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Key Providers for 2022: Toptal

Solution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Background:

One of the key attributes of the Future of Work movement revolves around the concept of “talent evolution.” Businesses across the globe have realized that, in a world that requires agility to be truly competitive, they require real-time access to top-tier talent and skillsets. Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has routinely discovered that the utilization of alternative talent channels, particularly digital staffing and talent marketplaces, have experienced upwards of 10x adoption over the past several years.

Why such an extreme uptick in utilization? The answer is quite simple: in order for enterprises to tap into a global market of Best-in-Class talent without the restrictions of archaic talent acquisition capabilities, they need to tap into solutions that offer on-demand talent that reinforces the Future of Work-led world we live in…especially attributes such as remote work.

Enter Toptal.

Why They Were Selected:

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has found that nearly 70% of executives leaders anticipated increasing their reliance on talent marketplaces and digital staffing platforms over the next two years, an astounding fact that reflects the dynamic benefits of such models. For over 12 years, Toptal has been a market leader in the digital staffing space, owed to its top-tier network of skillsets and expertise, as well as an on-demand foundation that allows business users to scale their workforce remotely in near-real-time fashion.

Toptal’s Enterprise offering is a services-oriented solution that enables a wide range of agile talent acquisition models. Toptal is well-known for leveraging its deep talent marketplace, talent community, and expanded freelancer network to enable true workforce agility and flexibility in its client base. And, what sets this solution apart from others in the industry is its ability to offer its clients the ability to build a fully-scalable team of distributed talent.

In Their Own Words:

Toptal is an international network of highly skilled freelancers in technology, design, and business that enables companies to innovate, meet business challenges and scale their teams, on demand. The company serves thousands of clients from hyper-growth start-ups to the Fortune 500, connecting them with top software engineers, product and project managers, designers, and finance experts from more than 100 countries. Founded in 2010 by CEO Taso Du Val,  Toptal has the world’s largest fully remote workforce. Toptal is also regularly recognized as one of the world’s top companies hiring for work-from-anywhere jobs.

The Outlook:

Toptal continues to be a pioneer in the talent marketplace industry; as such, their years-long commitment to remote work was an idyllic means of combating the many challenges during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a trailblazer in assisting business leaders and hiring managers across the world with building and developing fully-scalable teams of top-tier, remote talent, Toptal has positioned itself as a continued market leader in the digital and on-demand staffing realm.

Toptal’s long track record of success in delivering on-demand, top-shelf talent and expertise to clients across the world position the solution as an ideal platform in a world driven by Future of Work accelerants.

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Upwork’s Work Without Limits: Grand Redesign with Tim Sanders

Business LeadershipEventsSolution Providers by John Yuva on

Upwork, a global talent and work platform, recently held its Work Without Limits summit as an in-person and streaming event in Chicago. The main stage was filled with customer and enterprise presenters, including Upwork’s Tim Sanders, vice president of client strategy, who discussed the grand redesign opportunity and what the breakdown of the old rules of work means for companies today. (Check out the Future of Work Exchange‘s coverage of the event.)

Defining Grand Redesign

Sanders began his session with a fascinating story about the rise of Shantanu Narayen to CEO of Adobe Inc. in 2007. Adobe was a behemoth software company known for its innovative products like Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat, and many others. In the industry, it was second only to its rival Microsoft.

However, in 2007, the company experienced the ramifications of software piracy, losing $1 billion. A year later, the Great Recession took its toll on the company’s flagship Adobe Creative Suite product offering. At a $1,800 price point, companies closed their wallets and revenue declined 20% within the first eight weeks of the recession.

What was Adobe’s response? Mark Garrett, Adobe’s chief financial officer in 2008, recognized the potential of cloud-based subscription models. Thus, the company embarked on its grand redesign, transforming from a physical product-oriented company to a 100% digital, cloud-based subscription service. In 2012, Adobe released Creative Cloud to the world with an entry-level price point of less than $60 compared to $1,800.

Sanders noted that Adobe’s grand redesign was one of the biggest turnarounds in corporate history, growing its market cap from $15 billion in 2012 to more than $200 billion today. Knowing not to rest and accept the status quo, especially during a recession, the company leveraged the opportunity to combine desktop, mobile, and services into a single customer package — shutting the door to the competition.

Our Present Grand Redesign Opportunity

This brings us to today. Sanders explains that companies are experiencing another period of great disruption — the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. Now is the time to move beyond the status quo and redesign the workplace. He says there are six workplace design options on the table.

  1. Remote first. Companies that choose this design option fully embrace remote work and use it strategically as part of their operational and talent acquisition models.
  2. Remote-friendly. More organizations are choosing a remote-friendly design that embraces a distributed workforce for certain roles, talents, and situations. It is not a complete remote first transition, but companies are willing to consider it as a possible default. Sanders says that if companies are not remote first, they must accept remote-friendly to be competitive.
  3. Remote for now. This has been the workplace design model for many companies since the beginning of the pandemic. However, this model will disappear as companies commit to a long-term design strategy.
  4. Hybrid by role. Essentially, certain roles (e.g., doctors, nurses, warehouse workers, etc.) must be in-person due to the work type. Other roles can be accomplished remotely.
  5. Hybrid-by-day mix. In many ways, this is simply a compromise for those who want to be remote. It allows remote work for two to three days per week. The drawbacks? There are no savings on real estate costs and there’s a reliance on local talent.
  6. Onsite first. Everyone is required to work on-site with few to no remote work options. For retail organizations, Sanders questions whether it’s necessary for marketing or back-office technology employees to work on-site. There are remote work opportunities that could be leveraged.
Tim Sanders, VP of Client Strategy at Upwork, discusses “The Grand Redesign.” (Photo credit: Upwork)

Identify Your Model to Rewire Your Organization for Remote-First

Which workplace design model represents your company? Answer that question first, says Sanders, then pose three additional questions.

  1. Are you satisfied with the talent in your local markets to make you competitive to achieve digital transformation and stand-up artificial intelligence? Are you ready? Are your local markets really that strong?

And as a follow-up question, are there any remote-first companies running recruitment ads in your market? If so, that’s going to change the picture even if you think you’re comfortable with the strength of your local market.

  1. Have your leaders figured out managing based on outcomes or are they still stuck in the past of AAA management — attendance, attitude, and aptitude?

If your leaders have learned how to manage based on outcomes, then they’re completely equipped to manage without seeing people physically every day in the office.

  1. Have you invested in tools and training for people to learn how to collaborate and culture-build at a distance?

Culture is not about your office. Instead, culture is a conversation led by leaders about how we do things here. It’s about storytelling and how we succeeded in the past. If you want to build a better culture, focus on cadence, not location.

Sanders says these are the questions to ask yourself. The good news? As you embrace remote-first (or at the very least, remote-friendly) workplace design, you are going to rewire the organization.

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Key Providers for 2022: WorkLLama

Solution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Background:

There are many slivers of the Future of Work movement that traverse beyond the concept of “work optimization.” In recent years, the very idea of “the evolution of talent” has translated into businesses harnessing the power of new and alternative talent sources while also tapping into the robust functionality of direct sourcing and digital staffing platforms.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has found, over the past two years, that the 1) development of talent communities/talent pools and 2) the initiation of direct sourcing programs are two of the top five priorities for enterprises as they think about how they address work and talent. To effectively achieve these goals and implement robust strategies and processes for direct sourcing, organizations require innovative technology and automation that can revolutionize the ways they engage, source, and manage top-tier talent.

Enter WorkLLama.

Why They Were Selected:

Before entering the enterprise market a few years ago, WorkLLama was battled-tested in the world of staffing; this time spent in that arena allowed the solution to hone its functionality and quickly become a dominant player in the direct sourcing technology marketplace. Through their continued progression, WorkLLama has become a major purveyor of the “Direct Sourcing 2.0” movement, in which advanced functionality, artificial intelligence, access to superior talent, an enhanced candidate experience, and the enablement of repeatable and scalable direct sourcing processes all contribute to a more advanced program.

“Direct Sourcing 2.0” follows the next generation of direct sourcing strategies and is fundamentally rooted in the linkage between key technological arenas, a renewed focus on the candidate experience, a seamless connection between talent pools and the projects and roles that require specific expertise, and a retooled “hiring manager experience” that takes into account Future of Work-era innovation.

Through its dynamic mix of ATS, CRM, and progressive direct sourcing tools, WorkLLama is a pure a reflection of Direct Sourcing 2.0. In addition, the platform has proved that it has the capabilities to transform the ways businesses find, engage, and manage talent through its total talent-ranging functionality and automation.

In Their Own Words:

WorkLLama is a total talent acquisition and engagement suite. Our platform harnesses the power of AI with a complete suite of applicant tracking system (ATS), candidate relationship management (CRM), and direct sourcing tools to help companies build communities of highly engaged talent for all hiring needs. Visit us at www.workllama.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

The Outlook:

Although WorkLLama has become one of the market leaders in the direct sourcing technology arena, there is so much more to the platform than just functionality related to talent curation, talent pool development, and candidate management. Innovative offerings such as its AI-fueled, conversational bot (Sofi), simple and automated referrals, and in-mobile-app candidate assessments are examples of how the platform will thrive in the coming months and years.

In addition, WorkLLama has partnered with three major solution providers over the past several weeks; these partnerships will extend the vision, capabilities, and ultimate value of the WorkLLama suite of offerings:

  • The company’s partnership with global workforce solutions giant Randstad Sourceright as its preferred direct sourcing platform is a hallmark union that will push WorkLLama’s powerful functionality into the global market.
  • WorkLLama’s recent partnership with background screening platform Checkr will enable faster time-to-hire and improve the overall candidate experience by integrating screening with its already-robust talent acquisition functionality.
  • By partnering with EverHive, the relationship between the two providers will meld the direct sourcing offerings across WorkLLama’s technology suite with EverHive’s contingent workforce management offerings, resulting in a boost to extended workforce programs that require direct sourcing automation to enhance access to top talent.

WorkLLama’s bright future in the workforce solutions market is buoyed by its dynamic offerings and commitment to the Future of Work.

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Key Providers for 2022: SAP Fieldglass

Solution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Background:

The extended workforce comprises over 47% of the average company’s total workforce, according to recent Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research. In addition to the growth of this talent over the past several years, businesses across the globe require the proper technology and automation to ensure that non-employee labor can effectively drive value across the greater organization.

While the Vendor Management System (VMS) model is not a new solution, many of these platforms have undergone radical evolution in the face of continuous business change…especially during pandemic times, when the extended workforce became a cornerstone of operational survival. In fact, the innovation in the world of VMS technology has become a veritable linchpin to truly thriving in a business arena that essentially requires progressive functionality, Best-in-Class data capabilities, and a commitment to the Future of Work movement.

Enter SAP Fieldglass.

Why They Were Selected:

Over the past two years, SAP Fieldglass has reconfigured its core functionality to reflect the ongoing transformations within the greater world of work and talent, introducing several key innovations to its wide-ranging product suite. Through its deep integrations and connections to SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, and other facets of the SAP line of technology, SAP Fieldglass is enabled with the ability to effectively manage all facets of total talent in the face of a transformative world of work.

SAP Fieldglass has demonstrated its pledge to progressive, Future of Work-era automation through a blend of industry maturity and next-generation product offerings. Its configurable, integrated workplace (SAP Work Zone) merges SAP technology (such as SAP Ariba and SAP SuccessFactors) with other critical enterprise systems to generate a holistic, end-to-end view of a user’s total workforce, while the solution’s Active Guidance functionality is perhaps the industry’s deepest proactive insights tool.

In Their Own Words:

SAP Fieldglass, a longstanding leader in external workforce management and services procurement, is used by organizations around the world to find, engage, and manage all types of flexible resources. Our cloud-based, open platform has been deployed in more than 180 countries and helps companies transform how work gets done, increase operational agility, and accelerate business outcomes in the digital economy. Backed by the resources of SAP, our customers benefit from a roadmap driven by continuous investment in innovation. To learn more, visit www.fieldglass.com.

The Outlook:

SAP Fieldglass is well-positioned to become an idyllic, Future of Work-oriented workforce management platform due to its robust integrations with other key SAP solutions (particularly SAP SuccessFactors), scale of offerings that provide real-time and AI-augmented visibility, and inherent flexibility that cascades down into how its users manage the complexities of today’s agile workforce.

With its Visualizer analytics tool, strong services procurement automation, assignment management technology (for enhancing control over the burgeoning light industrial contingent workforce), and abilities to drive both total spend management and total talent management, SAP Fieldglass is a force in a Future of Work-driven business world.

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Upwork’s “Work Without Limits” Conference: Thriving in a New World of Work

EventsSolution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

“The world of work is changing faster than ever before,” said Upwork Chief Sales Officer Eric Gilpin at the start of the talent platform’s annual “Work Without Limits” summit in Chicago. Gilpin’s opening thoughts echo the evolution of work and talent over the past two-plus years, as Future of Work-era accelerants (and the desire to truly optimize how work is done) rapidly shape the way businesses around the globe operate.

Eric Gilpin, Upwork’s Chief Sales Officer, kicks off the 2022 Work Without Limits event. (Photo credit: Upwork)

Hayden Brown, President and CEO of Upwork, kicked off the conference reminiscing about what it was like when she finally made it to the corner office and when she got an office with a door for the first time in her career. Today, Hayden says, “Every employee can have their own corner office.” There are after all, new rules for work.

One of the major benefits of this new world of work is that control has been democratized. How, where, and even when people complete their work is in more of their control, and this is a huge benefit to all businesses, said Brown. She challenges the notion that the traditional workplace was what drove success, arguing that this misplaced nostalgia is actually caused by the Mandela effect, where false memories can sometimes be shared by multiple people. “The office was not the secret sauce [of business],” says Brown, and “It is time for business leaders to lead instead of react,” and find the true drivers of business value.

Hayden Brown, Upwork’s President and CEO, discusses the new rules of work. (Photo credit: Upwork)

Brown continued her keynote by asking a few challenging questions for business leaders – “Will a location mandate get you the results you want?” and “Are you giving your team the what they need to succeed – the best tools and the best talent?”

The workforce game has changed forever and given the distribution of workforces and of talent overall today, talent access is the key to the new game, part of the new playbook that companies must use to succeed. Contractors will continue to play a larger role in business and the new rules of work must incorporate that view.

Brown believes that Upwork address all of the classic concerns (security and privacy, workforce reliability, cultural concerns, etc.) that business executives may have regarding this tectonic shift in how work is done and the broad shift to non-FTE workers. In today’s world, the leaders that get ahead on this major shift will win…and boldness will be rewarded.

Jonah Berger, Professor at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, talks about changing the mindsets around enterprise transformation. (Photo credit: Upwork)

The WWL event featured a variety of industry leaders sharing their thoughts regarding the new world of work:

  • “Data gives us the opportunity to be predictable,” said Vito Labate, Vice President, Global Industry Marketing Leader at Capgemini during a panel discussion hosted by Upwork CMO Melissa Waters. In a chat centered around the changes in marketing, this panel highlighted how the application of top-tier freelance talent is a true differentiator (especially within their industry, where personalization is a key factor for clients).
  • “Companies have become a bit more comfortable with distributed and remote teams,” said Deb Elias, Director, Product Strategy and Operations at Chargebee. “Technology has played a critical role in how non-co-located team members to collaborate.” Upwork’s Chief Product and Experience Officer, Sam Bright, led a spirited panel discussion on how “the impossible” could be achieved via new Future of Work concepts (and technology!) in functions like product development and engineering now that they have access to highly-skilled, global talent.
  • “We’re not just listening…we’re counter-arguing,” stated Jonah Berger, Professor at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania during his afternoon keynote address. “We have to allow for agency; we have to give them back some of that freedom and control.” Berger’s fantastic presentation focused on how business leaders can stop “selling” change and begin changing the mindsets around transformation…a crucial factor considering just how much the world of work has changed over the past few years.
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Key Providers for 2022: HiredScore

Solution Providers by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Background:

Data is akin to gold in today’s evolving business arena. Nearly every enterprise function runs on intelligence to make smarter, more educated corporate decisions. Within the world of talent and work, the proper data can be a powerful tool in not only finding the best-fit, top-tier talent for open positions, roles, and projects, but also mitigating compliance risks, eliminating hiring bias, and fueling recruitment strategies as the business world continues to change in the face of Future of Work-era innovations and accelerants.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that 62% of enterprises plan to harness artificial intelligence to support diverse hiring initiatives within the next 16 months, while another 67% anticipate leveraging AI and next-generation analytics to fuel “predictive recruitment” (via hiring-focused scenario-building).

Enter HiredScore.

Why They Were Selected:

The Future of Work Exchange is quite bullish on the application of artificial intelligence in the world of HR and workforce management technology. For companies to truly thrive in a business arena that demands dynamic responses to real-time challenges, they must have the capabilities to effectively execute smarter hiring decisions that also reflect rigor across candidate attributes.

HiredScore represents the next generation of recruiting and talent acquisition technology with its stout AI-fueled functionality, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and robust automation to help HR and extended workforce functions transform the way they engage and source talent. With is unique “Talent Orchestration” suite of products, HiredScore’s wide range of HR, staffing, and talent acquisition automation is a powerful representation of the impact and value of AI in a Future of Work-led world.

In Their Own Words:

HiredScore is the leading provider of Talent Orchestration technology. HiredScore’s artificial intelligence, automation, and deep integrations empower the largest and most innovative companies in the world to safely and transparently drive critical business outcomes in recruitment productivity, diversity hiring, internal mobility, and total talent management HiredScore’s proprietary technology provides compliant-by-design, customized-by-client AI that seamlessly connects to data and systems to power the shift to proactive and fair HR decisions. HiredScore is live in 150 countries and available in 70 languages. Learn more at HiredScore.com.

The Outlook:

The emergence of artificial intelligence is nothing new to those that follow the Future of Work movement. What is new, however, are the fresh takes on how AI can drive value within HR, talent acquisition, and extended workforce management initiatives. Businesses require real-time, actionable, and deep intelligence regarding candidates and talent; the HiredScore solution is an innovative platform that can leverage formidable functionality to drive ethical recruitment, compliance and risk mitigation, broad-based hiring enhancement, and pure HR transformation.

With its unique “Talent Orchestration” platform, HiredScore is a true Future of Work solution that will continue to revolutionize the way businesses leverage intelligence to optimize the ways they hire.

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The Heightened War for Talent

Contingent WorkforceDirect SourcingGeneral InsightsPodcastSolution ProvidersTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Future of Work Exchange podcast features coverage of industry news, software developments, Future of Work happenings, and, most importantly, conversations with industry thought leaders.

Several months ago, I chatted with Steve Dern, EVP of Talent Solutions at Evaluent (click to listen to the full interview). Steve and I discussed the growth of the extended workforce, its impact, and what lies on the horizon. Today’s article is a recap of our conversation. [Note that this excerpt has been edited for readability.]

Christopher Dwyer: You’ve been in this space for such a long time. From your viewpoint, you probably have a dynamic take on the state of the contingent and extended workforce. What are your thoughts on the growth of the extended workforce, its impact, and where do you think we’re heading?

Steve Dern: As I look back on all this, especially the last 2.5 to 3 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything in terms of how we work, not only with contingent labor but also traditional employee labor. Remote work structures became the norm because they had to. And that challenged some organizations and maybe pulled the blinders off. Many companies with staffing offices and remote office locations closed their brick-and-mortar buildings because the investment wasn’t necessary. We can work effectively being remote or have a hybrid model, which is becoming the norm as people return to the office. Interview processes changed, as did the time to act when hiring talent. Whether it’s traditional, permanent, or contingent hiring needs, you’ve got to act very quickly now. Today’s talent has the leverage due to talent economy dynamics. As a result, companies are increasing wages for premium talent.

In the production and manufacturing environment specifically, there’s a heightened war for talent. And from a partnership and sales perspective, it was more difficult to build and cultivate newer relationships over the last two years. We were remote talking through a computer camera and a headset as opposed to shaking hands with people and breaking down social barriers that may exist. Reading body language was difficult as well. We work in a very different way now.

In terms of workforce trends, there’s a demand for more flexibility on the part of the hiring organization. Do we need employees to come into the office five days per week? What is the flexibility of some pre-pandemic requirements, such as college degree mandates or pre-employment screenings? With legalization of marijuana in some states, there may be some flexibility there.

There is also a significant gap in talent for manufacturing, distribution, and fulfillment centers. Here in Ohio, where we’re only 10 hours away from half the U.S. population, there’s a huge presence of retail distribution and fulfillment centers. And those fulfillment centers are having a tough time finding workers. To widen the talent pool, they’re considering Second Chance talent. These are folks coming out of jail with possible felonies in their background. However, many distribution and fulfillment center operators are seeing good retention rates and performance output.

From a company perspective, we (Evaluent) handle both direct hire and contingent labor placement. On our staffing entity side, we saw a large increase in the direct hire needs — one of our sales reps said 80% of new business activity was direct-hire related. So, there has definitely been a shift from a client perspective overall. Ten years ago, we were just hearing about this concept called direct sourcing. I was fortunate to see it succeed early in a couple of my accounts.

Back then, direct sourcing was pitched as having the ability to take over 80% of the staffing leads that we had. And it really didn’t end up being that way. Instead, it was focused on high-volume needs that were repeatable, with evergreen types of requisitions. That’s where companies were able to leverage direct sourcing not only for contingent but also for direct hire as well. Flash forward to 2021/2022, we’re now beginning to see direct sourcing gain some traction. More and more, I see RFPs coming out asking about direct sourcing partners and strategies, as well as what the technology, curation, and AOR models look like. Two years ago, I was rarely seeing that showing up in RFPs. That’s where some of the biggest changes have been in recent years.

 

 

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The Future of Work is Magnetic: PRO Unlimited Rebrands to Magnit

Solution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Magnets are colloquially known for their attractiveness properties, drawing metal (well, iron) objects and substances within its field. For the contemporary business in 2022, the very notion of “attraction” is a desirable trait: these enterprises cannot thrive in uncertain economic times, and especially facing a volatile labor market, without some crucial level of allure to its culture, workplace, and overall brand that can effectively attract top-tier talent and skillsets.

This morning, veteran integrated workforce management system PRO Unlimited, known across the globe for its powerful Managed Service Provider (MSP) offerings and Best-in-Class Vendor Management System (VMS), announced that it has rebranded itself under the new name Magnit. The new brand reflects the solution’s overall commitment to being a magnetic force in how businesses leverage its innovative technology to draw people to work in an effective manner.

“The new name, Magnit, reflects both the evolution of our industry and how far PRO Unlimited has come as the industry-leading integrated workforce management platform,” said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of Magnit. “Magnit is a reflection of our vision for the evolution of work. It also aligns with our position as the company of record in how businesses attract, engage, and source top-tier talent that tightly aligns with their goals and objectives. This is an exciting new chapter that will culminate in Magnit realizing PRO’s original goal: serve as a true, end-to-end platform comprised of modern software, proven expertise and world-class data and intelligence for workforce management.”

Perhaps the most critical facet of the rebrand is how the provider is approaching its end-to-end offerings: the move to Magnit is not just a simple rebrand, but rather a culmination of two years’ worth of consistent market activity, including acquisitions (WillHire, GRI, Workforce Logiq), partnerships (eightfold, Ceridian, etc.), and new product launches (Direct Source PRO, NorthStar, etc.). The new brand is an opportunity for the company to cohesively blend all of its core products and services under a unified architecture within a single brand.

It is expected that, over the next six months, any fragmentation of offerings will be streamlined and integrated under the new Magnit brand. This is a key attribute of the rebrand, as the company counts several “buckets” of products just within the data/analytics space, with ENGAGE Talent, Envision Analytics, and NorthStar (as well as its RatePoint offering) soon to be merged into a more interconnected solution.

Magnit will continue to work towards its “platform vision,” as laid out by PRO Unlimited back in 2020. With an array of innovation at its fingertips, Magnit is an ideal position to capitalize on an evolving business arena that requires top-tier skillsets to thrive; the rebrand can be considered a catalyst for the organization to continue its innovative work in becoming a platform of choice for not just the extended workforce, but also a source of agility for enterprises across the globe.

“The move to the Magnit brand represents the next bold age for our integrated workforce management platform,” said Vidhya Srinivasan, chief marketing officer at Magnit. “Both the name itself and our new logo echoes our core vision: augment the next evolution in workforce management by drawing people together through modern software and a commitment to the evolution of work. Magnit will be a powerful force for our clients, partners, and suppliers as we link businesses to the agile talent they require to thrive during these dynamic times.”

The definition of a magnet does not just mention the attraction of other metal- or iron-containing objects; it also includes the alignment of itself in an external magnetic field. For Magnit, this means one thing: the solution is positioned to align itself as a centerpiece in how businesses not only find the talent they need, but how they truly optimize how work is done.

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Direct Sourcing’s Future of Work Impact

Contingent WorkforceDirect SourcingGeneral InsightsPodcastSolution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Future of Work Exchange podcast features coverage of industry news, software developments, Future of Work happenings, and, most importantly, conversations with industry thought leaders.

Several months ago, I chatted with Sunil Bagai, CEO of Prosperix, for an insightful Future of Work-oriented discussion (click to listen to the full interview). Sunil and I discussed the changes in how businesses engage talent, the continued growth of direct sourcing, and some interesting Future of Work predictions. Today’s article is a recap of our conversation. [Note that this excerpt has been edited for readability.]

Christopher Dwyer: Seeing how our world of work and talent has been changing so much, you’ve had a front-row seat being where you are in workforce management software space. From your perspective, what do you feel are the biggest changes in the way businesses engage talent and get work done, and how the pandemic has shaped those aspects over the past couple of years?

Sunil Bagai: That’s a really good question. Several changes have been happening. Some of them were obviously sped up by the pandemic. For example, businesses are now much more open to hiring remote workers. And when we say remote, it’s kind of like an umbrella where everybody can be under that remote category. But the reality is we need to slice it a bit further. Remote can be onshore where they’re local to that office, so they can at least still come into the office. Remote can be not local to the office, so some other state or anywhere else in the country. Remote can also be offshore where a person can be in the Philippines, Colombia, India, or somewhere else in the world supporting that organization. There are a variety of different ways to slice and dice what remote really means. And that nuance is new. And it’s important going forward.

Another trend that I’ve seen happen in the last few years is much more openness to a variety of different marketplaces. And that means being able to hire talent directly by going onto a portal, for example. So, that trend has taken off. What that does, however, is create a challenge in these organizations. Why? Because enterprises are not equipped to deal with the nuances of being remote or how to integrate hiring marketplaces into their existing hiring processes. So, for example, their ATS and VMS platforms are not fully equipped to integrate with those new ways of hiring. That’s creating some more challenges and friction, which will get ironed out and addressed as the next few years go on.

CD: Direct sourcing has become such a hot strategy. And the more we talk about it on the Future of Work Exchange, the more we’re educating the market on something that seems to be dominating conversations not only around the Future of Work but also talent acquisition and workforce management. I think back to some of my first encounters with the Crowdstaffing platform, and you were one of the pioneers of direct sourcing. What are your thoughts on where direct sourcing is going and where it could be headed?

SB: Let’s start by differentiating what is traditional direct sourcing. What we’re doing with a hiring marketplace is a step towards direct sourcing without having to necessarily, say, get rid of your suppliers. Because direct sourcing today assumes that you’re sourcing every candidate on your own without the use of suppliers. And I believe there’s a middle ground where you can still use suppliers — your incumbents or your initial supplier pool. The network can be a second supplier pool that can give you more access to talent as well as lower costs. And then you have a third option which is the bucket of direct sourcing, where you can engage talent directly using your brand. I believe that all can coexist.

And the aim is to use technology to publish your jobs across all diverse hiring channels. Each of these becomes a hiring channel…and may the best channel win. It shouldn’t matter where the talent comes from, as long as it’s the best talent and the best price (hopefully). From there, it’s about optimization and being able to select based on quality, based on price, and based on speed for your talent fulfillment. If you can do that, then that’s your ideal solution. It’s not one or the other, it’s a mix of all the options available through one common technology platform to help you achieve your talent needs.

CD: What are some of your 2022 Future of Work predictions — not just technology, but the space in general?

SB: For 2022, you’re already starting to see some interesting things happen in the industry. We’ve seen some large acquisitions, and we’ll probably continue to see consolidation where certain companies try to acquire other companies to have a larger presence in the space and diversify their solution portfolio. And there will be more consolidation of customers, as well.

We’re also starting to see MSPs really up their game and add much more value than they were traditionally accustomed to. Before, MSPs were managing programs, and now they’re really trying to differentiate themselves by offering more capabilities within their solutions. New technology will also continue to surface and add a different spin on how the workforce should be managed. That’s what I’m seeing for the remainder of this year.

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The VMS of 2022: The Nexus of Extended Workforce Management

Solution ProvidersTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Vendor Management System (VMS) platforms are automated solutions that offer end-to-end management of the core and critical facets of contingent and extended workforce management. The VMS model (frequently paired with Managed Service Providers or “MSPs”) is perhaps the most mature platform in the workforce solutions market.

While the earliest incarnations of VMS technology functioned as automated procurement for staffing suppliers, these platforms have evolved to become the true “nexus” of all activity related to contingent and extended workforce management. In fact, the very foundational elements of today’s VMS solutions revolve around the many tenets of the Future of Work movement; the Vendor Management Systems available in today’s fast-moving, globalized technology market have all made great leaps in regard to managing the “extended workforce,” a phrase leveraged to describe the next progression of contingent labor.

The past couple of years has reinvigorated the world of non-employee talent in such a way that the collective business market finds itself with nearly half of its total talent (nearly 47%) comprised of contingent labor. The pandemic age has not only reaffirmed the need for businesses to harness the power of VMS technology, but to also take advantage of the many ways these platforms are reinforcing the many accelerants within the Future of Work movement.

Recently, the Future of Work Exchange announced the publication of the much-anticipated VMS Technology Advisor, a report that assesses and evaluates 11 of the major Vendor Management System platforms that are currently helping organizations around the globe automate key extended workforce management processes, provide access to talent intelligence, and reinforce contingent workforce spend management.

The new report, which is available here, evaluates Beeline, Coupa Contingent Workforce, ELEVATE, Eqip, Pixid, Prosperix, PRO Unlimited, SAP Fieldglass, Utmost, VectorVMS, and VNDLY (a Workday Company).

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