally but also by an external partner. And I think that really helps in, driving the importance of your external workforce, and making sure you keep, you keep innovating and, making sure there's attention to the program. Because that's, I think, the downside if you do it in house. So that's a very important, I think a big risk if you do it in house is that, you turn into an administrative office, that doesn't really look for, indeed, what's the latest and the greatest out there. So if you do organize it internally, I would say make sure you get that external advice and that you keep yourself, educated on what's happening, both on a legislative perspective, but also on a technology, perspective, and making sure that you have an a very clearly set governance and very good executive, engagement, into running your external workforce program. Yeah. And I think one of the one of the things people the organizations can fall into is maybe hiring somebody who's had an outsourced experience. Right? So maybe they've previously worked for an MSP and, no one's gonna hire them, which is great because they do. They bring that, you know, that expertise in house. But then it's how do you, future proof that because what you don't want is your program to fall down because that one individual who kind of knew the space really well has has gone. So how do you kind of make sure that if you are engaging maybe a one off off person who's gonna come in with that expertise that you're using your time with them, however long or short that may be, to really educate the rest of the organization? And then, I also completely agree about when you bring it in high, sometimes it can just become very tactical, like, and you haven't got the people out there, you know, going to all of the conferences and understanding what everyone else is doing. And, one of the beautiful things about NMS Pay is they can do kind of an apples to apples, comparison. Like, hey. There's this really big pharma organization over here that's doing this, and another really big pharma organization that's doing this. Actually, both work really well. What would what would happen if we kind of took some best practices from others and really just created this best in class? You've really got that kind of information, that collateral, that context, I suppose, is probably the best word, to really drive to that what does good look like. Like, you've got, you've got that North Star vision. So, yeah, I think, yeah, I think when we look at kind of gen one and gen two, so it stays on the line, gen one is kind of maybe you were working on an Excel spreadsheet, and now you're looking at bringing in a technology for the first time with maybe an MSP versus a gen two who maybe has done a little bit more work as previous engaged experts. I think gen one is definitely for me where you should be looking at outsourcing. It's enabling you to kind of, like, level set that, this is what we need to do in order to move forward. This is, this is how we bring our organization on that journey of, like, bringing that total talent under underneath one one hat. Yes. I couldn't have said it better my I couldn't have said it better myself, Sammi. Okay. So next up. And this is one of my favorite topics, so I'm looking forward to talking to you about this. So change management. Regardless of what change you're making, it's always a challenge, but it's really, really important to get it right, right, especially when it's kind of tied to this big strategic, initiative that we're gonna look at around total talent acquisition strategy. When we look at organizations when they're trying to fold back the contingent labor into their talent acquisition strategy, how should they be thinking about change management? Maybe what are some of the pitfalls and and some of the things that, they should be thinking about? Yeah. I think if you, I think when it comes to change management, and and we all notice, change change is inevitable, but also change fatigue is is a real thing. So, it's constantly happening within organizations, and I think sometimes employees really struggle to, to keep up with all the change. So in order to manage all this and especially when you're implementing an, an external workforce program, you need to make sure that you are very clear what conflicting projects or initiative, might be there. And also that you're really working towards a unified North Star. So and you do that by ensuring that your c suite or executive leaders really underlying the vision and can help you also in the in the communication. And also really tying it back not only to, only the external workforce as is, but really linking it back to, what's the business strategy? Where do we wanna go? And how is the external workforce supporting that business strategy in driving our company forward? So I think those are some of the the key things for me. I think we have a bit of a and depressing statistic also on the next slide. Yeah. Yeah. That it's, it is it is tough. But I also know this is a a topic close to your heart, Sammi. Yeah. Absolutely. So, 34% is just truly is like an awful statistic, isn't it? We set out with these grand plans as to how we're gonna change our organization and change our business, and, then we get down to the people that are doing the do, and, it fails. And that that's the reality. Right? So, what do we do to to to increase that statistic now? We've been doing change all of our lives. Like, we should we should have got better at this. Right? We should have got better to adapting at the reality is I would say that change is now even more inevitable than it ever has been, and we are looking at change monthly, daily, weekly at this point, not not kind of like, hey. There's a huge organizational strategy change every two years. It's it really is consistent now. And when we talk about that change fatigue, how much change can someone absorb at any one time? You know? And how many emails are we sending people out that go, hey. As of Monday, you need to do this this way. As of Tuesday, this is what this is gonna be, and you need to reach out to someone different. And also, Wednesday, you know, that's a lot for somebody whose job is not to, you know, look at all the changing activities they have within that. You know? They could be running a factory. They could be running a hate you know, running a a help desk in in in HR. Like, it's really difficult for them to to keep up with. So one of the things that I think is really important, one of the things that I've really looked at is the what's in it for me. What is actually changing for me as an individual? And that does make change management harder because you can't just send out a big block kind of communication or a really, standard training. It's really driving that that down to that individual, that role, that team. How do we make sure we're really, looking at them and the impact for them as an individual? Because then you can tie it down to, right, for this activity that you used to do in this way, you now need to do it this way, and this is what that means, and here's why it's important. I think sometimes if you don't get to that level, it then becomes really, really difficult to to get that buy in, and that's where this statistic really falls in. And I get that that is many more hours on change management than maybe we've ever spent on change management back when it used to be communication and training. Like, send them an email, send them a recording of a video, and they'll be fine. And we're just not there anymore. It's it really just needs to get much lower, much lower detail. So, yeah, lots of things to consider there in kind of making sure that change management is an incredibly important, work stream for any big initiative, especially when you're talking about people and processes and and onboarding. Definitely. Sorry. I did say that change management was, area that I'm particularly, fond of. So another area I am particularly fond of, technology. So if we think about technology, the technology that you put in place to really look at pulling this on one path is a key driver to success. Probably, you know, first with change management behind is number two. Right? So let's talk about the technology, ecosystem. What should it look like? Where do people fall down? What guidance do you have? Yep. Yeah. Happy to. And I also saw in the in the q and a already a question also on the importance of involving, your IT stakeholders into the implementation of your MSP, which I think is very valid. For instance, if you are just consolidating 10 ERPs into one ERP, it might not be the best moment in time to talk about, talk about, integrations with your with your VMS. So I think it's very important to make sure that, when you start implementing and when you start thinking about change, how do you make sure that, your the implementation of your MSP or your contingent workforce program falls in line with the other change projects like within IT. I think that's important. When it comes to your landscape, I think an important element is also integrating your, vendor management system, with your, HR system, with your, AGM. Especially if you look at talent holistically and you wanna make sure that, people have one place to go when it comes to a a talent, and good integration. For instance, always having a requisition. Doesn't matter if it's contingent or for permanent work of an employee, starting in, for instance, an AGM. But also if you look at, also any IT related topic, management of identities and making sure that you connect, the VMS and the identities that are raised there to your HEM to, make sure that you control it and that you, don't run into any compliance compliance issues. I think all of this, although it sounds a bit technical, is all done with the end user in mind. So when designing, the infrastructure and when looking at how these things work best, it's always the the the sort of the base where you should start from is the end user, is that hiring manager. What is the journey that they're going through, and how can you make sure it's as smooth as can be? Yeah. I think, just on that point, I think when we look at the activities that we're expecting of a hiring manager, right, the person who who needs that help, their job isn't to sit in these technologies all day every day kind of looking at how to best use them. Right? You as much as we want that experience to be a really good one, you also need to be really quick and really, and really clear on what the next steps are because they have another job that's running a part of your business. You know, maybe, maybe they they're leading the finance team and it's heading to month end. What you want is them focusing on that activity, not on which technology do I need to go into in order to get the head code binding and to make this and this kind of end result happen? I think that's really, really critical in that it's absolutely we wanna meet them where they are. We wanna make sure that, like, it's a really good experience, but it needs to be really quick. That's such an important factor into in in into this. Yeah. And really ensuring that you take the hassle out of it as much as possible. So ensuring that it's smooth process and that it doesn't mean, for instance, if you, have just hired the contingent workers that you then need to go into another tool to raise an identity or anything like that, really making sure that in the background you make those connections will really help also with how, the end users will view your program and also the usage and adoption of the program as such. Yeah. So I think for me, if if if that is gonna take longer to follow the process than it is to go round the process, they're gonna go round the process. That's that's basically what this call is saying. It's a path of least resistance. Right? So you need to make it a more, desirable process than, trying to go go around the processes that you have put in place. And I think, it's a really good point that you raised about kind of not wanting to break what's happening in a different system. I think dual entry as well is, you know, how do you stop dual entry? Because you want a single source of truth. You want the same truths across kind of, like, all of your systems, which means having that integrated approach. And it's that integrated approach that's really gonna help bring that, total talent into that overarching strategy. Because if you've got standalone technologies with different business processes that, you know, require input into multiple systems, We're never gonna get to that place of having a cohesive strategy. That's definitely, one of the things that I think I've learned. And when we look at what's on screen around that two way deep integration, it's like a one update a month for, you know, one from one technology into another really isn't good enough. Like, it people are used to real time. Like, we are definitely like an immediate gratification kind of, you know, set of human beings now. We don't we don't wanna be waiting for these updates. So I think that, yeah, that that immediate, integration is is really critical for for making sure that we've got a technology that really underpins the the strategy that we're trying to drive. 100%. And I think and I think also if we look at, because we're talking a lot also around hiring manager, user experience, of course. But one of the things that, also we as Randstad are particularly investing in is also the talent, experience there and making sure, especially on the talent attraction side of the house, we also have, clear, user experiences and and very clear journeys that, that talent is going through. So, what we tend to do in our, programs is, also introduce, TalentQX as the as a tool that really, drives and is the the backbone for our direct sourcing programs. And what we do with direct sourcing is we utilize the brands of our clients, really create a contingent value proposition based on the employer value proposition, and build, separated talent pools of contingent talent that is readily available for our clients. So really reducing, the reliance on also external, suppliers, and for especially certain skills or certain job families, really focus on having ready readily talent, available. And also there, see how we can infuse, AI tools and really see how we, how we can grow there. I think one of the things that we're heavily investing is, for instance, AI, candidate outreach. So how can you ensure that, also we make our recruiters more productive, by having AI reach out to, to talent and ensuring that the talent that they speak to is already prequalified and and ready to be engaged. But I think also when it comes to matching technology and matching candidates to, to the to jobs is, therefore, a their AI is also an excellent tool to use. We use Intell and QX quite a bit of Hyatt score, as well, which is a Workday technology, of course. And I know also for, Forte, of course, AI is top of the list. Yeah. Absolutely. I think for me, direct sourcing is one of those places where if we kind of look at the the ownership, right, that it really becomes nicely aligned. So you just talked a little bit about how you're using the branding. So you're kind of you've already kind of bought marketing and you're using the branding that you've spent literally thousands and thousands of pounds, dollars kind of developing. Procurement are gonna be happy because that's gonna really but you you're reducing costs. Right? You're taking kind of some of the agency by by those sourcing fees away, but then HR also getting the talent. They're getting the skills and the stuff that they that they're really trying to to nail into. So I think looking at that direct sourcing piece, it really does start bringing both those at least three of those big players into, what does this strategy look like? And I think that's really important. I think that branding piece for me has always been, like, in the traditional sense of, like, contingent labor. I remember we used to kind of hide who the end customer is, and I think we've moved we've moved away from that now, which is really nice to like, the branding matters. People really where because we've got an we're kind of in that space now where, talent is really they're in they're in the driving seat. Right? They they can with with the shortage of skills, they can almost kind of dictate where they wanna work. And using your branding to pull those people in, I think, is gonna is really, really critical. And as you said around the the talent experience as well, if it takes me an hour to apply for a job through your site, the chances are I'm not gonna get to the end of the process. Alright. Whereas if we can make that a much smoother, much more pleasant experience, and whilst, yes, we're gonna be using AI to drive some of that stuff, but also feel like I'm having some kind of human touch on it, I think that's definitely an area that we're, absolutely kind of spending more time on and looking at and engaging in at the moment. No. And I think especially also with the rise of freelancers that's continuing, you wanna also enable freelancers to directly reach out to you and be and join a talent pool, where they actually receive opportunities to actually do an assignment, with with that client, I think that's extremely important. So, and, of course, also this fully integrated with, with your technology stack. So making sure so we also have live connections with, with VMSs including, Vinty, of course. Absolutely. So, you did briefly touch on, Workday AI AI. Thank you very much for that. What I just kind of wanted to share is a little bit about some of the exciting plans that we've got, and this is where the product statement comes into its own, everybody. This is very much a, a road map item, but we've been working on launching the contingent sourcing agent. That's one of the areas where we look at Workday Illuminate and all of the the AI that Workday's been looking into. This is what one of the things we've been focusing on, on the vendor side of the house. So, that contingent sourcing AI is bringing in high score, so that I who you, you know, briefly mentioned, and Workday Vendley into the the vendor management system. So it's another way for us of, supporting companies as they move to this time acquisition. That's this total time acquisition strategy. They may already be using it on the the recruiting agent on the FTE side of the house, and we really wanna bring that into, into the Vendi side of the house and unlock the more more intelligent ways of sourcing, contingent working talent. Right? And making sure you've got that holistic approach. And one of the things this is gonna enable us to do is, really drive that efficiency within the sourcing process. It's gonna be reducing costs and ultimately driving that, that speed to fill. So how can we get from kind of, like, identification of a a a requisition or a need to getting the bum on a seat, or standing up or, you know, working from home, wherever that look whatever that looks like as quickly as possible. So we're gonna be using the, high school AI capabilities to proactively fetch qualified leads or candidates, to open requisitions, and matching their experience to the job requirements, and give candidate scores. So how do they score against that? What do their skills look like against that requisition? And then high school will also be able to do this grading. So looking at spotlighting that grading, I think we use a through to, you know, whatever that letter looks like on the alphabet, to further drill down, you know, where does that skills match, but then also being able to see the transparency behind it. So what are the what exactly were those skills that were matched as part of that process? Because, you know, as part of the which ARA strategy, it's definitely, like, there's that transparency that's needed so that we can see and also have that, that people interaction because people are the end decision maker. So there's, lots that we've been doing on the continued sourcing agent, and you're gonna see a little bit more of this as it's released on, early adopters. So we are looking at the early adopters program, kind of in the next few months. But, yeah, this is one of the areas that we've been focusing in on, as part of our, Workday Illumic AI. And that actually brings us to the end of our content, and I can't believe that we've just had a nice little chat for, you know, forty six minutes, Frank. So thank you so much for that. But now we're gonna open it up to questions. So, if anyone's got any questions that, you know, based on the content that we've covered or maybe something you were expecting to hear and we haven't covered in content, please use the the q and a section. If not, I'm gonna assume that Frank and I did a fabulous job of answering all of your questions, and and now have a good idea as to how you're gonna move forward with building out your talent acquisition strategy. So if we think of, maybe just a question off the top of my head, what's the risk of not doing this, Frank? Let's say that we just wanna go, do you know what? It sounds great, but I'm I'm happy with the lay of the land today, gonna carry on as is. What's the risk for an organization there? Yeah. I think that the the world outside is moving on. So I think one of the steps that we've really shown in the, in the beginning is, we see, that the the contingent workforce, the external workforce is gaining more prominence, is getting more important also for the agility with, within companies. And in the end, that's really, translating into an a strategic advantage on a business level. So it's how can you ensure that, you as a company stay ahead. A very important driver for that is agility, flexibility, and therefore organizing your external workforce in an efficient way and making sure that you do those fluid in a cost efficient way, is crucial, of course. So I think ensuring that you have not only visibility, but also agency around how you manage your, external workforce and not only agency workers, also your independent contractors, Your statement of works, will really make a difference in how fast you can move as a company and, really, enable the business, to focus on, on getting the work done. Nice. Like it. Thank you. So sitting back and doing nothing isn't really an option if you want long term success for your organization. That's kind of what I heard. Definitely. And then so just another thought. So when we think about measuring success for, you know, bringing, you know, creating that total talent acquisition strategy, what does that look like? What kind of metrics could we be using here, KPIs, to really define what success looks like? Yeah. Definitely. I think there's, the great thing about, getting insights into your external workforce is also that you can start measuring things like value. So what is the value that's actually being, being brought in by, by different sourcing channels? How do they also differ, especially if you're in, in multi active in multiple countries? What are actually strategies that you can deploy there? So I think, with the data that you're gathering, you can really come to serious insights on, how to get the the biggest bang for your buck, so to say, and how you can create the most value by creating the right sourcing channel. So I think by offering your really coming to the business and saying, hey. How can we support and how can we enable? And we are able to do that by not only offering you agency workers or employee the employee option, but really give you a wider, perspective on wider options on how to get work done in the best way. I think is, it can be a real game changer. And also measuring that success and seeing, what the value is that actually being, being brought in, I think, is is crucial. Yeah. And I think what's really interesting is we're very much at kind of the the start of, large organizations really developing this strategy and and, executing on the strategy. I think there's been a there's been a lot of talk about this for years and years and years and years. Decades. You could almost almost say it is total talent. Total talent management, I think it used to be called. And we were actually getting to the stage now where the technologies have evolved that we can actually make this happen. So there isn't necessarily a best in class today on what that looks like and what success looks like and and what good looks like because we're very much on the journey of going through that. So I think you're absolutely right. Some of it's not necessarily gonna be a comparison apples to apples on what that looks like right now. It's all about looking at the business outcomes and looking at the the variety and and some of the return there. So that's, Yeah. That's Yeah. And we we've called we've called this webinar breaking down silos, for a reason. Right? I think it's very exciting that, that we're coming to that point that we can really, we also see that within our client base that we're really looking at workforce holistically and also supporting clients to do that. And it's great that, the technology is also there to, to do that, especially with all the the rapid changes that are coming. So no. I think all in all, very exciting what's, what's going to happen over the next couple of years. Perfect. So, Frank, key key takeaways. Let's let's talk about what what people need to do next. What's what's next on everyone's cards for moving forward with this? Yeah. So it depends where you are in your in your journey, of course. But I think if you're if you're just starting out and, you're, in the in the TA space or in the HR space, make sure that, your leadership starts to see the value of looking at your workforce holistically and really seeing your external workforce is also a part of your workforce and, therefore, also the need to bring that into, into scope. I think if you're in, in procurement, try to make that bridge also towards HR and towards talent acquisition if you really wanna get this organized. As we said, you need multiple, voices, and strong voices within a within a company to get this over the line. So I think especially if you're starting out, these are, these are the my would be my my key takeaway. I think if you're a bit further along and you already have an an a VMS, for instance, and already have an MSP and you have some control around, around talent, I think really start see really start investigating how you can, not also start looking at your workforce holistically, but also start acting holistically. So how can you start, helping your end users, your hiring managers, in making better decisions and, and ensuring that you enable them to do that. So that would be my key takeaway if you're a bit further along. But either way, I think a very important journey to keep on moving forward with and not standing still and, and really, taking all taking the the opportunity that's presenting itself with all the technology that's now coming our way, to really, really move forward on that the total talent acquisition strategy. Yeah. And I think that wherever you are on your journey, you can probably boil it down to two words. Right? But you need to be asking the experts and around you is which is what's next. Right? Mhmm. What's next? Where are we gonna go next? How are we gonna do it? And what we're gonna build? So I think, if if you guys remember nothing else from your your time with Frank and I today, please just keep asking the the question around what's next with your with your workforce. So, thank you, Frank. Appreciate all your conversational expertise on the call today. Really, really appreciate it. It's been great to speak with you. For everyone on the call, we'd love to hear your feedback. So as I said, there will be a survey at the end. We'd love to hear some of your thoughts. If you are interested in learning more a little bit more about Randstad Enterprise and all the wonderful things that Frank and his team are doing over there, you can scan the screen now. There's also a get contacted button at the top, so we can absolutely reach out to you if you're interested in hearing a little bit more from us. There is some additional sessions. As you can imagine, this is not the very last looking forward with workday session to, to end the year. We're only halfway through. So there are plenty of additional sessions that you can, join in to learn a little bit more about what's going on in in, in Workday. And then, if you want some, some chance to get hands on, so we used to do virtual test drives, allows you to get to get into the technology and have a little bit of a play around. We've got a couple of those coming up as well. And then for anyone over in EMEA that isn't yet attending Workday Rising EMEA, registration is now open. I have a feeling that, either the early bird prices have finished or they're coming, like, they're coming to an end soon. So getting there getting there quickly, but that's gonna be November through the twentieth, so not quite before Christmas as it was last year, luckily. So you've got time to do Christmas shopping after workday rising this year. But we're gonna be in, in Barcelona, which will be be slightly less windy, hopefully, than it was over in Amsterdam. But, yeah, we'd love to see that if you can attend. But, alternatively, thank you so much for your time, everybody. It's been an absolute pleasure to chat to you today. If you've got any questions at all, you know where to reach out to to to contact either my friend or myself. So thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it, and have a great day. Yep. Thank you all.