close

Solution Providers

Guiding Principles for The Future of Work

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceHRSolution ProvidersTalentTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by Featured Contributor on

[Editor’s Note: Today’s article is a guest contribution from Sunil Bagai, CEO of Prosperix.]

When describing the Future of Work, it’s worth keeping in mind a quote from the sci-fi author William Gibson: “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.”  Over the past two decades, we’ve all seen industries transformed by technology – travel agencies barely exist anymore, taxis are in a battle with Uber and Lyft for their very existence, and we can purchase virtually anything from groceries to cars online. Travel, transportation, commerce, and entertainment, have all become infinitely more frictionless (and often more affordable) experiences.

All of these examples occurred in established industries that had seen sustained success – and stagnation of technology and business innovation. Many players in those industries were utterly caught by surprise and got left behind. Their customers abandoned them, and why wouldn’t they? It’s not just the application of data and technology to solve problems that’s changed – our perceptions of what’s possible need to change as well.

For businesses to evolve from where they are today to where they aspire to be in the future, they must think and act differently. To help businesses realize their highest potential and deliver meaningful impact, they need new ways of building and managing a thriving workforce.

The world of hiring, and contingent hiring in particular, has been a world of silos and limited data for a long time. That’s led to a particular view of contingent hiring, one that’s full of inefficiencies and process issues. Ferrying data between an ATS, VMS, Talent CRM, and other solutions leads to leakage and an inability to treat hiring as a holistic process. As technology solutions continue to merge traditionally siloed functionality, a world of possibility is opened up for the future of work. Below are some of the principles that guide us at Prosperix, that we believe will create a future that leads to prosperity for all of the stakeholders in the hiring ecosystem.

  • Empowerment – This principle has two components. One is that a seamless candidate experience needs to be an integral part of the hiring process. We’re moving from a model where candidates are out of the loop to one where candidates feel like they are a part of the process, leading to better outcomes. Additionally, a commitment to foster equal and democratized access to opportunities and growth, while uplifting those in need of greater assistance, is the path to a future where everyone prospers.
  • Alignment – Alignment between hiring managers, talent acquisition teams, talent suppliers and candidates is enabled by technology solutions that unite formerly disparate systems. When stakeholders are not focused on solving process issues, they are able to think strategically about their hiring program.
  • Ecosystem – A culture and environment that fosters balance, sustainability and harmony amongst all stakeholders, with keen understanding that prosperity for each member benefits the whole and there is a necessary inter-dependency that requires a high level of compassion, cooperation and collaboration to thrive individually and collectively.
  • Diversity – Valuing diversity recognizes differences between people and acknowledges that these differences are not only a valued asset, but a necessity to achieving great results and outcomes. Diversity occurs when systems are designed thoughtfully to be inclusive and access is democratized, allowing anyone of any background and status to succeed and attain prosperity. Diversity can also provide greater choice and variety in options and opportunities.
  • Transparency – Transparency enables greater visibility, accountability and allows for fixing of inequities by sharing information openly amongst stakeholders. Fostering a transparent environment, as opposed to a siloed process structure, increases trust and partnership over time.
  • Flexibility – In a fast-changing world, there is greater need for solutions that are dynamic, agile, adaptive and can meet the needs of the moment by being responsive and nimble. Flexibility ensures that organizations can thrive in the most challenging of times because resilience and elasticity are designed-in as foundational elements.
  • Innovation – The world is changing exponentially. To stay relevant and thrive in this fast-changing dynamic, it is essential to embrace innovation. The right innovation is a tremendous catalyst for growth and prosperity as well as facilitates resilience from the ongoing turbulence of a constantly changing environment.

The future is already here, it’s just not everywhere yet. To learn more about our vision for the Future of Work, reach out to us at solutions@prosperix.com.

read more

Continuing its Unlimited Evolution, PRO Unlimited Announces Acquisition by EQT Partners

Contingent WorkforceDirect SourcingDiversity and InclusionHRProcurementSolution ProvidersTalentTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Earlier this week, contingent workforce management (CWM) solution PRO Unlimited announced that it has partnered with EQT Partners, who will acquire the company from Harvest Partners and Investcorp. When the acquisition officially closes in the second half of 2021, EQT Private Equity will be the majority shareholder, with Harvest Partners continuing as a large shareholder and management retaining a minority stake in the company.

This major transaction follows a year of aggressive market activity by the veteran MSP and VMS suite of solutions, which has undergone a seismic transformation since mid-2020. A longtime leader in the CWM technology arena, PRO continues to deliver on its promise to reimagine the end-to-end offerings of its core services and automation and become a true “platform” for agile workforce management activity.

“The team at EQT has been following the macro trends around the world of talent and work. They, much like us, see the contingent workforce segment growing at a rapid rate and becoming more and more strategic,” said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of PRO Unlimited. “PRO was uniquely positioned here because we have the technology, the data, the analytics, coupled with the people / service assets in place, which has been a cornerstone of our MSP business, to not only satisfy the elements of what enterprises need today to manage their agile talent, but also having all of those critical elements inside the same platform.”

In several discussions with Akeroyd over the past several months, PRO’s CEO outlined an assertive range of objectives that mainly included a technological revamp, more dedicated offerings within the diversity and inclusion arena, and on-demand facilitation of data, intelligence, and workforce agility. The acquisition by EQT will allow PRO’s executive team to capitalize on an evolving market while enabling quicker time-to-market for burgeoning offerings for SOW/services procurement and direct sourcing, as well as its unique RatePoint solution.

“This is going to allow PRO to do what we want to do much faster and on a larger, global stage,” Akeroyd told CPO Rising. “EQT didn’t come here to change us or alter the fundamentals of who we are or what we want to accomplish. The vision that we had last year (becoming an end-to-end platform for all things contingent labor) can be realized much quicker with the investment from EQT.”

Historically, PRO Unlimited has not been known for major M&A activity, but that line of thinking changed when Akeroyd joined the organization last year, setting off a string of market-shifting moves that positioned the veteran solution for a major transformation in the months afterwards.

“Our organization went nearly 30 years without a major acquisition. It wasn’t until recently [Editor’s note: PRO acquired PeopleTicker and the Brainnet Group in 2020 and 2021, respectively] that the company started to shift its acquisition strategy,” Akeroyd said. “With EQT as a partner, we can accelerate M&A activity much more aggressively. If we need to buy, we can do that. If we need to build, they’ll support us. And we’ll have the power to partner with those solutions that are complementary to PRO’s end-to-end suite.”

The acquisition is certainly timely, as upcoming Ardent Partners research finds that the agile workforce continues to grow in size, impact, utilization, and prominence: nearly 47% of the average organization’s total workforce is now considered “extended” or “non-employee,” reinforcing the notion that businesses require more comprehensive, dynamic tools to effectively converge traditional aspects of contingent workforce management with the deeper elements (such as direct sourcing, services procurement, etc.) required to maximize the inherent value of the agile workforce.

“The contingent workforce is going to lead the economic recovery. If you look at the numbers and employment data regarding traditional workers and FTEs, they aren’t going up…but the agile workforce is,” said Akeroyd. “The Global 2000 enterprise is alive and well, and they’re largely thriving in this market due to their reliance on white-collar, remote, highly-skilled extended talent. PRO is enabling the average enterprise to achieve this level of success on the contingent workforce front; we are a leader in this solutions industry and what EQT has done is allow us to be a bigger, more impactful part of how businesses harness the power of their agile workforce across the globe.”

read more

Beeline’s Tech Expo Reinforces the Growth and Impact of the Extended Workforce

Contingent WorkforceHRSolution ProvidersTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Going into 2020, 43.5% of the average company’s workforce was considered “non-employee,” a figure that was vastly larger than it was only several years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many of the Future of Work movement’s most transformational attributes, including a renewed focus on digital transformation, diversity and inclusion, direct sourcing, and workforce agility. Today’s extended workforce, representing nearly 47% of the total workforce, has become a force unto it own, pushing businesses into a new realm of work optimization that promises to forever alter the alignment between talent and corporate initiatives.

Veteran Vendor Management System (VMS) provider Beeline has long been an innovator in the contingent workforce management (CWM) solutions arena, bringing progressive technology to an industry that continues to evolve in the face of incredible market shifts. Last week, the organization hosted its Technology Expo, which featured a series of demonstrations of its core product line and some early peeks at newer offerings, as well as a firm reinforcement of its recently-unveiled Extended Workforce Platform. (Check out our coverage of this recent news here.)

No matter what we call the evolving contingent workforce, its underlying impact is still that of a powerful, market-shifting force that drives competitive value and supports overall business agility. Tweaking its name just slightly to include “extended” is yet another natural progression for this industry; contingent workers are sometimes thought of as mere line-items or “faceless” workers across the greater organization. Calling this spectrum of talent the “extended workforce” reflects the symbiotic link between an enterprise and all of its workers and how that relationship enhances the very idea of how work gets done.

Beeline’s dedication to the technological revolution happening within the world of talent and work was on display during last week’s Expo, including remarks by longtime CEO Doug Leeby regarding “where” the company was in relation to the market’s powerful transformation. “Doesn’t matter how you get paid…in the end, it’s all about people,” said Leeby. “There’s myopia when we think about what VMS is, and we’re so much more than that. Resource tracking, SOW, contingent labor…those pieces are all vital. We just want to be a piece of something greater that has total focus on the individual and the talent.”

One of the highlights of the expo was the “high-volume workforce” session (led by frequent Contingent Workforce Weekly podcast guest Brian Hoffmeyer), which recapped Beeline’s recent acquisition of JoinedUp and how the new solution will help businesses better facilitate and manage its shift-based workforce. Beeline also reaffirmed its dedication to Future of Work movement attribute diversity, equity, and inclusion, with discussions around its deep Diverse Talent Cloud (DTC) offering (partnering with The Mom Project).

As businesses navigate the “next normal” ahead, they will require strategies, solutions, and technology that can effectively manage the full facet of its extended workforce in order to maximize the inherent skillsets and expertise offered by non-employee talent.

“Every person, given the right opportunity, has the potential for greatness,” said Leeby. “We want to put a spotlight on that talent. Every business, given the right talent, can truly drive great outcomes.”

read more

Prosperity in the Future of Work: Interview with Sunil Bagai, CEO of Prosperix

Contingent WorkforceDirect SourcingSolution ProvidersTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Future of Work is founded on change, whether that change is natural evolution or innovative progression. The world of talent and work has been changing at a rapid clip with the advent of new talent acquisition strategies, shifts in how enterprises optimize how work gets done, and the overall transformation of global business.

Crowdstaffing, a longtime market leader in digital staffing and workforce management technology, was an early pioneer with its Future of Work-driven offerings. Just recently, the company rebranded as Prosperix, a solution that aims to “fuel human, workforce, and business prosperity.” I had the opportunity to chat with the provider’s CEO, Sunil Bagai, about the rebrand, the evolution of the platform, and his outlook on the Future of Work movement.

Christopher J. Dwyer: Sunil, thanks for chatting with us. For our readers, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

Sunil Bagai: I have over 25 years of tech experience at companies like IBM, Sun, and EMC, as well as multiple startups. I’ve been working in the talent acquisition space since 2005, and what I love most about it is the intersection between people and technology. Just like in the early days of the Internet, where hardware infrastructure was essential in providing everyone online access, I believe we are in the early stages of deploying similar infrastructure technology that will make it much easier to build and manage a workforce. We’re entering a very exciting time.

CJD: Let’s start with the big news first: Crowdstaffing has officially rebranded itself as Prosperix. Give us the lowdown on the evolution of the solution, the new brand, and what it all means.

SB: When we started Crowdstaffing, we wanted to emphasize the value of building network effects and how the power of the crowd can help in building scalable workforces. While that’s still core to what we do, we’re now inspired by a mission that’s even greater. We believe that hiring can play an instrumental role in helping businesses achieve their dreams and aspirations. Simultaneously, there is an opportunity to influence the design of the modern workforce so it can achieve a level of prosperity that hasn’t been possible in the past. With that in mind, we chose the name Prosperix to align with our long-term vision and mission of helping businesses build an extraordinary workforce and achieve outstanding outcomes.

The good news is that Crowdstaffing is not going away; It’s being transitioned into a product name for our Crowdstaffing Hiring Marketplace and Crowdstaffing VMS offerings. In addition to these core offerings, we have added new offerings to the Prosperix solutions suite, including Direct Sourcing, On-Demand Talent Pools, and a wide range of Workforce Services such as MSP, Payroll, and IC Compliance.

CJD: What strikes me as a major differentiator for Propserix is the sheer breadth of its offerings, from direct sourcing and talent pools to VMS technology.

SB: Our strategy has always been to solve the end-to-end problem of hiring and workforce management. Most clients have a very difficult time using multiple technologies. Not only does data end up living in different places, but you get a poor user experience and it’s very challenging to manage the entire workflow when you use different systems. We believe it’s better to provide a single solution that solves for all facets of workforce management, including talent branding and attraction, sourcing, candidate engagement and nurturing, applicant tracking, candidate assessments, vendor management, onboarding, and redeployment.

CJD: Why do you believe it’s so powerful to have a solution that can literally offer end-to-end workforce management functionality, from talent engagement to total workforce management?

SB: There are many advantages to an end-to-end workforce management solution. First, you simplify the hiring process substantially when you use a single technology rather than several disparate technologies. More fundamentally, you are able to access and utilize data far more effectively to achieve better hiring outcomes. For example, the best candidate can come from a supplier, an internal talent pool, or a variety of public talent pools. When you can see candidates across the entire ecosystem of hiring channels, whether it’s in your VMS, ATS, Talent Pools, etc., you can match candidates more effectively to open jobs, speeding up time to hire.

This is just the beginning. There are multiple other use cases that you can unlock, including large network effects, that are only possible when you impact the entire value chain.

CJD: We’re experiencing a much different summer than we did last year thanks to the business world somewhat returning to normalcy. How do you think the world of talent and work respond to the major shifts it experienced over the past year?

The new normal means that remote work is here to stay. Many businesses are hiring workers remotely even for core positions, especially if they are having a hard time finding talent in their local geography. To hire remote workers more effectively, businesses are requesting a more nuanced way to outline their needs, by specifying whether a position is Local Only, Remote with Local Access, Remote Only, or Offshore.

CJD: What’s the long-term vision for Prosperix?

SB: Our long-term vision is to fuel human, workforce, and business prosperity. We plan to accomplish this by developing innovative solutions that help businesses build and manage an extraordinary workforce.

read more
1 … 8 9 10
Page 10 of 10